Faster, Smarter, Greener: The Future of the Car and Urban Mobility by Venkat Sumantran, Charles Fine, and David Gonsalvez (review)

As I have aged, I have become more cynical about how humans will adapt to the reality of explosive population growth combined with our consumptive desires. With selected stories of London and Los Angeles to make their case, Sumantran, Fine, and Gonsalvez use culture, technology, and government policy to mix the mobility cocktail. By then introducing a seemingly disconnected event, such as our adaptation to smartphones, they make a strong argument for how we can quickly adapt to emerging models of mobility.

The authors acknowledge the United States's dearth of long-term vision for mobility—one exacerbated by continuing low fossil-fuel prices. Furthermore, they note that the spectacular entrance by nontraditional mobility companies such as Tesla have shaken the traditionalists into action. Intensified by the worldwide migration toward cities, this has caused a backlash on logistics systems and networks worldwide, where increasing congestion and transit time grow in direct opposition to demands for leaner and quicker supply chains. Author James Kuntsler has called this the "ghastly tragedy of the suburbs," and it has led to an increasing desire for urban living among younger workers and their subsequent rejection of the automobile as a symbol of success. This is magnified by a growing global recognition that sustainability and the minimization of the carbon footprint of industry are becoming imperative for long-term survival.

After making a strong case for change, the authors provide chapters addressing the aspects of mobility couched as "Innovation." Increasing advances made in energy and its storage capability have resulted in an intense mobility competition at the intersection of technology and cultural adaptation, which impacts two traditional stalwart industries—personal automobiles and public transport—with huge implications for urban planning.

One change involves making pedestrian and bicycle transport more attractive options with governments (particularly in Europe) aggressively seeking total safety despite increasing density. They are succeeding there with public-private partnerships, while in the United States and Asia, traffic safety is still essentially in the "Wild West" phase.

The authors don't ignore the business aspect of innovation, devoting chapters to "Mass Customization" and "Intelligent" cars. The concept of connection is noteworthy. While aware of the intrusion of devices into our personal spaces, we still want to control that space via personalization and expression. This development is also critical for mobility as the needs of the larger population are aligned with individual priorities.

The middle part of the book takes time to digest as the authors introduce myriad innovations underway and/or planned, all the while keeping the reader grounded in current challenges—namely keeping informed of what is relevant and what is just noise. The concept of big data and analytics is discussed at length, noting that "within 10 years every new car will likely have some form of vehicle-to-vehicle or vehicle-to-infrastructure connectivity." This will lead to significant challenges for governments as they struggle to stay on top of all of the rapid change and the need to address societal concerns without stifling development—an arduous task when companies move much quicker than the ability of governments to adopt almost anything.

As innovations in technology and societal acceptance proceed apace, the authors make a strong case for marketplace changes. Mobility implies that you go from one place to another, not necessarily via car ownership. Car sharing (such as ZipCar) and nontraditional mobility market entrants such as Uber and Lyft are changing our collective assumptions by leveraging the power of connectivity combined with mobility.

The speed with which these changes have developed have predictably caused concerns among traditional industry leaders and forced those of us in supply chain management to take note—which is why this book is essential for Transportation Journal readers. This has fostered intense competition as users are faced with new choices for faster mobility, better environmental and safety performance, and lower...