Big Decisions

Social Impact + Equity

Will the impacts of AV technology on the built realm help mitigate social divides and public health challenges, or simply exacerbate them?

94% of serious vehicle crashes in the US are due to human error.

Our Stance

Sasaki carefully considers the social impact of our recomendations and designs. We will seek to harness the potential of AVs to make transportation networks more equitable, safe, and transparent.

Safety

Will AVs help reduce the 1.3 million road deaths each worldwide?

Access

How affordable will AVs be? Will the private sector play a larger role in transit?

Jobs

What will happen to the four million people who drive for a living?

Data

Will the ability to monitor almost every aspect of transportation lead to better management or a loss of privacy?

Vision Zero

AV technology evolves in tandem with roadways and other supporting infrastructure, creating safer streets and improving the quality of the public realm.

Expanded Access

Shared ownership platforms will be developed in tandem with the public transit system and all will benefit from increased mobility.

Adaptation

These jobs will be replaced through government initiatives or through new innovative approaches by the affected industries to reinvent themselves.

Shared Data

Open access to comprehensive data on VMTs and routes travelled will lead to more efficient transportation planning and operations.

Mixed Messages

The absence of strong Federal standards results in a messy transition between partial and complete autonomy. Manufacturers prioritize driver safety, but the safety of pedestrians and quality of the public realm are overlooked.

Increasing Disparity

There will be a lag between private AV ownership and the development of public AV transit options and socioeconomic divides will grow.

Displacement

There will be a transitional period where many displaced workers are unemployed.

Proprietary

Fragmented propietary data sets will create a missed opportunity for coordinated planning and can be misused, leading to intrusions on privacy.

Ownership Models

There is a broad consensus that the biggest gains in terms of sustainability, affordability, and mobility will come from shared ownership of AVs.

Ownership Models

OwnershipAutonomous rapid transit

PrivateART would be a great option for AVs when sharing with manual driven vehicles. The dedicated lanes allow the AVs to function at peak performance therefore making the transportation network run as efficient as possible.

Car sharing

Ride sharing is the most efficient system if integrating AVs. Cities would only require 10% of the cars on the road if the transportation system was 100% shared.

Vehicle Ownership per Household, Projection

Today20XX

Our Stance

Sasaki anticipates and advocates for shared ownership models, paying close attention to the implications on parking requirements, roadway capacity, and curbside uses.

Fleets

Car manufacturers are testing the idea of partnering with ride hail and car rental companies, in anticipation that private ownership will decrease and shared rides will increase.

AV single taxis

Single passenger AV taxis have few road capacity benefits and many of the same issues found with personal AVs. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) would increase due to taxi repositioning and driving long distances without a rider to pick someone up. There are benefits though, such as lower parking needs and improved mobility for the elderly.

Personal AVs

Individually owned AVs will provide a significant convenience for owners, but this will result in more traffic, more carbon emissions, and more VMTs.

Multimodal Integration

Will AVs play nice with bikes, pedestrians, and transit?

Our Stance

Sasaki considers AV technology as a tool to strengthen multimodal transportation networks.

Sasaki recommends a proactive approach to ridesharing and mobility-on-demand through public-private partnerships.

Special consideration is given to the medium density contexts that favor smaller vehicles over traditional mass transit.

Competition with Transit

Will AVs replace mass transit?

AVs have the potential to complement other modes of travel — rail, bus, cycling and walking — and fill in gaps where other modes are less efficient. However, without a thoughtful and context-sensitive strategy for integration, there is a significant possibility for destructive competition between AVs and mass transit.

Interaction with People

How will autononomous vehicles share the right of way with cyclists and pedestrians?

Improved safety and the potential to achieve ‘vision zero’ is a significant opportunity that all stakeholders seem to agree upon. There are diverging opinions, however, on whether this will involve segregation or mixing of modes. The ability of AV technology to quickly become sophisticated enough to navigate complex environments combined with intelligent regulation and design will be key to finding the right balance.

Complementary

In Singapore, for example, AV technology is primarily seen as a last-mile solution to support a robust transit network in a dense city.

Competing

AVs ‘steal’ ownership from public transit systems, but the cost per mile does not become low enough to serve a large portion of society.

How Do AV Travel Costs Compare?

