Shared by Esthi Zipori on our mailing list.
For SCORAI-ers interested in the future of urban mobility, we are in the process of reactivating a discussion forum on the general theme of post-automobility. Sponsored and supported by the Tellus Institute under the banner of its Great Transition Initiative. The forum, in the near term will focus on assessing the current diffusion path for autonomous vehicles (for instance news in recent days alerts us that the US government will be pushing aggressively on this front and a number of other countries have announced their own ambitious targets (see Self-Driving Cars Gain Powerful Ally: The Government). In addition, Uber is now engaged in a series of public experiments in Pittsburg and new regulations announced last week in California aim to lower regulatory obstacles among other experiments happening world- wide).
Perhaps not surprisingly, few commentators are focused on the sustainability dimensions of this technological trajectory, even fewer on the social and environmental changes it will induce. While there seems to be little opportunity to slow down this juggernaut perhaps there is space to develop a more comprehensive understanding and to steer unfolding developments in a more efficacious direction. At least, this is a strategy that this discussion forum will pursue. Other outputs of this effort (in addition to a funding proposal, a possible workshop, and–thinking still more ambitiously–a collaborative book project). Participants may also feel moved to contribute to the public debate by writing op-ed pieces and perhaps even an appraisal for one of the agenda-setting academic journals like Science or Nature.
The group thus far assembled to advance this mission is currently quite modest (approximately 16 people) and we actively invite interested individuals to join with us on this journey. Expressions of interest and questions should be directed to Esthi Zipori.
