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Webinar: How Autonomous Cars Will Reshape Our Cities

Autonomous cars are coming. What was once a futuristic concept, often associated with pop culture films like Minority Report, is not only possible, but is coming very soon to a roadway near you. Autonomous cars are precisely what the term “disruptive technology” describes. It is technology that will fundamentally change much of what we know about personal transportation – changing our habits, our preferences, and our opportunities, and nothing will be more impacted by these changes than our cities.
 
This technology is not only being rapidly developed, it is being defined by the largest and most influential corporations in the world. Much-publicized efforts by Google have already resulted in over 1 million self-driven test miles in California, with recent expansion to Texas. Subsequently, Apple Inc., numerous car manufacturers, and leading automotive technology companies have joined in the accelerating efforts to refine this technology and bring it to market. Most recently, Uber has set up its own dedicated lab to create a fleet of driverless vehicles, creating a stir in the industry by hiring over 40 top robotics researchers from a competing lab at Carnegie Mellon to jump start their process.  Manufacturers such as Tesla have already implemented “autopilot” technology in vehicles, which is seen as a significant step toward introducing consumer autonomous technology.
 
As city planners, we must be on the forefront of understanding this technology and how we can prepare for the potential impacts. Our research team is concerned by the general lack of acceptance and understanding that we’ve encountered among planning professionals regarding the near-certain implementation of this technology. In response, we will outline the issue in the context of the planning profession, including the following topics:
 

  • Disruptive Urban Technologies – a brief history
  • Technology Today – where we are now (already pretty far along, by the way!) and what the next few years are likely to hold
  • Potential Adoption Trends – who, what, and where
  • Local and Regional Impacts for Planning – case studies of potential impacts ranging from regional transportation networks to site-specific urban neighborhoods

 
This presentation will include modeled scenarios for potential impacts to roadway networks, neighborhood development, and site design. Specific planning tasks such as comprehensive planning and zoning code revisions will be discussed as well, as they will be instrumental in preparing for -and adapting to- this emerging technology.

Heritage Ohio Members Register Here

 

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Top Tips from the 2013 National Main Street Conference

Heritage Ohio staff and about 40 Ohioans, including Main Street Managers, and downtown revitalization advocates attended the conference, hosted this year in New Orleans.  Having just completed 5 days of inspirational and educational sessions, I thought I would share my top ten things learned, in no particular order:
 
1.      The JOBS Act of 2012 allows for locavesting and crowd funding, providing more options for financing businesses to create jobs.  There are many more platforms than I realized, and they are all slightly different, so finding the right match is important.
 
2.      The Entrepreneur – the term is thrown around so much we’ve begun to lose sight of who we mean. It can be anyone: a car mechanic, a gardener, a knitter, a computer geek. Think small, not so big. Make your downtown welcoming to anyone with a business idea; create an environment of support where business can thrive.
 
3.      Sponsorship – believe in the value of your program and its activities. Develop relationships with your sponsors with as much thought to the follow-up as to the ask.
 
4.      Streetscape projects can be challenging for downtown businesses.  Effective communication, frequent progress meetings and a creative attitude will get the community through the process.
 
5.      Business Enhancement Committees can create a Recruitment Manual to give them structure month after month to make the best use of your market analysis data and help you find the new businesses that belong in your community. Court your new business candidates.
 
6.      Fundraising isn’t so hard when everyone is able to share the story of your downtown.  Use your revitalization statistics. Tailor your story to the listener’s style.
 
7.      What is trending in 2013? Diversity, young talent, young women, deliberate spending, shortened commutes, health and wellness, main stream technology.
 
8.      Transportation – Reduce our car-centric decisions. Walkable communities are the future.  Healthy and hip, they attract the young people, your town’s future.
 
9.      Millennials (under 30 yrs.) – get them on your board and committees, or you may go the way of the dinosaurs.
 
10.    New Orleans is a party city.
 
Thousands of communities across the country are doing creative work in revitalizing their downtowns and neighborhood commercial centers.  You too can be part of this amazing process, it’s all about the can-do attitude.