Project Director: Ed Ferrari
Project Duration: 2020-2022

Technological advances and regulatory changes for Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (C/AVs) create a set of new policy problems for local and regional policy makers required to accommodate C/AVs within built environments. Concerns around safety, urban design, and infrastructure (amongst others) will not be solved immediately and instead will form part of a long transitional period as C/AVs compete for a place in already complex transit systems. Concurrent efforts to increase levels of walking, cycling, and other Active Travel modes in response to climate and public health concerns will further problematise this transitional period, requiring solutions to challenging policy problems.

This Policy Expo – a research initiative funded by the Regional Studies Association (RSA) - addressed this problem by drawing together evidence and insights from a range of different contexts. The project gathered evidence through a global call for evidence, seeking contributions from both policymakers and other expert stakeholders that addressed several specific questions relating to the preparedness of local and regional policymakers to a transition to C/AVs; focus groups and interviews with key stakeholders; and a number of global case-studies. The findings from this Policy Expo were published in Autumn 2022 in a Regional Studies Policy Impact Book.

The project team also includes Keith McKoy (Sheffield Hallam University), Rebecca Powell (Arup) and Marc Schlossberg (University of Oregon).