191. PlanningxChange 139: Driverless Cars - how soon?_PX
From Urban Broadcast Collective by Urban Broadcast Collective
January 26, 2026 · 57 min
About this episode
The episode explores the implications of driverless cars on urban planning and society.
Driverless and autonomous vehicles are moving steadily from concept to reality, raising important questions for cities, streets and planning systems. While the technology is often framed as a transport or engineering issue, its impacts are likely to be felt far more broadly — shaping travel behaviour, land use, and the way urban space is organised. In this episode of PlanningxChange, hosts Cam Alderson and Jess Noonan are joined by Cern Basher to explore what autonomous vehicles could mean in practice. The discussion focuses on the economic and systemic forces behind driverless cars, rather than technological hype, and considers how cost, scale and incentives may influence how — and where — autonomy is adopted. The conversation examines potential implications for parking, congestion, public transport and equity, as well as the risk of unintended consequences such as increased travel demand. Rather than assuming a single future outcome, the episode highlights the uncertainty planners must work within as new technologies emerge. This episode also marks PlanningxChange’s first video release, alongside the regular audio format, and introduces a new hosting arrangement — continuing…
People in this episode
Hosts: Cam Alderson, Jess Noonan
Guest: Cern Basher
Topics covered
- driverless cars
- urban planning
- autonomous vehicles
- transportation
- land use
- travel behavior
Keywords
- driverless cars
- autonomous vehicles
- urban planning
- transportation
- land use
- travel behavior
- congestion
- public transport
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: PlanningxChange
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