Mark Wilson
Professor, Urban and Regional Planning
School of Planning, Design and Construction
Michigan State University
RESEARCH
Autonomous Technologies
Mega Event Planning
Industrial Park Development
Industrial parks offer space designed to attract and promote business and economic development. In addition to serving a narrow interest in improved economic performance, industrial parks can serve as a platform to serve a wider range of economic, environmental and social interests. . Most importantly, however, is that industrial parks are a means to an end—business attraction, greater productivity, employment opportunity, sustainability—not an end in themselves.
Mega-events, such as the Olympics and world’s fairs, play a significant role in national identity, the shaping of attitudes and values, and the remaking of urban space. The global focus on one city for a specific event prompts use of the event for political, social, business, and urban redevelopment ends. These events are often seen as ephemeral, lasting for a few weeks or months, yet the changes associated with them often leave a legacy in ideas and places that last for decades.
Currently we face the emergence of autonomous technologies with the potential to restructure how we move, work and live. Autonomous technologies will be transformative in their power to change the daily life of billions of people, especially the organization, form and costs of mobility and work. Social impacts of such scale demand rigorous and extensive scholarly attention, both to understand the nature of change, as well as to inform decision making.