How Self-Driving Cars Could Ruin the American City

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I have seen the future of the car. It looks like a minivan.

Earlier this summer, I went to Mountain View, California, to visit the headquarters of Waymo, the autonomous vehicle company that spun off from Google, and get driven around in one of its cutting-edge cars. The model waiting for me in the parking lot was deceptively fuddy-duddy: a white Chrysler Pacifica, outwardly distinguished from the typical minivan by a small black dome on the roof, which houses a family of cameras, sensors, radars, and lasers.

Rarely is an experience made more boring by the presence of lasers, but this is that rare experience: The ride itself was astonishingly tranquil. Making use of technology that’s a bit like a multi-sensory echolocation, the car turned smoothly out of the parking lot. It navigated