Equipping the City for Autonomous Vehicles

To showcase the possibilities of autonomous mobility technology and how our future city could be re-designed to leverage its benefits, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is presenting the latest Urban Lab exhibition – “Reimagining Urban Mobility with Autonomous Vehicles”.

Mr. Tan Kiat How, Minister of State for Communications and Information & National Development, officially launched the ninth instalment of the Urban Lab exhibition series, held in conjunction with the theme of the month for URA’s on-going Long-Term Plan Review (LTPR)¹ –The Future of Mobility.

As part of the LTPR, URA is developing long-term land use strategies to accommodate future trends that will impact the way we move within and beyond the city. A key area is technological advancements that can change how we commute which, in turn, influence the way we experience our neighbourhoods and our city. As the technology driving autonomous vehicles (AVs)² matures, large-scale adoption of AVs in the future can increase the convenience and efficiency of our mobility networks, bringing benefits to people in Singapore.

Good land use planning and urban design will play a critical role in providing the relevant infrastructure and space to support the transition to AVs. To this end, planners have an opportunity to re-imagine and re-design our urban spaces to reap the benefits presented by AVs, and shape a better living environment for all. 

This exhibition aims to give an overview of AVs and facilitate the discussion of ideas that contribute to a sustainable, convenient, and inclusive urban mobility ecosystem for people and goods. More information on the exhibition can be found in the Annex [PDF, 134kb].

“AVs are set to transform the transport and mobility landscape in the long term. Harnessing the full benefits of AV technology starts with land use planning and good urban design, where we can reimagine, re-design and repurpose many of the spaces used for mobility today. This will improve the way we live, work, play and move in our city in the future,” said Mr. Lim Eng Hwee, URA’s Chief Executive Officer.

“Reimagining Urban Mobility with Autonomous Vehicles” will be exhibited at The URA Centre Atrium from 13 January to 29 March 2022. Admission³ is free and the public can explore key highlights of the exhibition by joining one of the guided tours led by URA volunteers.

About the Urban Lab
The Urban Lab is an initiative by URA to showcase innovative R&D and urban solutions for a more liveable, sustainable, and future-ready city. Since January 2015, this has contributed towards URA’s efforts to bring R&D out of the labs to the community and public domain, so as to foster a more conducive environment where the R&D community, industry and agencies can learn and share new ideas, trigger discussions, and forge partnerships and collaborations. 

^{1 The Long-Term Plan Review is the Government’s latest review of Singapore’s long-term land use plans, which guide development over the next 50 years and beyond. A review is conducted every 10 years to safeguard land for a quality living environment, based on evolving trends and changing demand. 
2 AVs are vehicles that can sense their environment and hence can move with little or no human intervention.
3 Visitors will need to be fully vaccinated. All visitors will be subject to safe management measures upon entry, including checks on vaccination status.}