Jolma Architects

Just a few thoughts and opinions here. IMO, if our society were to convert to a transportation system that was, say, even as low as 75% electric driven…..it would put a major strain on our U.S. power grid. Plus, that would make our Nation very vulnerable to cyber attacks by our enemies on our electric grid….and I have read, enemy nations have already been trying to hit our grid. Even North Korea has threatened to do this…one well placed nuke on our electric grid, would paralyze our entire Nation. In addition, the ideas and concepts presented in this article are a bit optimistic to say the least. Maybe, I said “maybe” the U.S. might one day be OK with some of these concepts…but, good luck convincing the rest of the World Nations to do this. Unless we can figure out how to build a “glass dome” over the U.S…how do we keep other Nation’s CO2 emissions out of the U.S.? In addition, it we implemented all of the ideas suggested in this article…going with a somewhat AI driven society…think of ALL of the lost jobs! Taxi & bus drivers, car manufacturing industry, auto repair shops and auto part stores….this list would be very long. And, WHERE does all the financing come from to implement these ideas? More taxes? And, I actually enjoy driving my sports car and going where and when I want to go some place. I don’t want to call a driverless car to come pick me up. Too many of these ideas sound very “utopian” and farfetched, IMO.

J. Robert (Bob) Wainner

Many thanks for taking the time to read our article and for your considered thoughts and opinions.
I agree that many national grids would currently not be able to cope with a 75% market share of electric vehicles. Luckily, we are quite a long way off such a high share. While we need to plan ahead, I think the grid will have time to increase capacity through a diverse portfolio of energy supplies. Also, it is already possible to stagger over-night charging to use the grid when it is in less demand. In fact, it might even be possible to use centralised parking and charging stations to even out some of the fluctuations in green energy production.
As for cyber security and the vulnerabilities of the national grid in the US, you make a good point. This is somewhat outside of the remit of urban design, but no doubt a consideration that should be taken into account.
Regarding decreasing CO2 emissions, any decrease globally is of benefit. Not decreasing net emissions because those of other countries cannot be excluded, does nothing to reduce CO2 and move towards a more sustainable future. Also, CO2 is not the only pollutant caused by vehicles. By decreasing the amount of fossil fuel vehicles on the road, local levels of particulates, CO, NO, SO2 and PAHs are decreased. This has direct health benefits for local neighbourhoods.
You make a good point about the short-term loss of jobs. Many people raise concerns about AI decreasing jobs. However, this will be somewhat off-set by increases in jobs in areas such as servicing, coding/programming, data management, R&D, etc. Throughout history advances in technology has lead to jobs being lost and created. Let’s see where this leads.
I agree with your point about liking to drive your sports car. I’m sure many people enjoy driving. That’s why I think Rethink’s ideas about uber-style fleets of AVs is probably most sensible. I think AVs probably appeal mostly to those who don’t care to drive. As is well documented, fewer millennials are learning to drive. I think in the future there will be fewer and fewer keen drivers which will coincide with an increase in driverless cars.

Best regards,
Ashley D Penn.