The navigational software of successful driverless cars will make Google Maps seem like child's play. But can such a system replace or improve upon human instinct and adaptability?

If the driverless car becomes a reality, its mapping programs will require far more subtlety than Google Maps for the human driver. Emily Badger reports on the challenges autonomous vehicles might face.
As self-driving cars face the open road, the devil is in the details. From the article: "When cars are processing this information, each lane must be individually modeled. The car will need to know that you can't turn left from the right lane (or right from the left lane). Such maps would have to include the slope and precise curvature of each little bit of roadway, as well as the elevation (so that, for instance, a car knows where it is and what to do here). These maps would have to convey which roads travel one-way at rush hour, and exactly when, which intersections have stop signs instead of stop lights, which streets have bike lanes and on-street parking. They'll need to know the exact width of each lane, and every change in lane markings."
Companies such as HERE are developing software to encode and continually update this information, drawing on sensors mounted on driverless cars themselves. Of course, whether such a system can ever reliably replace the human driver is up for debate.
FULL STORY: What maps will look like when we need cars to read them

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall
A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work
Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle
Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
Custer County Colorado
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont