New Mobility, Automated Vehicles, and Cities
35th annual UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium | April 12-14, 2026
How will new mobility and automated vehicles reshape cities? New mobility services like ride-hail and on-demand delivery, introduced just 15 years ago, have already altered urban parking demands and real estate markets (e.g., ghost kitchens and local delivery centers). Automated vehicles, still in early deployment, have the potential to profoundly transform cities and regions in the future.
Transportation advancements have long influenced urban development. Elevators allowed cities to grow vertically, mass transit enabled regional growth, and automobiles and highways drove suburbanization and sprawl. Today, information and communications technology like GPS and data connectivity have fueled new mobility services, including ride-hail, microtransit and shared micromobility. These services have also facilitated new business models for goods delivery, car rentals, and bike and e-scooter sharing. Coupled with traditional modes of transportation like walking, biking, transit, and taxis, these new services have enabled some people to reduce reliance on personal vehicles, reshaping parking needs and land use.
The next wave of automation and connectivity promises even greater change. AI, advanced sensors, and robust data connections are accelerating AV deployment, with decisions made today by local governments, regulators, and private companies shaping the future safety, cities, and environmental and social externalities from transportation’s next technological transformation.
Held in April 2026, the UCLA Arrowhead Symposium on New Mobility, Automated Vehicles, and Cities brings together transportation planners, real estate and mobility technology professionals, and academics to examine the evolving relationship between new mobility, AVs and land use and urban development. Join us for a discussion of the past, present, and future of mobility innovation and its impact on cities.
2024 Symposium ReportAbout the Symposium
Since 1991, the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium has tackled the connections between transportation, land use, and the environment. Arrowhead’s diverse and influential group of policymakers, private sector stakeholders, public sector analysts, consultants, advocates, and researchers dive into these pressing policy issues every day. Here we’ve collected some of their insights from the Symposium, as well as information on their ongoing work and updates on upcoming events. Learn more about previous events in the symposium’s 30+ year history.
The UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, which presents this UCLA Lake Arrowhead Symposium, acknowledges the UCLA campus presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the peoples who today use the names Tongva, Gabrielino, and Kizh.
Furthermore, we acknowledge the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge & Conference Center’s presence on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Yuhaaviatam Indigenous people.