Planning and Policy Directions for Autonomous Vehicles in Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) in the United States

ABSTRACT

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are rapidly emerging in United States cities, leaving urban and regional planning institutions unsure how to plan and develop policies. This paper analyzes how regional transportation plans (RTPs) developed by metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) are approaching the risks and opportunities presented by AVs. Among 52 MPOs, a majority only mention key issues and emphasize high levels of uncertainty. Twelve MPOs develop policies on infrastructure, safety, partnerships, data-sharing, and multimodal transportation. Despite a positive trend, many recently adopted RTPs do not incorporate AVs. To plan for uncertain mobility futures, MPOs must develop more flexible approaches to long-term infrastructure investment.

KEYWORDS:

• Autonomous vehicles
• transportation planning
• metropolitan planning organization (MPO)
• regional transportation plan (RTP)
• autonomous vehicle policy

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant from the TOMNET University Transportation Center at Arizona State University, funded by the US Department of Transportation.

Notes on contributors

Devon McAslan

Devon McAslan is a postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Smart Cities and Regions at the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University. His research explores numerous aspects of sustainable transportation and urban form, including walkability, public transportation infrastructure, sustainable neighborhood planning, and smart cities.

Max Gabriele

Max Gabriele is a doctoral student in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society at Arizona State University engaged in ethnographic research of Silicon Valley technologists. He has a Masters in Sustainability from the ASU School of Sustainability, where he researched agricultural therapy for veterans impacted by PTSD and moral injury. He facilitates projects using “solarpunk” science fiction to advance renewable energy engineering education and bibliotherapeutic approaches to affective disorders.

Thaddeus R. Miller

Thaddeus R. Miller is an associate professor at the School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts Amherst. He collaborates with interdisciplinary teams of researchers and practitioners to enable cities to leverage science and technology to meet policy goals and community needs. He is on the Executive Management Team for the National Science Foundation-funded Urban Resilience to Extremes Sustainability Research Network, and co-PI of the NSF-funded STIR Cities project. His recent book, Reconstructing Sustainability Science: Knowledge and Action for a Sustainable Future, part of the Earthscan Routledge Science in Society Series, examines how scientists can navigate epistemic and normative tensions to link knowledge to social action.