A citizen perspective on designing driverless streets

Abstract

The arrival of autonomous vehicles could pose a great opportunity to redesign urban environments. Streets will be the first to be affected, as some of the space currently devoted to car traffic and parking could be repurposed and configured as new public spaces. This research explores street redesign opportunities considering citizen participation in the less-studied European context. To this end, a survey investigating pedestrian behaviour, public space attractiveness and preferences in designing future driverless streets was conducted, involving 215 combined respondents from Santander (Spain) and Glasgow (Scotland). The results show that green space, seating areas, shelter and infrastructure for micro-mobility are the most valued elements for new flexible zones, adaptable spaces that could help transform streets into more attractive and exciting public areas. The overall conclusion underlines strong support for maximising the spatial transition from vehicle areas to flex zones while maintaining key standards for walkways and micro-mobility.