[pouetpouet]

Half of the problem with cars is a geometric one, they take up too much space. They give rise to sprawl and thus increase the demand for cars in a vicious cycle. Them being electric or self driving will not solve that.

[dmix]

Still, noise is a major factor. Just take the mayor's comments from the article and the opening sentence:

> In Pontevedra, the usual soundtrack of a Spanish city has been replaced by the tweeting of birds and the chatter of humans

> “Listen,” says the mayor, opening the windows of his office. From the street below rises the sound of human voices.

Noise is the #1 problem with cars. Walkability and space issues via parking are #2.

[darkstar999]

A lot of the sound of cars are them moving over the road, not the engine noise. Electric wouldn't help.

[jimmaswell]

I've been thinking, what if a city replaced vehicles with electric golf carts, atvs, scooters, and the like? I think that could work out pretty well.

[djrogers]

If we can reduce the incidence of accidents with autonomous vehicles, they can be much much smaller...