We frequently change things at the last minute, because we're all about being nimble in the design fields these days, but at the moment we are on track to discuss the following topics:

Geoff Manaugh's article from the NYT: the algorithmic dreams of driverless cars, and how they might affect real-world urban design.  Beyond my very first question about driverless cars - which is: will I be able to put my dog in the car and send her off to the vet appointment on her own?! - this article made me realize we may very well be, again, redesigning our entire way of inhabiting the built world based on the needs of cars.

Per this quote from the article: The sensory limitations of these vehicles must be accounted for, Nourbakhsh explained, especially in an urban world filled with complex architectural forms, reflective surfaces, unpredictable weather and temporary construction sites. This means that cities may have to be redesigned, or may simply mutate over time, to accommodate a car’s peculiar way of experiencing the built environment. The bold is mine: do we really want to design a built world for ourselves that is oriented toward making life easier for a robot car? Or have we done this already?  Will people start intentionally confusing the cars by wearing Tshirts with STOP signs on them?

We also are thinking about Philadelphia's role as the first United States city to achieve UNESCO World Heritage City status. Yay, Philly! Can I get youse a cheesesteak? Given the complex history and current state of our attempts to spread democracy through the world, does a worldwide recognition of the importance of the birthplace of democracy help those efforts?

As always, we'd love to hear your comments or any particular questions you might have about these or other things you'd like to hear on the podcast. I'm not sure I'm allowed to say who our guest this week will be, but if so, I'll confirm it in the comments.