Daily Tech Snippet: Wednesday, May 17

• As self-driving cars hit the road, real estate development may take new direction: The much-hyped transition to autonomous cars, while still years, or even decades, away, according to experts, is an opportunity and challenge that has wide potential to reshape our transportation systems. But many believe that as city planners, transportation officials, and, eventually, developers start grappling with the changes to come, autonomous vehicles’ potential to reshape real estate, development, and city planning will rival that of the introduction of the automobile. At the American Planning Association’s annual conference earlier this month in New York City, the issue of autonomous vehicles and driverless cars, one admittedly far in the future, was the subject of numerous present-day panels, discussions, and debates. [An expert] sees two small but significant changes affecting urban real estate development in the age of driverless cars. A reduced need for parking may be the most significant. High-value property in urban areas needs to account for mandatory parking allowances, forcing developers to factor the cost of parking spaces into construction costs and rent. Local government will need to act decisively to regulate drop-off lanes, speeds, and new parking rules before market forces, and other governments, begin making decisions for them. Technology firms shouldn’t reap the rewards after cities make the investments necessary to adapt to a new transportation reality.