Robocar and Urban Space Evolution

How can we create more human-centered, resilient, and sustainable cities in the tech age? Can we make use of technology and the opportunities presented rather than resisting its fast-paced evolution? What are the biggest and most likely spatial changes that autonomous vehicles will bring in cities? How can this change in mobility contribute to a better urban environment? To what extent do the spatial opportunities created by automated mobility respond to current urban issues and what is the role of urban design and spatial planning in this debate?

Autonomous cars —Robocars— will dramatically change urban environments and the practice of urbanism, potentially making cities less dependent on and less dominated by cars. Driverless and mainly guided by digital infrastructure, Robocars can open up new opportunities for urban development. If guided by sustainable development goals, mobility automation can lead to urban we understand as a shared paradigm shift in mobility and urban design. To date, the topic of autonomous cars has mainly been addressed by car industries, technology companies and transport planning groups. The current discourse is predominantly driven by business goals, potentially leading to cities shaped around technology, designed and planned by tech companies.

This publication is based on the international symposium ‘Robocar and Urban Space Evolution’, organised on September 13, 2018 at TU Delft. Under the premise that autonomous cars will dramatically change urban environments and the practice of urbanism, Robocar and Urban Space Evolution investigates how Robocars may improve or harm our cities, exploring the potential of this new technology beyond market-oriented goals. Moreover, it aims to raise awareness about the relevance of the topic for the field of urban design and other disciplines dealing with aspects of urban sustainability.

The publication includes contributions by Rients Dijkstra and Anca Ioana Ionescu, Dominic Stead, Víctor Muñoz Sanz, David Hamers, Salvador Rueda, Nico Larco, Emilia Bruck and Mathias Mitteregger.