The Driverless City Project I

Chicago, IL | 2016-2017

Collaboration Marshall Brown (Architecture), Lili Du (Transportation Engineering), Laura Forlano (Design), Ron Henderson (Landscape Architecture), Jack Guthman (Architecture, Planning Attorney)

Recognition Landscape Architecture Magazine NYTimes, Vienna Biennial 2017, How Will We Work +20 International Presentations, The Driverless City Scenario Builder

Cities around the world are currently considering the implications of autonomous vehicles on the social, political, economic, and environmental life of urban centers. How might designers understand and engage with the opportunities presented by these and other emerging technologies? How might designers insure that these technologies reflect our values and ethical commitments? What new questions will designers need to ask and what new skills and literacies are necessary in order to design for the driverless city? Illinois Institute of Technology’s Nayar Prize finalist The Driverless City project was recently featured in The New York Times Magazine and in an exhibition at the Vienna Biennale. Join us for the first public presentation of the project at the Institute of Design followed by an interactive discussion.

The Driverless City Project will develop social scenarios, technical solutions, infrastructure prototypes, and model urban codes that transform city streets into twenty-first century human infrastructure. Research workshops, computer simulations, visionary drawings, physical models, and narrative videos will give shape to this future city. These elements will be further developed into smart driving control systems, design guidelines for transportation agencies, model municipal codes, and infrastructural prototypes.