Planning for Density in a Driverless World

Automobile-centered, low-density development was the defining feature of population growth in the United States for decades. This development pattern displaced wildlife, destroyed habitat, and contributed to a national loss of biodiversity. It also meant, eventually, that commutes and air quality worsened, a sense of local character was lost in many places, and the negative consequences of sprawl impacted an increasing percentage of the population. Those impacts led to something of a shift in the national attitude toward sprawl. More people than ever are fluent in concepts of “smart growth,” “new urbanism,” and “green building,” and with these tools and others, municipalities across the country are working to redevelop a central core, rethink failing transit systems, and promote pockets of density. Changing technology may disrupt this trend. Self-driving vehicles are expected to be widespread within the next several decades. Those vehicles will likely reduce congestion, air pollution, and deaths, and free up huge amounts of productive time in the car. These benefits may also eliminate much of the conventional motivation and rationale behind sprawl reduction. As the time-cost of driving falls, driverless cars have the potential to incentivize human development of land that, by virtue of its distance from settled metropolitan areas, had been previously untouched. From the broader ecological perspective, each human surge into undeveloped land results in habitat destruction and fragmentation, and additional loss of biological diversity. New automobile technology may therefore usher in better air quality, increased safety, and a significant threat to ecosystem health. Our urban and suburban environments have been molded for centuries to the needs of various forms of transportation. The same result appears likely to occur in response to autonomous vehicles, if proactive steps are not taken to address their likely impacts. Currently, little planning is being done to prepare for driverless technology. Actors at multiple levels, however, have tools at their disposal to help ensure that new technology does not come at the expense of the nation’s remaining natural habitats. This Article advocates for a shift in paradigm from policies that are merely anti-car to those that are pro-density, and provides suggestions for both cities and suburban areas for how harness the positive aspects of driverless cars while trying to stem the negative. Planning for density regardless of technology will help to ensure that, for the world of the future, there is actually a world

Travel Behavior Changes Among Users of Partially Automated Vehicles

Partially automated battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are being sold to and used by consumers. Estimates indicate that as of the end of 2019, there were over 700,000 Partially Automated Tesla Vehicles—the subject of this study—on the roads globally. Despite this, little research has been done to understand how they may be changing travel behavior. In this study, qualitative interviews with 36 users of Tesla BEVs with Autopilot were conducted. The goal of this was to understand how Autopilot is used, user experiences of the system, and whether the system has any impact on drivers’ travel behavior. The focus of the last of these aims was to determine whether Autopilot could cause or was causing an increase in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) among the study participants. Results from the interviews showed that partial automation leads to consumers travelling by car more and being more willing to drive in congested traffic. These changes are due to increased comfort, reduced stress, and increased relaxation due to the partial automation system, and because of the lower running costs of a BEV. The results also point to a need for further research of partially automated vehicles that are already on the market, as 11 of 17 reasons for increased VMT that have been identified in modeling studies of fully automated vehicles (not yet commercially available) applied to users of Autopilot

Space resources. Volume 1: Scenarios

A number of possible future paths for space exploration and development are presented. The topics covered include the following: (1) the baseline program; (2) alternative scenarios utilizing nonterrestrial resources; (3) impacts of sociopolitical conditions; (4) common technologies; and issues for further study

The Critical Role of Public Charging Infrastructure

Editors: Peter Fox-Penner, PhD, Z. Justin Ren, PhD, David O. JermainA decade after the launch of the contemporary global electric vehicle (EV) market, most cities face a major challenge preparing for rising EV demand. Some cities, and the leaders who shape them, are meeting and even leading demand for EV infrastructure. This book aggregates deep, groundbreaking research in the areas of urban EV deployment for city managers, private developers, urban planners, and utilities who want to understand and lead change

Urban Air Mobility Market Study

The Booz Allen Team explored market size and potential barriers to Urban Air Mobility (UAM) by focusing on three potential markets – Airport Shuttle, Air Taxi, and Air Ambulance. We found that the Airport Shuttle and Air Taxi markets are viable, with a significant total available market value in the U.S. of $500 billion, for a fully unconstrained scenario. In this unconstrained best-case scenario, passengers would have the ability to access and fly a UAM at any time, from any location to any destination, without being hindered by constraints such as weather, infrastructure, or traffic volume. Significant legal and regulatory, weather, certification, public perception, and infrastructure constraints exist, which reduce the market potential for these applications to only about 0.5$2.5 billion, in the near term. However, we determined that these constraints can be addressed through ongoing intra-governmental partnerships, government and industry collaboration, strong industry commitment, and existing legal and regulatory enablers. We found that the Air Ambulance market is not a viable market if served by electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicles due to technology constraints but may potentially be viable if a hybrid VTOL aircraft are utilized

Automated Transit Networks (ATN): A Review of the State of the Industry and Prospects for the Future, MTI Report 12-31

The concept of Automated Transit Networks (ATN) - in which fully automated vehicles on exclusive, grade-separated guideways provide on-demand, primarily non-stop, origin-to-destination service over an area network – has been around since the 1950s. However, only a few systems are in current operation around the world. ATN does not appear “on the radar” of urban planners, transit professionals, or policy makers when it comes to designing solutions for current transit problems in urban areas. This study explains ATN technology, setting it in the larger context of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT); looks at the current status of ATN suppliers, the status of the ATN industry, and the prospects of a U.S.-based ATN industry; summarizes and organizes proceedings from the seven Podcar City conferences that have been held since 2006; documents the U.S./Sweden Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Transport; discusses how ATN could expand the coverage of existing transit systems; explains the opportunities and challenges in planning and funding ATN systems and approaches for procuring ATN systems; and concludes with a summary of the existing challenges and opportunities for ATN technology. The study is intended to be an informative tool for planners, urban designers, and those involved in public policy, especially for urban transit, to provide a reference for history and background on ATN, and to use for policy development and research

