New developments in the automotive world have the power to change mobility, but because of high uncertainties, municipalities are adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Nonetheless, autonomous, connected and shared vehicle technologies are in a far stage of development and it is only a matter of time before AVs and SAVs enter urban traffic. This research aims to provide insights in the congestion effects of AVs and SAVs on urban traffic, focusing on the differences in microscopic behaviour from conventional cars, and to investigate which easy-to-implement solutions a municipality could apply to facilitate the new mix of traffic. This was researched by performing a simulation study, using the traffic simulation package Vissim and a case study of a network in The Hague during the morning peak in 2040. Several AV and SAV market penetration scenarios were tested. Additionally, two network designs were implemented: dedicated lanes for SAVs and kiss & ride (K&R)-facilities. From the results, it was clear that AVs were able to relieve congestion by increasing road capacity and providing a more smooth traffic flow. SAVs, however, caused higher levels of congestion by stopping at the curbside to drop off passengers, forming bottlenecks for other road users, and by circulating on the network using low capacity links. The dedicated lanes design was unsuccessful at reducing this congestion caused by SAVs. The K&R design, however, was successful at reducing delays, but only for SAV penetration rates of higher than 25%. The advice for municipalities is to closely monitor the situation and to account for AVs and SAVs in each new infrastructural project.

The goal of this project is to develop a design for Dala’s water system that deals with challenges of the township in a sustainable way. Dala is a township of Yangon, Myanmar’s economic centre. It is located directly South of the central business district (CBD), across the Yangon river. The area is now largely underdeveloped, but in 2021 it will be directly connected to Yangon’s CBD by a bridge, after which rapid urbanization and growth is expected. Current water infrastructure is already lacking heavily, making the need for a full new system even more imminent for the future. In an 8 week field research period, a full design cycle was conducted with input from several local experts and stakeholders. The final advice is to implement a new system focused on rainwater harvesting, large-scale storage in reservoirs and a dual reticulation system for water supply to the consumer. Other water infrastructure, such as drainage, sewage and treatment is designed to fit these focal points. This system is more sustainable than commonly used methods, as the resource is not impacted and energy is saved on treatment and transport. Furthermore, it caters for all expected water needs in 2040, making Dala fully self sufficient in closing the water circle.