Architecture Commons^™

Safe, Efficient Self‐Driving Cars Could Block Walkable, Livable Communities, Daniel P. Piatkowski

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

As a driver and a cyclist, I initially welcomed the idea of self-driving cars that could detect nearby people and be programmed not to hit them, making the streets safer for everyone. Autonomous vehicles also seemed to provide attractive ways to use roads more efficiently and reduce the need for parking in our communities. People are certainly talking about how self-driving cars could help build more sustainable, livable, walkable and bikable communities. But as an urban planner and transportation scholar who, like most people in my field, has paid close attention to the discussion around driverless cars, I have come …