The RSA is pleased to announce the publication of our 7th Policy Impact book – Connected and Autonomous Vehicles: the challenges facing cities and regions by Stephen Parkes and Ed Ferrari.
The past decade has seen substantial progress towards the development of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). Accompanying the technological developments, there has been much dialogue around the potential for CAVs to help solve a range of economic, social, and environmental issues. Some of CAVs purported benefits include, for example, greater efficiency in the use of existing transport infrastructure, improved safety through removing human error, and widening access to automobility. However, there are also many potential downsides, and whether and how CAVs will deliver on their promise remains shrouded in much uncertainty and not a small degree of scepticism.
This book views developments around CAVs through the lens of local policymakers and the towns and cities they represent. It argues it is now time to expand the dialogue to include consideration for towns and cities beyond those early adopters to understand how they will fare, and how CAVs might interact with other important policy agendas facing them.
It discusses the different challenges that CAVs will pose for the urban built environment and the required forms of preparedness for these. It also explores how CAVs will interact with other uses and users of cities, including potentially competing efforts to enhance urban wellbeing and liveability. Finally, it considers how responses to CAVs are being developed and what the implications of these are.
This book will appeal to policymakers, practitioners, and academics interested in the potential impacts of CAVs and in understanding more about how they will shape and interact with cities and regions in the near future.
RSA members receive a print copy of this book as one of the membership benefits.