$0.48/mile $0.26

$0.65 $0.50$0.20

Mixed environment

NACTO envisions a world where driverless cars are limited to 25 mph on city streets and integrated into the dense, complex environments where people are increasingly choosing to live.

Segregation

The promise of efficiency and the long transition between partially and fully autonomous vehicles leads to a mobility network defined by segregation between vehicles and people.

The Public Realm

How will autonomous mobility support efforts to reclaim the public realm?

Our Stance

Regardless of who owns and operates city streets, Sasaki will continue to emphasize the public realm’s importance as an inclusive urban space for community, not simply transportation infrastructure.

As roadway standards evolve along with AV technology, Sasaki seeks opportunities to create innovative streetscapes centered on people and a vibrant urban experience.

Ownership + Operation

Who will be responsible for constructing roads and other major infrastructure?

Changing Roadways

How will AV technology affect ROW dimensions? Will we need on-street parking?

Reclaiming the Street

Will more efficent use of our travel lanes create more space for landscapes and people?

Coordinated Partnerships

Infrastructure continues to expand with predominant funding coming from local, state, and federal sources but developed using a method to accomodate AVs.

Tech companies such as Google, Nest, and Fiber may forge partnerships with State DOT’s to manage and develop road systems that are suited to their AVs.

Innovative Alignments

The efficiency of shared AVs allows for more flexible streets with fewer lanes and new curbside uses. The residual right of way can be reclaimed for public space or new development, leading to healthier, safer, and more affordable cities.

Weak Governance, Fragmented Ownership

Poor coordination between public and private entities leads to inefficient adoption of new technology and inconsistent standards.

Missed Opportunities

Affordability, convenience, and efficiency of AVs creates a demand for more travel. Roadway capacity is simply allowed to increase, offsetting the benefits of shared ridership and more efficient navigation technologies.

Status QuoDriverless Future?

21st Century Main Street

As AVs become mainstream and traditional retail is transformed by new distribution chains, streets are valued more than ever as civic spaces for community and recreation.

Interstitial Spaces

The evolution of roadways into high-tech infrastructure leads to new standards and designs that focus on creating an environment compatible with AVs at the expense of the human experience.

Land Use + Urban Transformation

The automobile and ability to travel on a regional scale led to an era of urban expansion and transformed land use in existing cities. How will AVs affect development patterns and land use?

Our Stance

Sasaki will promote AV technology as a tool to enable more efficient, livable, and sustainable cities.

From site designs to city and regional plans, Sasaki seeks to explore the potential to minimize the impact of our urban footprint at all scales.

Driving

How much will we choose to drive?

Coordination among individual vehicles and increased ridesharing has the potential to increase roadway capacity by two to four times. However, as driving becomes cheaper and easier, will people choose to make more trips and longer commutes?

Autonomous Vehicles and Commercial Real Estate. Cornell Real EstateReview, June 2016

Parking

On average, 31% of urban space is devoted to parking. AVs bring the potential to free up valuable urban space by reducing the amount of parking needed and increasing the flexibility of its location. How will cities take advantage of this opportunity?

Living

Where will We Choose to Live?

Lower VMT

Coordinated driving and increased ridesharing reduce the amount of cars on the road by 70% during rush hour. Existing right-of-way can be redeveloped or used to create open spaces and an enhanced public realm.

Unlocked Potential

The amount of parking space is reduced by up to 42%, and much of the remaining demand can be relocated to free up valuable urban space.

Ten Ways Autonomous Driving Could Redefine the Automotive World.McKinsey & Company, 2015

Increased VMT

Lower costs and more convenience will lead to more VMTs, overall leading to more congestion and continued dominance of the public realm by vehicles.

Missed Opportunity

The long lifespan of parking structures and a failure to anticipate reduced demand leads to a surplus of parking structures that cannot be repurposed and are expensive to redevelop.

x500 million parking spaces in the US = 3,590 = State of RIState of DE

Dense and Efficient

A range of new mobility options and building types will make urban living more convenient and affordable. Ridesharing and on-demand transit will support ‘missing middle’ neighborhoods, leading to less sprawl and blurring the distinction between suburban and urban densities.

Sprawling and Decentralized

The ability to be productive or social while traveling will enable longer commutes and encourage the growth of sprawling cities and regions.