October column for Green Home Builder magazine now online

My column for the October 2014 issue of Green Home Builder magazine is now posted online.

For this issue, entitled "The Driverless Car's Impact on Land Use," I did some (quite fascinating) research on just what kind of changes in land use patterns we can expect in the future from the driverless (or self-driving) car. An excerpt:

So just what does this mean for land use and real estate development?  Firstly, the very act of decoupling parking requirements from obtaining project approvals will have an enormous impact on how we design office buildings, retail centers, high-density multi-family projects and even the traditional single-family home...

Secondly, driverless cars could make long commutes more bearable due to both the improved efficiencies of an interactive fleet which constantly coordinate with real-time traffic information, as well as the ability to free up riders to be more productive during hours which are otherwise wasted...

Thirdly, the mixed-use, pre-WWII walkable community that is returning to favor nationally could become even more prevalent if cities are willing to relax their parking requirements -- if and when the driverless car gains critical mass...

To read the entire column, click here.

To read the entire October 2014 issue in digital format, click here.