TALES FROM
THE GATED
COMMUNITY
By Stephen Metzger Managing Director
Small Vehicle Resource , LLC smetzger @ smallvehicleresource . com www . smallvehicleresource . com
Planned Development Communities as Incubators for Future Mobility
Much is being made these days over what is considered to be the future urban mobility transformation , featuring on-demand vehicles , possibly of the autonomous , self-driving type , ride-sharing systems , and , of course , electricity as the principal fuel . The urban mobility transformation movement has spawned international conferences , engineering consulting firms , think tanks , and university research centers around the world .
Urban complexity vs . Planned Development Communities
An example of just one of the international transportation forums on tap is the Future of Transportation World Conference in Cologne , German , to be held on June 19 and 20 .
Here is the urban challenge , as stated in the preamble to the conference program :
New technology such as autonomous and self-driving vehicles , artificial intelligence and connected services will create new forms of personal mobility , ride-sharing platforms , public transport solutions and completely new urban mobility concepts such as urban air transport solutions .
The introductory conference note goes on to ask
How will these new and existing mobility models integrate into cities of the future , and how will city administrators work with mobility providers , technology companies and public transportation operators to integrate their services into the existing infrastructure ?
The issues raised above are complex indeed , largely , when you think about it , because cities all over the world are not fully planned . The emphasis is on “ fully ” for as we certainly know , there are untold numbers of urban transportation construction projects going on today that , obviously , have been planned . The issue is that , invariably , these planned projects are undertaken in reaction to unanticipated problems that , in fact , were not planned for .
Planned development communities : Far more fully planned
Take your typical gated community : It is far more fully planned and sustainable than your typical city . Most of these communities have well-laid out roadways , easy access to needed services ( library , recreational , entertainment , medical , etc .), and conveniently-located retail centers . Population density is such that personal mobility transportation systems suffice . Our golf car-type vehicles do very nicely for the most part in providing us our personal mobility needs . That is not to say that some of the new technologies mentioned above would not be welcomed , such as reliable self-driving vehicles ( either owned or on-call ), ride-sharing , and even public transportation solutions that better link us to the outside-the-community world .
The Future of Transportation World Conference puts it this way : “ The … Conference will examine MaaS ( acronym for Mobility as a Service ) and what it means to all current mass-transportation providers , automotive manufacturers , rail operators , taxi firms , new mobility providers and small-scale private providers of last-mile transportation operations of the future . The challenges of integrating and regulating so many forms of transport and so many providers will be significant …” So , why not simplify things , especially since so many of these technologies are in their infancy ?
Gated communities as ideal incubators for mobility concepts
Gated communities could be the ideal laboratory for experimenting with diverse mobility concepts . How about a fleet of
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