Automated and connected vehicles are beacons of hope for politics and business: They are expected to make traffic safer and more efficient in the future and thus contribute to the traffic turnaround. A study by researchers from the Faculty of Architecture and Planning (involving the future.lab Research Center, opens an external URL in a new window, Local Planning, Sociology, opens an external URL in a new window und Transportation System Planning), funded by the Daimler and Benz Foundation, now shows that some of these hopes must be put into perspective.

The most comprehensive study to date on the effects of automated and connected vehicles on cities, mobility and society has just been published as the book "AVENUE21. Automatisierter und vernetzter Verkehr: Entwicklungen des urbanen Europa" published by Springer Vieweg as an open access publication.

Contrary to many other studies, streets are not only considered as a traffic space, but also as a place of public life. This perspective allows a re-evaluation of central effects - especially concerning the near future.

More than three hundred international experts were interviewed for the study. In focus groups, scenarios were developed that illustrate possibilities for local planning. Finally, fields of action are developed that should be addressed from the perspective of urban and mobility planning in the next 5-10 years.

Here is the link to the publication: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-662-61283-5, opens an external URL in a new window