Self-Driving Cars and the City : Long-Run Effects On Land Use, Welfare, and the Environment

This paper considers the widespread adoption of electric, shared, autonomous vehicles (AVs). Numerical simulations suggest falling transportation costs and changing center-city land use patterns will reshape the urban form of the city, with several primary consequences. The most likely scenarios suggest substantial household welfare increases, suburbanization, and increased household energy consumption, calling into question claims that autonomous vehicles will save energy