Could autonomous vehicles help cities tackle transport evils and accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility? A guided tour of the social science literature for planners, urban innovators and decision makers

Planners, urban innovators and decision makers across the world have begun to ask themselves the question: What might autonomous vehicles entail for cities and citizens? Concurrently, the same cities and professionals are struggling to determine viable paths to more sustainable urban transport.
Of the recent research on autonomous vehicles, only a small part is based on social science. Three-quarters of the research consists of contributions from mathematics, computer science and engineering. Although this research is groundbreaking and valuable, it has limited applicability in terms of guiding the policies that will address the mobility challenges of the future.
In order for planners and authorities to navigate the many uncertainties that arise in the encounter between a hypothetical disruptive technology and the complex material, economic and social considerations that characterize urban policies, social science is needed.
In this report, we try to summarize the main views and findings in the social science research on autonomous vehicles and their use in cities.