{"id":9575,"date":"2015-11-20T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-11-20T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/architizer.wpengine.com\/welcome-to-somerville\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T09:59:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T13:59:38","slug":"welcome-to-somerville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/welcome-to-somerville\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome to Somerville, the Smart City Where Traffic Vanishes and Cars Park Themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The notion of smart cities has been high on the agendas of strategic planners and architects for some time, with a continual cascade of speculation as to how emerging technologies can be harnessed to create the optimum urban environment. From city sensors and apps to drones and driverless cars, we have been offered glimpses of how city infrastructure could be transformed by the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Internet_of_Things\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Internet of Things<\/b><\/a>. Now, though, much of this theory is about to be put into practice, courtesy of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.audiusa.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Audi<\/a>\u2019s team of innovators.<\/p>\n<p>Audi is, first and foremost, a car manufacturer, but the company also appreciates the wider impact of automobile technology on a multitude of socio-economic issues in urban areas including energy efficiency, road safety, traffic congestion, the use of high-value land for road infrastructure and parking, and the provision of vital, public open space in cities. For this reason, Audi established the <a href=\"http:\/\/audi-urban-future-initiative.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Urban Future Initiative<\/b><\/a> back in 2010, which aims to transform mobility in cities via collaboration with architects, engineers, and urban planners from around the globe.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\n\t<img class=\"lazy\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/themes\/architizer\/assets\/images\/blank.png\"\n\t\tdata-src=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&#038;w=1680&#038;q=60&#038;auto=format&#038;auto=compress&#038;cs=strip\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-srcset=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1680&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1680w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1080&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1080w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=760&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 760w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=625&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 625w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447965054754Tobin-Bridge2.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=368&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 368w\"\n\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1680px) 1680px,(min-width: 1080px) 1080px,(min-width: 760px) 760px,(min-width: 625px) 625px,368px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\titemprop=\"contentUrl\"\n\t>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>Within this context, a significant announcement was made in Barcelona, Spain, this week as the Catalan city played host to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.smartcityexpo.com\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2015 Smart City Expo World Congress<\/a>. Audi took to the stage to reveal their ambitious plans for <b>Somerville<\/b>, Mass., a burgeoning municipality to the north of Boston that will act as an incubator for emerging smart-city innovations \u2014 namely, self-parking cars and intelligent traffic management.<\/p>\n<p>Set for commencement around 2018, two distinct projects will be initiated in <b>Assembly Row<\/b> and <b>Union Square<\/b>, vibrant mixed-use districts with youthful demographics that make them ideal testing grounds for emerging mobility technology. Around 40 percent of surface within Assembly Row is currently dedicated to parking spaces with associated costs that \u201ccan make or break the profitability of a development\u201d according to Chris Weilminster, executive vice president for real estate and leasing at Federal Realty Investment Trust.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\n\t<img class=\"lazy\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/themes\/architizer\/assets\/images\/blank.png\"\n\t\tdata-src=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&#038;w=1680&#038;q=60&#038;auto=format&#038;auto=compress&#038;cs=strip\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-srcset=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1680&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1680w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1080&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1080w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=760&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 760w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=625&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 625w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966073797ADVANCED_ARRIVAL_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=368&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 368w\"\n\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1680px) 1680px,(min-width: 1080px) 1080px,(min-width: 760px) 760px,(min-width: 625px) 625px,368px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\titemprop=\"contentUrl\"\n\t>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><b>Advanced Arrival<\/b><\/p>\n<p>This is where Audi\u2019s technologies come in. The company\u2019s new fleet of cars will be equipped with <b>piloted parking capabilities <\/b>allowing people to leave their vehicles at the side of the road where \u201cAdvanced Arrival\u201d robotic mechanisms kick in. Each car drives itself to a remote garage and parks with perfect precision \u2014 a fact that holds huge consequences for the design of future parking structures.<\/p>\n<p>With no driver exiting the vehicle after it has been parked, each car can be parked within inches of the one next to it, and rows of vehicles can be \u2018stacked\u2019 three or four abreast with far fewer circulation aisles. Further to this, parking garage stair cores are rendered redundant, their removal from multistory structures will allow even more cars to be accommodated. Thus, the total space needed for a parking lot can be reduced by a staggering amount.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\n\t<img class=\"lazy\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/themes\/architizer\/assets\/images\/blank.png\"\n\t\tdata-src=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&#038;w=1680&#038;q=60&#038;auto=format&#038;auto=compress&#038;cs=strip\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-srcset=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1680&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1680w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1080&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1080w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=760&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 760w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=625&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 625w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381637Assembly_Row_Presentation_Chart6.