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Planning XchangeAuthor: Jess Noonan & Peter Jewell
Planning Xchange is an interview series of built environment professionals doing interesting work beyond the ordinary. Guests include town planners, architects, urban designers, landscape architects, academics, historians, CEO's (and much much more!). Featuring podcast hosts Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell. Language: en Genres: Education, Society & Culture Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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PlanningxChange 139: Driverless Cars: What Do They Mean for Cities and Society?
Sunday, 25 January, 2026
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 the podcast's tradition of practical, practitioner-focused discussion about the forces shaping planning and cities. Podcast released 26 January 2026.
