CAR-SHARING: THE IMPACT ON METROPOLITAN SPATIAL STRUCTURES

Abstract

Many examples from the past show how new technologies, designed to solve particular problems, can create new problems as a side-effect. Some unforeseen or unwanted results may influence the use of space and spatial structures, for example. Car-sharing is an invention that competes with car ownership and which can drastically rise the efficiency of car use and reduce the number of vehicles per users. Diffusion of car-sharing will accelerate in the near future. The spatial consequences of a car-ownership-oriented-century are already known. However, the complications of all travelers using shared automobiles is yet to be understood. It is therefore appropriate to anticipate and prepare for potential side effects of this innovation’s diffusion and thus avoid possible negative consequences. This reasoning has led to our research into the relationship between modern mobility innovations and metropolitan spatial structures. The earliest implementations of new transport technologies appeared in metropolises, which also have the highest level of general mobility. This article presents the assumptions and principles from scenario-based research. The example shows how diffusion of this innovation determine possible scenarios relating to future impacts of car-sharing on spatial structures.