Part 3/12:
One of the most compelling points is the potential hard reset on urban and suburban landscapes. Current cityscapes are heavily predicated on the presence of personal cars: highways, parking lots, driveways, and sprawling suburbs are all designed for individual vehicle ownership and traffic flow. The mass adoption of autonomous, shared vehicles could render much of this infrastructure obsolete.
What happens to parking lots, garages, and roads? If personal ownership declines significantly, large swaths of parking space and associated infrastructure could be repurposed into parks, bike lanes, or public gathering spaces. Cities might look radically different, with more pedestrian-friendly zones and green areas replacing asphalt.