{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"PlanningxChange 139: Driverless Cars: What Do They Mean for Cities and Society?","description":"Driverless and autonomous vehicles are moving steadily from concept to reality, raising important questions for cities, streets and planning systems. While the technology is often framed as a transport or engineering issue, its impacts are likely to be felt far more broadly \u2014 shaping travel behaviour, land use, and the way urban space is organised. In this episode of PlanningxChange, hosts Cam Alderson and Jess Noonan are joined by Cern Basher to explore what autonomous vehicles could mean in practice. The discussion focuses on the economic and systemic forces behind driverless cars, rather than technological hype, and considers how cost, scale and incentives may influence how \u2014 and where \u2014 autonomy is adopted. The conversation examines potential implications for parking, congestion, public transport and equity, as well as the risk of unintended consequences such as increased travel demand. Rather than assuming a single future outcome, the episode highlights the uncertainty planners must work within as new technologies emerge. This episode also marks PlanningxChange\u2019s first video release, alongside the regular audio format, and introduces a new hosting arrangement \u2014 continuing the podcast\u2019s tradition of practical, practitioner-focused discussion about the forces shaping planning and cities. Podcast released 26 January 2026. ","author_name":"Planning XChange","author_url":"http:\/\/planningxchange.org","html":"