This document discusses how technology will change transportation and cities. It argues that self-driving cars will drastically reduce the cost per kilometer driven, leading to more driving without humans. This could disrupt transportation by creating a new interoperable system where private cars and fleets are part of a shared network. It suggests that private car ownership may disappear as driving becomes more like a sport, and that mobility will be provided by businesses as part of their models. The document also discusses how these changes could lead to new approaches to urban design if people are no longer constrained by commutes.

1. Tech
and the
City

2. Hi! My name is Bart.
I work for
digital agency .
Also on : @netlash.

4. a digital view on cities…

5. I know nothing
about cities.
But a lot about
digital…

6. So it will be a bit
of a forced sci-fi
view.

7. We often think about
technology in sci-fi terms.
While we forget to look back
at how tech from the past
changed our behaviour.

8. I’ll illustrate with a story.

9. I worked at a bank
end of the 90’s.

10. Do you remember the 90’s?
We still used these:
I worked at a bank
end of the 90’s.

11. I had to visit lots of clients
in unknown places.
I worked at a bank
end of the 90’s.
Do you remember the 90’s?
We still used these:

12. Remember these?

13. I prepared the night before
by printing out lots of route
descriptions.

14. Now I have this.

15. I don’t even think about preparing
anymore. The information comes to me,
frictionless, the moment I need it.
Now I have this.

16. My behaviour changed,
induced by technology.

17. First we change technology,
than technology changes us.
So don’t focus on technology, but
on tech-induced behaviour change.

18. Technology moves
lightning fast.
NY, Fifth Av., 1900 NY, Fifth Av., 1913

19. But however
much technology
changes us,
some
human behaviour
stays the same…

20. ‣ self-driving cars
‣ Uber (‘sharing’ economy)
‣ 3D-printing
‣ e-commerce
‣ drones
Software is eating the world.

21. First we change technology,
then technology changes us.

22. Self-driving cars

23. Self-driving cars
Car radio?
Outdoor advertising?
‣ drink coffee
‣ do make-up
‣ car with a built-in sink?
‣ work on computer
‣ watch movie
‣ exercise: car with fitness?
‣ …

24. Who pays the bill?

25. Who pays the bill?
‣ cost per km drops dramatically
‣ switch to pay-as-you-go
‣ the story of the museum
‣ the story of the Uberpreneur
‣ the dating fleet?
‣ retailers? Will retailers have a fleet of self-driving
cars to take me to their shop?

26. Mobility will be part of someone
else’s business model.

27. The horseless cart syndrome.
“We will use technology but will
not change our behaviour.”

28. First we change technology,
then technology changes us.

29. From ‘calling a place’
to ‘calling a person’.
“Car, bring me to a medium-priced
restaurant, but not chinese.”

30. Cars could be the search engine for
the physical world.

31. Small side note.

32. We need to talk about ethics in technology.

33. Robert Moses

35. The trolley problem.

36. Ethics will be designed inside
our technology.

37. (end of side note)

38. 2 types of transport
‣ get us (person) to a place
‣ bring it (stuff) to me
This 2d type of transport
will change.

39. Amazon Prime Air
Anticipatory shipping

41. Places will come to us.

42. Retail will change
‣ no more ‘distribution’
‣ experience
‣ pop-up
‣ forget parking…

43. Cities will have to change.

44. Why not redesign cities?

45. Why do we live where we live?
‣ working: remote, commute is not an issue
‣ learning: Khan Academy, Coursera
‣ shopping: anticipatory shipping
‣ storing things: sharing economy
‣ …

46. Pop-up houses?

47. Car ownership will shift from
just-in-case to just-in-time.

48. Cars as elevators

49. Changed perception of cars
‣ from ownership to ‘job-to-be-done’

50. Self-driving car =
movable, lockable
personal storage space.

51. A possible scenario
for the future.
But I know
nothing.

52. A possible scenario for the future
‣ price-per-km drops drastically
‣ more km are being driven (without humans)
‣ disruption happens at the bottom of the market!
‣ new top-layer app/service for interoperability
‣ private cars join this top-layer app
‣ demand for public transport will rise (at first)
‣ private fleets will join this top-layer app
‣ private cars will disappear

53. Driving a car will
be like hunting.
As a sport, a bit elitist, a
bit frowned upon.

54. A possible scenario for the future
‣ price-per-km drops drastically
‣ more km are being driven (without humans)
‣ disruption happens at the bottom of the market!
‣ new top-layer app/service for interoperability
‣ private cars join this top-layer app
‣ demand for public transport will rise (at first)
‣ private fleets will join this top-layer app
‣ private cars will disappear
Private or public
Transportation Cloud?

55. Technology moves
lightning fast.
NY, Fifth Av., 1900 NY, Fifth Av., 1913

56. Put Ghent at the top of innovation
‣ De Lijn or NMBS should invest in this
‣ we have the factories to build
‣ we have skilled and hard working car builders
‣ we have talented app developers
‣ we have talented UX designers
‣ we have experience with cities as living labs
‣ we have politicians who are innovative!

57. “We choose to go to the moon.”
We have to do this. Not
because it is easy, but
because it is hard.

59. Questions?
Questions?
bart@wijs.be
@netlash