Self-driving cars in prototype form are making the leap from highways to city streets, where cyclists, pedestrians, school buses, construction barriers, and double-parked vehicles require more sophisticated software modeling.

As these connected vehicles become a real choice for our neighborhoods, transit hubs, entertainment districts, and downtown cores, there is an opportunity for them to bring environmental benefits. But realizing those benefits will require us to take a hard look at how personal cars—even the driverless kind—fit into urban life.

Read the first story in Climate Confidential’s “Smart Cities” issue to find out how autonomous driving fits into the climate equation, and what it will take to integrate this technology into sustainable cities.