It makes sense that an innovation center like Texas A&M – San Antonio located in a technology hub like San Antonio would be the ideal spot to design the community of the future. And it certainly makes sense that the Toyota Mobility Foundation would be guiding the conversation.
Global non-profit New Cities recently hosted a panel presentation by MIT and the Toyota Mobility Foundation showcasing their collaboration with the developer at VIDA. The VIDA team has been working with MIT and TMF for nearly two years to create more pedestrian-friendly, autonomous-vehicle friendly neighborhoods using the NOGAS (Next Optimized Generation Autonomous Suburbs) Modeling Tool.
WHAT IS NOGAS
NOGAS is a research project of the Norman B. Leventhal Center for Advanced Urbanism and P-REXlab at MIT in collaboration with Toyota Mobility Foundation. It is a software tool designed for city planners, developers and designers to test a community plan for increased environmental performance. The NOGAS software uses scenario-based modeling, where it will analyze an existing plan to propose alternative layouts or scenarios. “This is truly community planning for the future,” SouthStar CEO Thad Rutherford explains. “We’re thrilled to be a case study for this important effort to understand how we can build smarter, more efficient neighborhoods that are easier on the environment while better connecting residents.”
The NOGAS model in action at VIDA
The model looks at how homes in VIDA might better connect to parks, trails, shops and more – to achieve a better quality of life. The same proposed layouts offer dramatics decreases in greenhouse gas emissions by improving walkability to lessen the demand for traditional vehicles.
What does it mean for residents and guests to VIDA San Antonio? The development team is continuing their work with MIT and Toyota Mobility Foundation and will test the NOGAS planning in a future phase.
Be sure to watch the presentation, watch for updates on progress, and check back soon for more updates on progress at VIDA and sign up to receive email updates, or visit us on social media at @LiveVIDASA on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn.