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Self-driving vehicles will do nothing to change the world. They will instead further entrench the automobile as the default mode of transportation and we'll co
by esarbe 5y ago
Self-driving vehicles will do nothing to change the world.
They will instead further entrench the automobile as the default mode of transportation and we'll continue to have human-hostile cities that are focused at getting people from point A to point B with an automobile. The result will be big driveways that are optimized for big metal boxes with only one person sitting in them, cutting apart communities, making life dangerous for kids and elderly, taking away space that could be better used for trees and boulevards and maybe some kind of mass transport.
Instead we should have cities that are focused on being livable, friendly places that encourage the emergence of communities and foster supportive societies.
- mytailorisrich 5y agoFully self-driving cars can, and will, change cities for the better. The whole parking space paradigm changes if cars can fully drive and park themselves. For instance, in my personal case (medium size European town) if I had a fully autonomous car I could go to the train station or town centre for commute, shopping, etc without needing any parking space there: my car could drop me there and drive back home. If parking space is needed it can be located out of the way and be denser because cars will be able to deal with it themselves.
- nradov 5y agoAnd if everyone had a flying unicorn that would also change cities for the better. So what. In most cities there's no prospect of widespread deployment of self-driving cars any time soon. The technology just doesn't work and progress has slowed way down.
- mytailorisrich 5y agoHow soon, or just if, fully autonomous cars will become a reality is another issue and discussion. IMHO, they will become a reality at some point. and that will have a profound impact.
- tuatoru 5y ago> my car could drop me there and drive back home. Applying this to everyone else, half of car trips would be empty cars, doubling traffic volume. Cities would be worse for pedestrians.
- mytailorisrich 5y agoI don't see why cities would be worse for pedestrians since there is no reason for pedestrians and cars to mix... Modern urban spaces try to segregate as much as possible. In any case, I think a possible consequence could rather be a drop in private ownership and price of services like Uber: Cars can drive themselves, which removes the main cost of taxis (the human driver), and can be summoned as needed via an app, so perhaps the need to own one decreases along with the need for parking space.