Autonomous Vehicles Drive Change in CRE Design

The prospect of autonomous vehicles rolling off production lines has influenced those planning real-estate development projects across the country, writes Chris Roach.

DALLAS—With autonomous vehicles still years away from being a common sight on the nation’s roadways, its potentially massive impact on society is already changing how land-use planners, developers and others are preparing for this technology, which has been compared to the most significant innovation since the invention of the automobile.

Growing interest in self-driving vehicles has been fueled by a recent series of major events. Earlier this month, General Motors announced that it can begin manufacturing autonomous vehicles for mass production pending regulatory approvals. The automaker, which said it’s capable of producing 100,000 self-driving cars annually, is among other companies, such as Tesla and Google, working toward taking driverless vehicles from dream to reality.