The Book on Autonomous Cars & Land-Use #ConnectedandCharged

Will autonomous vehicles create a utopian or dystopian world? This is a question that Lauren Isaac, Manager of Sustainable Transportation – WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff has been thinking about for a couple of years. Her thoughts on the topic can be found on her blog and, as she explains in the above video, a guide she created to help governments plan for the autonomous future.

She recommends that planners:

• Educate themselves on the state of autonomy
• Talk to and understand what sort of partnerships could be created with the autonomous technology and transportation companies
• Update travel demand models to reflect the addition of autonomous cars

Isaac also suggests that policymakers can influence how autonomous vehicles impact land-use in multiple ways, including:

• Taxing vehicle miles traveled
• Charging for parking or providing incentives for not parking
• Providing incentives to encourage ride-sharing

As she alludes to, done correctly, autonomous transportation offers the potential to create better cities.

Note: In the above video, there is an excerpt of GM’s vision from the 1950s showing the future of autonomy. To see the entire, entertaining version, click on the link below.

https://media.gm.com/media/us/en/gm/bcportal.html/currentVideoId/3767696901001/currentChannelId/Most%20Recent.gsaOff.html