Detroit, Michigan
cnn
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It is the home of Henry Ford and the first moving assembly line, rightly earning it the nickname “Motor City.” Detroit, Michigan, known worldwide as a leader in transportation innovation, put the world on wheels, says urban mobility expert and metro area native Alisyn Malek.
It's these inventions from the past that could help inform the future, paving the way for new, scalable and affordable modes of transportation, ones that will look very different from those that began rolling off Ford's assembly lines more than a century ago. .
Transportation is among the largest contributors to carbon production and is responsible for approximately 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As urban planners look to the future, many are focused on sustainability, including a shift away from traditional gasoline-powered vehicles.
As CEO of Newlab Detroit, a global mobility innovation center, Malek is part of a team that brings together diverse expertise to create transportation solutions.
CNN recently spoke with Malek about what travel will look like in 2050.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CNN: What are some of the key pillars of mobility?
Malek: Some of the key pillars that are really critical for this to be successful are accessibility. How easy is it to get to mobility solutions? How often do services run? What areas are covered? Can people really get where they need to go or receive their goods easily? It's really about making sure everyone has a couple of options. And as we look to the future, we must also think about sustainable transportation.
CNN: In 2050, how do you imagine people will get from A to B?
Malek: When I think about 2050 and how we will move, what excites me most is really the variety of options we will have at that time. People will still ride bikes, they will still take buses, but it's really about the ability to choose the best option for the trip they need to take.
When I think about 2050 and the types of technologies that could be applied to transportation, I think we'll see iterations of things we're already seeing today, like electrification. And I think we'll start to see other new technologies starting to make their way. But the fundamental thing is that they find an opportunity that is aligned with a business need.
CNN: We are already seeing autonomous vehicles being tested in some parts of the world. Where do you see this technology in 2050?
Malek: A lot of what we hear in the news today in terms of self-driving cars is a system that is mostly capable of driving itself. It uses sensors to see around the vehicle and then has special on-board computers to be able to take basic information from the map and determine how it should get from point A to point B. Those technologies are in testing and development, and I think it's very exciting to see the progress. .
But as we look toward 2050, I think where we'll really see this technology take off is in the commercial space, where there are shorter trips. When we think about being able to drive in every city, every dirt road, every country road, there is a lot to try to validate. So when we think about where these options can scale first, it will be in these simpler areas. In some cities it may look like a shuttle from an airport to downtown, so your next taxi or Lyft ride could be autonomous.
CNN: What is your impression of eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) airplanes or air taxis?
Malek: The technology is absolutely there. Works. We need to make sure that it is safe and verified and that it has actually been validated in the same way as airplanes. When you think about passenger transportation in its new forms, you have to meet much higher standards in terms of safety. And that's part of the work that's being done right now. But I think in the next 20 years we will see greater use of eVTOL in the movement of goods.
CNN: Will we see a Hyperloop network (high-speed capsules that travel in tubes) in operation by 2050?
Malek: Hyperloop as a technology is very interesting. The idea is to reduce elements like resistance and friction to move efficiently. When you think about making Hyperloop a reality, you have to start thinking about how to build that infrastructure, how to make it accessible, how to combine it with a business case, and how to make sure it is resilient to change. And so when we look at the future opportunity of Hyperloop, we don't ask ourselves, “Is the technology ready?” I would say it is there. It's really about whether the infrastructure is ready and how we adopt and implement it.
CNN: Do you think supersonic air travel will return to the skies?
Malek: We have seen supersonic aircraft in the past and I think we will see supersonic aircraft in the future. When we think about the advancements and also the increase in global travel, I think there is demand. What has changed since the 2000s, when we looked at this previously, is a push towards sustainability. So now it is no longer just a question of whether we will see supersonic aircraft, but will they be powered by net-zero carbon fuels? And I think that really needs to be a critical part of the conversation as we look toward that opportunity in the future.
When we think about short duration flights that are just over land, you generally don't use a supersonic plane because you're going to hit a lot of people under the plane with the boom, so it's going to be a lot of crossing. type of ocean flights. And then when you're crossing land, whether it's moving people to rail like we're seeing happen in France or helping people find electrical connector options (maybe it's eVTOL, maybe it's electric regional airliner), but we really looked at a variety of options to help connect you to that final destination.
CNN: What are your hopes for the future of transportation?
Malek: When I think about my hopes and dreams for the future of transportation, we really focus on the broader sense of what we, as people, need from our transportation systems, and we start with that as our organizing principle. Historically, we've started with “what do cars need, what do airplanes need?” But planes and cars are here just for us.
And when I look to the future, it's not necessarily about technology, but really about this philosophy: how we use different solutions that are right-sized for the type of work they're trying to do.
