Autonomous Vehicles

Self-Driving Bus

The Self-Driving Bus of the Near-Term, Realistic Future

It might be fun to imagine a a world filled with self-driving cars, reducing traffic and improving safety with one silver bullet. The more realistic short-term scenario, however, deploys low-speed, self-driving buses on private campuses.

October 13, 2016 - Inverse

Amsterdam

Roboboats, err...Roboats May Soon Navigate Amsterdam's Canals

Small, self-navigating boats may soon ferry around passengers and cargo on Amsterdam's famed canals, with a prototype scheduled to hit the water next year.

September 23, 2016 - The Verge

Biker Bike Bikes

The Bicyclists' Manifesto for an Autonomous Vehicle Future

"Policy goals" won't be enough to protect bicyclists once the cars start driving themselves. Strong standards will be necessary to govern the interactions between cars and bikes in an autonomous future.

September 13, 2016 - William Riggs

Robot car

Why Autonomous Vehicles Probably Won't Induce Sprawl

There are a few good reasons why a worldwide fleet of autonomous vehicles will not necessarily lead to a new era of sprawl.

August 31, 2016 - William Riggs

Self-Driving Car

The Big Challenge for Driverless Cars: Convincing People to Give Up Control

The latest episode of TransitTrends, a serial YouTube show by moovel, examines the question of whether or not we're ready for autonomous vehicles.

August 29, 2016 - moovel

Bus Stop Winter

Will New Transportation Technologies Affect Lower Income Households?

Kevin Cashman, a Truthout researcher, asks in this op-ed if lower income people will not only be left out from the transportation technology revolution, e.g., EVs, AVs, car-hailing, but will they be hurt by it?

August 8, 2016 - Truthout

Self-Driving Car

Will First Fatality Affect the Development of Self-Driving Cars?

A May 7 crash of a Model S Tesla in Florida may have outsized implications for the future of driverless technology. The details of the single-fatality crash were made public in a June 30 blog by Tesla though they were reported immediately to NHTSA.

July 9, 2016 - Planetizen

Traffic

Friday Funny: An Old Meme Scores Points Against New Transportation Tech

You remember the one showing the amount of space occupied by 60 people on a bike, 60 people on a bus, and 60 people in cars? It's also helpful for making a convenient point about Uber and self-driving cars.

July 1, 2016 - Twitter

LinkNYC

Sidewalk Labs and Transportation For America to Develop Connected Streets

Sidewalk Labs has teamed up with Transportation for America in the hopes of better connecting transportation technology with desired transportation outcomes.

June 2, 2016 - Next City

Rep. Earl Blumanauer

U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer Writes in Favor of Self-Driving Cars

Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.), a famous advocate for alternative transportation, has thrown his support behind the epoch-changing potential of self-driving cars.

May 31, 2016 - Wired

Beverly Hills Planning for Self-Driving Shuttles, Connecting to Transit

A city known for its opposition to transit might be on the cutting edge of first-last mile technology innovation.

May 20, 2016 - Fast Co.Exist

Traffic Light

Slot-Based Design Could Eliminate Traffic Lights

An MIT study determined that traffic lights, and their inefficiencies, could be eliminated if all vehicles were equipped to regulate their speed and "batch" together as they approach intersections.

April 12, 2016 - Fast Co. Design

World Peace

Study: Self-Driving Cars Likely to Restore 70% of Lost Faith in Humanity

A new study also finds reason to believe that self-driving cars will make everyone nicer and generally more affable that any point in human history since the advent of the car.

April 1, 2016 - Planetizen April 1st Edition

Google Self-Driving Car

No Business as Usual in an Autonomous Vehicle Future

Among the reasons to reconsider new investments in expanded roadway capacity: the impending revolution in transportation that will arrive when cars start driving themselves.

March 28, 2016 - William Riggs

Google Self-Driving Car smaller

Google's Self-Driving Car Had a Big Week

Breaking news came in a pair this week for Google's self-driving car technology.

February 11, 2016 - Quartz

When Regressive is Progressive

With the two Democrat candidates debating who is the real progressive, it would be interesting to see how they would respond, if asked, about President Obama's proposed $10-per-barrel fee to fund a 21st Century Clean Transportation System.

February 8, 2016 - The New York Times

pallets of green oil barrels stacked

Obama's Bold Transportation Funding Proposal Likely to Go Nowhere

President Obama, long opposed to increasing the gas tax, has proposed a $10-per-barrel oil fee to be paid by energy companies. It will fund his 21st Century Clean Transportation System to reduce carbon emissions and promote new vehicle technology.

February 5, 2016 - Politico

Demographic Changes Spell Trouble Ahead for Auto Industry

It's not only young adults who are delaying in getting drivers licenses, but a drop in licenses among all age groups according to a new analysis of license data from 1983-2014 by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

January 21, 2016 - The Fiscal Times

Google bikes

Impacts of Self-Driving Cars on Bicycle Planning

This article considers the impacts of driverless cars, or autonomous vehicles, on bicycle planning and what a 'low stress' bicycle route may look like in the future.

January 9, 2016 - Good Urban Places

Self-Driving Car

Google and Ford Partner-Up to Develop Self-Driving Cars

Google and Ford have partnered to bring together their software know-how with their auto building know-how as the launch of autonomous cars moves one step closer.

December 28, 2015 - Yahoo! Autos

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Top Books

An annual review of books related to planning.

Top Schools

The definitive ranking of graduate planning programs.

100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.