A participatory journey about Connected and Automated Vehicles promises
This report summarises key findings and recommendations arising from a number of citizen engagement activities conducted by the JRC from May – October 2019 concerning the future of mobility and in particular the issue of connected and self-driving vehicles, as a step towards critically reviewing their underpinning political and social narratives. This work was carried out under the framing of the NewHorrizon project (newhorrizon.eu), funded by the Horizon 2020, which explores Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) inspired governance modalities through a number of Social Lab experiments. The project is coordinated by the Institute for Advanced Studies in Vienna (IHS). In September 2018, the JRC became part of the Social Lab experiments as a follow-up of a RRI Social Lab co-organised with IHS. As a concrete outcome of this partnership, the JRC conducted a pilot project on the topic of the future of mobility and the place of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) in those visions. The pilot on ‘CAVs and the Future of Mobility’ assesses the potential implications and societal expectations of CAVs and explores various mobility narratives, ethical considerations, expectations and matters of concern toward this new type of mobility. The pilot has been providing the JRC with the opportunity to investigate whether a more persistent and broader RRI approach (Engagement, Ethics and Governance) could deliver more comprehensive knowledge to sustain policy design. This report illustrates the process and some of the outcomes of seven focus groups and one world café held in 3 European Union (EU) countries which sought to engage citizens in the social and ethical issues of CAVs. The conversations that we held with citizens have been analysed and are hereby reported in order to raise awareness of framings and issues of concern that do not seem to be well taken on board by current policies, namely in COM(2018)283 (European Commission, 2018). In particular, the key future of mobility narratives could benefit from a review in light of ethical and socially desirable futures as these pilot citizen engagement activities suggest. The alternative imaginaries that citizens put forth mostly prioritised active modes of transport in cities such as biking and walking and put an emphasis on multi-modality and inter-operability. In part due to their diversity, the participants in the engagement activities focused on mobility solutions which addressed a variety of needs—for urban and suburban dwellers, for various demographics, and countries. Furthermore, citizens tended to focus on the environment and on the lifestyles of mobility users, with an emphasis on sustainability, accessibility and liveability. There was a re-centring on people when it came to discussions about the future of mobility within cities. Economic concerns mainly had to do with the shift towards robotics and artificial intelligence in industry, and how this would affect employment connected to mobility. As this report was drafted during the lockdowns imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we offer some considerations with regards to what this situation has made visible and we suggest that more citizen engagement is necessary vis–à–vis the emerging complexities, uncertainties and opportunities in mobility.
VAN WYNSBERGHE Axelle;
GUIMARAES PEREIRA Ângela;
2021-08-23
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC123895
978-92-76-38093-1 (online),
978-92-76-38092-4 (print),
1831-9424 (online),
1018-5593 (print),
EUR 30721 EN,
OP KJ-NA-30721-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-NA-30721-EN-C (print),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC123895,
10.2760/749411 (online),
10.2760/886570 (print),