Autonomous Shuttle Transit: An Exploratory Case Study and the Future Impact on TSU Campus

By 2040 the third-largest city in the United States, Houston, Texas, a top global city for traffic congestion, will become a significant metropolis with future growth possibilities of 11 million people passing Chicago (HGAC, 2018). For this purpose, Houston and surrounding growing populations will contribute to gridlock traffic, with highway expansions increasing ozone and inefficient transit systems with longer commutes in underserved, sidelined communities. Above all, historically, persons of color, notably Black Indigenous Persons of Color (BIPOC) in Black and Brown marginalized communities, are deprived of transportation accessibility. Undoubtedly, Driverless Shuttle (DS) rideshare platforms reflect that higher-income whites are admittedly more likely to hold discriminatory attitudes toward fellow passengers of different classes and races (Middleton & Zhao, 2019). At the same time, Environmental Justice (EJ) studies have shown that Black and Brown low-income disenfranchised communities are more exposed to inefficient transit systems. They are characterized by unequal treatment and accessibility to the bus than affluent White commuters (Bullard, Johnson, and Torres, 2004). As a result, systemic racism, an unfair burden of environmental injustice, has plagued the Greater Third Ward transit-dependent population. For this purpose, Houston\u27s Metropolitan Transit Authority (METRO) riddle inequities have shaped public transportation for every minoritized BIPOC within the community (Spieler, 2020). Most importantly, Blacks are twice as likely to experience inferior transportation access as their more affluent counterparts (Sisson, 2019; Bullard, Johnson, and Torres, 2004, p.2). According to Harvard Law (2021), Bullard states, In 1990, Dumping in Dixie: Race, Class and Environmental Quality assuredly documented that environmental vulnerability mapped closely with Jim Crow segregation. This why racial redlining discriminatory zoning, and inefficient land use practices, (Bullard, 2021, p. 245; Bullard, 1990) target Houston\u27s Black and Brown neighborhoods, hindering economic and social advancement in employment, education, and health care (Bullard, 2021, p. 245; Bullard, 1990; Freemark, 2020; Talbott, 2020). The problem of injustice was examined by longitudinal data where an Autonomous Vehicle bus pilot associated with the built environment in this study highlighted 1. Transportation inequality along the TSU Campus Tiger Walk is related to bus stops. 2. Distance between three designated bus stop locations. 3. Safety and critical driving functions fully driverless for an entire trip. 4. First/last mile driverless shuttle connectivity interacting with Metro buses and Light Rail in Houston\u27s Greater Third Ward neighborhood. The methods of research incorporated qualitative and quantitative analysis. The study used a driverless shuttle to compare racial and social economics between bus stops at Texas Southern University, a historically black university, during an Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Shuttle pilot study. For this purpose, Autonomous Shuttle Transit, an additional mode of mobility, will connect Houston\u27s Greater Third Ward transit-dependent population to Metro’s bus and light rail networks. In addition to bus stops along the TSU Campus Tiger Walk. This study made a similar theoretical comparison of the Tiger Tram to AV two years before the TSU Shuttle pilot. The results pointed to a link between income and transit-dependent populations using a driverless shuttle under specific conditions. A Google map determined the half-mile distance along the TSU Campus Tiger Walk. The driverless shuttle and socioeconomics of Political Science, Administrative Justice, and Psychology undergraduate classes were used to measure transportation equity horizontally. A regression analysis was carried out to determine if the socioeconomic factors had statistical significance. Also, linear regression modeling was used to determine which sociodemographic variables strongly predict the transport mode used. The findings revealed that Blacks, people with disabilities, and the TSU AV shuttle working with metro buses were statistically significant at a 95% confidence level. Also, a predictor of respondents walking, and biking will use the Autonomous Shuttle as an additional mode of transportation. Also, the data analysis results indicate a significant negative correlation between the driverless shuttle time intervals along the TSU Tiger Walk and the Metro bus service. This correlation implies that higher percentages of respondents will walk further from the TSU campus Tiger Walk central location to the bus stop connecting Third Ward’s transit-dependent residents to the Metro Light rail. Likewise, in the Third Ward community, low-income transit-dependent populations in the Cuney Homes are disproportionately exposed to inadequate transit access than any other area in the neighborhood. The results also support the Environmental Justice (EJ) claim that minorities and low-income transit-dependent populations are closer to bus stops and farther away from the light rail. Although the results showed that race, income, and disability variations are likely to predict that TSU’s transit-dependent population will use the TSU Autonomous Shuttle connecting the Third Ward community. Comparing the social demographic indicators along the TSU Tiger Walk and the Third Ward area shows that deed restrictions do not address EJ concerns associated with bus stops and transportation modes. The conclusion indicates that despite several decades of EJ policies and transit regulations, institutional racism in the Third Ward neighborhood is embedded. Over the decades, African Americans and other people of color have been disproportionately exposed to transit injustice because they are concentrated in neighborhoods with less transit accessibility. However, the TSU Campus Tiger Walk still has fewer efficient transit options than other Third Ward census tracts that map closer to bus stops with higher income