PlanningxChange 139: Driverless Cars: What Do They Mean for Cities and Society?

Driverless and autonomous vehicles are moving steadily from concept to reality, raising important questions for cities, streets and planning systems. While the technology is often framed as a transport or engineering issue, its impacts are likely to be felt far more broadly — shaping travel behaviour, land use, and the way urban space is organised. In this episode of PlanningxChange, hosts Cam Alderson and Jess Noonan are joined by Cern Basher to explore what autonomous vehicles could mean in practice. The discussion focuses on the economic and systemic forces behind driverless cars, rather than technological hype, and considers how cost, scale and incentives may influence how — and where — autonomy is adopted. The conversation examines potential implications for parking, congestion, public transport and equity, as well as the risk of unintended consequences such as increased travel demand. Rather than assuming a single future outcome, the episode highlights the uncertainty planners must work within as new technologies emerge. This episode also marks PlanningxChange’s first video release, alongside the regular audio format, and introduces a new hosting arrangement — continuing the podcast’s tradition of practical, practitioner-focused discussion about the forces shaping planning and cities. Episode released 26 January 2026.

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Episoder(143)

PlanningxChange 143 : Place and Longevity - Blue Zones with Marcus Pearce

Living Better for Longer: Blue Zones, Longevity and the Places We Create Guest: Marcus Pearce What do a small Greek island, a mountain village in Sardinia, and a Californian faith-based community have...

29 Mai 50min

PlanningxChange 142: Turning Litter into Play: Spogomi

This episode explores spogomi, the Japanese-born idea that reimagines litter collection as a competitive, team-based sport, transforming one of the least appealing aspects of urban life into something...

4 Mai 39min

PlanningxChange 141 with Jared Jones, Californian Housing Producer

In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess Noonan and Peter Jewell are joined by Jared Jones, founder of Middle Housing Partners (https://middlehousingpartners.com) in California, to explore the growing...

6 Apr 37min

PlanningxChange 140 : PlanningxChange - the year ahead and current topics

Jess and Pete talk about the year ahead and current planning topics. Episode released 28 February 2026.

28 Feb 25min

PlanningxChange 138. Agritourism, Regulation and Risk: Insights from 'Old Mission' with Mary Reilly

In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess and Peter speak with Mary Reilly, a planner and educator with deep experience in rural land-use issues. Mary helps us unpack the widely discussed Old Mission c...

27 Nov 202548min

PlanningxChange 137: Architecture & Place Making in Vietnam with Olivier Souquet (DE-SO Asia)

In this episode, PlanningxChange travels to Vietnam to speak with Olivier Souquet, French architect and co-founder of DE-SO Asia, a Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)-based design studio renowned for projects ...

5 Nov 202550min

PlanningxChange 136: Promoting great Retirement Living with Daniel Gannon

In this episode of PlanningxChange, Jess and Peter speak with Daniel Gannon, Executive Director of the Retirement Living Council of Australia. Daniel brings nearly two decades of experience across adv...

14 Okt 202551min