New Interreg PAV project to deal with integration of autonomous vehicles in spatial planning

Many European cities have already started experimenting with autonomous mobility. Thinking about AV is mostly related to technology and immediate mobility impacts, but autonomous vehicles have yet to be integrated in spatial planning. This needs to change urgently as cities plan district (re)developments, transport infrastructure and related investments decades ahead.

The PAV project aims to stimulate the up-take of electric, shared AV by developing green transport and spatial planning strategies that incorporate AV. To facilitate AV up-take and integration, PAV seeks to provide local authorities with the necessary knowledge and methodology to fasten the introduction of such technology.

The available knowledge for local and transport authorities on the impacts for AV is fragmented and underdeveloped, appearing mostly in academia. During the course of the project, 3 high level EU round tables will be organized in order to identify long term macro-economic impacts of AV. PAV will also run 4 urban/regional pilots in the North Sea Region in order to test the interaction with other transport modes and the characteristics of the environment/infrastructure. Using the knowledge and tools formed and the experience gathered, the project will develop green transport and spatial planning strategies to implement the future arrival of AV effectively.

With most AVs being used only at experimental scale, PAV is the first project to tackle the challenge of integrating AV with spatial planning at such a scale and multidisciplinary level.

Stay tuned for PAV and its activities at www.polisnetwork.eu