The AVENUE 21 research project focuses on the impact of automated and connected vehicles on the European city and the conditions under which this technology can make a positive contribution to urban development. The authors put forward two theses that have so far received little attention in scientific discourse:

As automated and connected vehicles will not be ready for use in all parts of the city for a long time, previously assumed effects – from traffic safety to traffic performance as well as spatial effects – will need to be re-evaluated.

To ensure this technology makes a positive contribution to the mobility of the future, transport and land use policies must be adapted and further developed. Established territorial, institutional and organizational boundaries need to be reconsidered in a timely manner.

Despite – or, indeed, because of – the many uncertainties, we find ourselves at the beginning of a new design phase, not only in terms of technology development, but also regarding politics, urban planning, administration and civil society.