Connected autonomous renewable energy vehicles (CAREV) will change our cities. CAREV are cited as environmentally regenerative, systemic future advanced transport modality integrated with the synthetically intelligent (SI) city to improve liveability and safety. This research is motivated by a concern to couple these changes to the wider changes needed to make our cities more environmentally sustainable, equitable, safe and just. This research argues for a social and environmental framework for the introduction of autonomous vehicles into our cities, as part of a diverse transport ecology.

The project developed a ‘symposium method’ to include continuous feedback, iterative, diverse voices, and opinions in the design, thinking and transdisciplinary processes. The symposium method provided a formal structure to both bring other voices, informal dialogue and imaginative approaches into the work, and is replicated in the structure of this thesis.

Several sub-questions arise:

- Can we live with autonomous vehicle intelligence in the public realm?

- Can we co-define an ecological framework in which technology positively influences the environment?

- What opportunities and threats does this technology hold, regarding spatial or social justice, and which parts of societies might be affected?

- Beyond the designs of cities and vehicles, what can we observe that will change due to autonomous vehicles (AVs) connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) or connected autonomous renewable energy vehicles CAREVs?

- Does a change in the fleet from human-driven vehicles to CAREVs allow for deeper changes in the city fabric and its semiotics and communications, and might a ‘systemic semiotic technoecology’ arise?

The project achieves its creative and cognitive contribution through design, and its symposium method. It is an investigation through an interwoven relationship of research practice in design, architectural multimedia, experimentation, thinking and writing. A layering of knowledge and creative insights emerge. The short videos provide access to the architectural multimedia, animations, film and a summary of the symposium method, the videos make the research accessible to a wide audience and form part of future consulting instruments.

This research has been disseminated through publications, the research interface website, lectures and, ultimately, this PhD thesis, which comprises a thesis and the two videos which create an ecological view of a future transport modality.