Impacts and potential benefits of autonomous vehicles : from an international context to Grand Paris

Carried out in connection with MIT, this cross-referenced search  on international context and autonomous transportation systems offers some guidelines and tools for the evolution of cities and Grand Paris.

Driverless shuttle in the Bois de Vincennes woods (Paris) © Mairie de Paris – Christophe Belin

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to transform future of urban living. By offering the opportunity for safe, efficient, accessible and affordable transportation they promise not only a novel system of mobility, but also a novel approach to the urban lifestyle and urban design. Yet these benefits are far from guaranteed. Scholars show that AVs have the potential for numerous negative impacts in contraposition to their positive potential, depending, of course, on the form of their implementation. They could combine with other growing trends in the mobility space (such as shared use or mass electrification) to introduce a positive rupture in today’s mobility or, conversely, they could exacerbate existing trends towards congestion and climate change, further entrenching the negative aspects of today’s status quo. 

Whereas the number of experiments has greatly increased in recent years in France and around the world, French Government will authorize from early 2019 autonomous vehicles tests without human driver on national roads. Impacts of autonomous mobility could affect a wide field of domains, from urban transportation to freight organization systems. The foreseeable arrival of drone, delivery robot, robotaxi, shuttle or autonomous garbage truck…, in our streets imposes to better identify the fallout for major cities.

The challenge - and the opportunity - of today is to redefine the mobility system before the technology solidifies its own path. In pursuit of that goal, this study, registered in the program of work of Apur in 2018 and carried out in connection with the MIT, strives to offer a primer on international autonomous vehicle development and regulation, applying its lessons to the context of the Paris metropolitan area. It aims to provide public actors with the understanding, insights and tools it needs to enact pertinent policy measures today to shape the arrival of autonomous vehicles tomorrow.

Resources

Documents to download

  • Study

    Impacts and potential benefits of autonomous vehicles : from an international context to Grand Paris

    Format : pdf, 33.64 MB
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Maps to download

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    Driverless vehicles in Grand Paris

    Format : pdf, 15.26 MB
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