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=368&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 368w\"\n\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1680px) 1680px,(min-width: 1080px) 1080px,(min-width: 760px) 760px,(min-width: 625px) 625px,368px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\titemprop=\"contentUrl\"\n\t>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\u201cOur team was astonished to see how much space can really be saved thanks to automated technology,\u201d remarked Dr. Miklos Kiss, Head of Predevelopment for Driverless Assistance Systems at Audi. \u201cIn a parking garage that is newly planned and built for piloted parking, a good 60 percent of the area, in the most extreme case, more than 80 percent, is not required.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The <b>highly exact driving maneuvers<\/b> and <b>superior driving strategies<\/b> of piloted cars alone mean that considerable densification is possible: lanes with a width of three meters are adequate. We plan ten centimeters of space between the mirrors of parked cars. This makes it possible to shrink each parking space by two square meters.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\n\t<img class=\"lazy\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/themes\/architizer\/assets\/images\/blank.png\"\n\t\tdata-src=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&#038;w=1680&#038;q=60&#038;auto=format&#038;auto=compress&#038;cs=strip\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-srcset=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1680&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1680w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1080&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1080w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=760&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 760w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=625&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 625w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966381642ADAPTIVE_FLOW_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=368&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 368w\"\n\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1680px) 1680px,(min-width: 1080px) 1080px,(min-width: 760px) 760px,(min-width: 625px) 625px,368px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\titemprop=\"contentUrl\"\n\t>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><b>Adaptive Flow<\/b><\/p>\n<p>In Union Square, a unified system of traffic lights will incorporate \u201cAdaptive Flow\u201d technology that provides a <b>continual<\/b><b>online link<\/b> between the signals and every person on the road, including cars, bikes, public transport, and the smartphones of pedestrians. Car speeds can be automatically adapted to minimize congestion and ensure the smoothest possible path through junctions, while synchronized bus schedules and <b>live traffic data<\/b> will keep everyone in the district up to date on the quickest routes available across the city.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTraffic-light information online is just the first step on the road to the smart city,\u201d says Gerhard Stanzl, head of Predevelopment for Car2x \/ BigData at Audi. \u201cFor many years, Audi has been examining the <b>optimization of traffic flow<\/b> in cities. On the basis of our fleet data and optimized communication between vehicles and infrastructure, in the future, cities will, for example, be able to control traffic-light phases and traffic management systems, dynamically.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The square will also be home to a planned \u201c<b>Second Tier<\/b>\u201d parking system, which uses the same self-parking vehicle fleet as Assembly Row to revolutionize the area\u2019s parking infrastructure. With this system, parking lots will be moved to the rear of urban blocks or in remote locations away from the street frontage, which will be freed from the kind of on-street parking that currently features heavily on high streets in cities all over the world.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-caption\">\n\t\n\t<img class=\"lazy\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/blog.architizer.com\/wp-content\/themes\/architizer\/assets\/images\/blank.png\"\n\t\tdata-src=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&#038;w=1680&#038;q=60&#038;auto=format&#038;auto=compress&#038;cs=strip\"\n\t\t\t\t\tdata-srcset=\"https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1680&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1680w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=1080&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 1080w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=760&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 760w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=625&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 625w,https:\/\/architizer-prod.imgix.net\/media\/1447966382250RENEGOTIATING_URBAN_SPACE_FULL_ENG.jpg?fit=max&amp;w=368&amp;q=60&amp;auto=format&amp;auto=compress&amp;cs=strip 368w\"\n\t\t\tsizes=\"(min-width: 1680px) 1680px,(min-width: 1080px) 1080px,(min-width: 760px) 760px,(min-width: 625px) 625px,368px\"\n\t\t\t\talt=\"\"\n\t\titemprop=\"contentUrl\"\n\t>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>The transplant of vehicles away from the high street promises to facilitate more space for commercial, residential, and leisure uses and \u2014 crucially \u2014 offers huge potential for more public open space at street level. In the future, <b>fully autonomous vehicles<\/b> will facilitate even greater transformations of urban roads. It could eventually be possible to reduce the number and width of lanes due to the incredible accuracy and efficient movement of piloted cars.<\/p>\n<p>The potential for increasing the efficiency of the city \u2014 not to mention putting pedestrians back at the top of the agenda \u2014 is tantalizing for the designers of transport infrastructure and urban centers, and the profession will watch developments in Somerville with great interest. As automobiles are pushed down the pecking order of the urban hierarchy, the opportunity to design safer, more walkable cities is now on the horizon. In collaboration with the technological experts of Audi, architects and urban planners look set to return the modern metropolis to the people that define it: those that walk, shop, work, and play on its streets every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The notion of smart cities has been high on the agendas of strategic planners and architects for some time, with a continual cascade of speculation as to how emerging technologies can be harnessed to create the optimum urban environment. From city sensors and apps to drones and driverless cars, we have been offered glimpses of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"architizer_featured_type":"projects","architizer_featured_image":"1385581","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,3],"tags":[],"architizer_project":[],"architizer_brand":[],"architizer_firm":[],"architizer_product":[],"class_list":["post-9575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-industry","category-inspiration"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Welcome to Somerville, the Smart City Where Traffic Vanishes and Cars Park Themselves - Architizer Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/architizer.com\/blog\/inspiration\/industry\/welcome-to-somerville\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Welcome to Somerville, the Smart City Where Traffic Vanishes and Cars Park Themselves - Architizer Journal\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The notion of smart cities has been high on the agendas of strategic planners and architects for some time, with a continual cascade of speculation as to how emerging technologies can be harnessed to create the optimum urban environment. 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