One should presume autonomous vehicles change cities as much as cars did. That’s just a starting point for thinking about this

… and electric changes cars as much as smart changed phones

I can't wait to see how the electricity networks (poles & wires) will handle it. Current will do what current will do #Hot

when do we start calling Teslas "smartcars"?

Not easy since there is already a brand called Smart car.

which ironically aren't smart at all

Don't forget the regulatory regime that emerged to promote auto travel. Will something similar happen again? Should it?

you’d think it would lower rent and suburb prices because autonomous cars ~trains.

doubtful. Cars require orders of magnitude more infrastructure & energy than trains. @BenedictEvans

would assume that autonomous vehicles will need to be 'supervised' for the foreseeable future

autonomous is a slam dunk winner but only if we all go autonomous . Can't have it both ways . Drivers need to go away

That will be the biggest barrier. Older will want to keep autonomy. Younger will love the extra game time.

once the older find out their car insurance prem will drop by 90% then it's game on !

just giving back the parking space to pedestrians, terraces, and space is alone a wonderful change. And no more honking!

(Visible) Headlights & streetlights unnecessary... maybe we'll see the stars again?

I’d prefer cars to keep headlights so we can see them coming, and street city lights are for pedestrians

SO MUCH MORE GREENERY

smart infrastructure is a necessary first step to complete autonomy. Smart lights, streets, signs. Endless possibilities.

what happens to public transportation? Are going to see discontinued tube lines in London?

No.

Mechanics/Technicians and gas stations will make less money. Municipalities lose traffic violation revenue.

Lawyers will make a killing with plenty of new regulations. Cell phone data use will skyrocket.

New streets will be narrower as AV should be more precise. Long dist solo 'driving' increases bc u can now sleep and/or work

Insurance will skyrocket for each mile a human drives. Much better rate for AV miles.

Do AV's eliminate the need for stop lights and stop signs? I assume we'd need 100% AV for that.

Will developing countries benefit from leap-frogging legacy human-driver focused infrastructure in US/EU?

will auto pilot see bikes and motorcycles better than humans? Those will continue to thrive in third world.

I'd think so, they have well-defined shapes/motion type and a visible human. Even safer adding a 10c RFID transponder.

could result in suburban housing boom as the "cost" of commuting comes way down.

How? And when?

Narrow roads will rejoice but I wonder will there be lesser cars to an extent?

Q - does SD eliminate 100 yrs of marginally effective mass transit infrastructure and investment?