The advent of autonomous cars represents a unique opportunity to rethink urbanism globally. Indeed, such a technological evolution will undoubtedly foster the development of a range of new offerings, such as car sharing and value-added opportunities, while at the same time ensure added safety on the roads at a time when traffic injuries remain the primary cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.

One direction in which this new paradigm could be expressed may be the decline of exclusive car ownership and the shift toward CaaS, or “Car-as-a-Service”. Autonomous cars could be shared among a community of subscribers and used on an as-needed basis, after which they could then park themselves outside of the urban landscape for battery-reloading purposes or when not in use.
Nevertheless, such an idealistic picture can only be achieved once all regulatory barriers have been lifted.
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