What are the best free urban mobility think tanks for understanding autonomous vehicle public acceptance and legal issues?

If you want free, high-quality sources on urban mobility, autonomous vehicle public acceptance, and legal/regulatory issues, these are some of the best think tanks / research centers to start with:

Top free think tanks and research centers

1. RAP (formerly Rocky Mountain Institute’s transportation work / now independent policy org)

• Strong on mobility policy, safety, regulation, and equity
• Useful for AV governance and public-interest framing
• Free reports and briefs

2. Brookings Institution – Metropolitan Policy Program

• Excellent for urban mobility, land use, equity, and public policy
• Often covers AV impacts on cities, governance, and social acceptance
• Free publications and event recordings

3. RAND Corporation

• Very good for public acceptance, risk perception, transportation policy, and AV safety
• Produces rigorous reports on driverless vehicle regulation and societal implications
• Much of it is free to read

4. Transport & Environment (T&E)

• Strong on European transport regulation, sustainability, and policy impacts
• Helpful for legal/policy debates around AVs in the EU context
• Free reports and analysis

5. ITF / OECD International Transport Forum

• One of the best for global AV policy, regulation, and urban mobility
• Very relevant to legal frameworks, city planning, and public acceptance
• Many reports are free; some data/tools are accessible openly

6. World Resources Institute (WRI) – Ross Center for Sustainable Cities

• Strong on city mobility, governance, and implementation
• Useful for how AVs fit into broader urban transport systems
• Free policy papers and city-focused analysis

7. Urban Institute

• Good for equity, access, labor, and social implications
• Less AV-specific than others, but helpful for public acceptance and distributional impacts
• Free reports and commentary

8. The Eno Center for Transportation

• Deep transportation policy expertise in the U.S.
• Good for AV regulation, infrastructure, safety, and public-sector planning
• Many reports are available for free

9. UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies / ITS-Davis

• Very strong on shared mobility, AV policy, environmental impacts, and public acceptance
• Academic but highly policy-relevant
• Most publications are freely accessible

10. MIT Mobility initiatives / MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

• Good for emerging mobility tech, policy, and system design
• Free working papers, webinars, and research summaries

---

Best picks by topic

For public acceptance

• RAND
• UC Davis ITS
• Brookings
• ITF/OECD

For legal and regulatory issues

• ITF/OECD
• Eno Center
• RAND
• Brookings
• T&E (especially EU policy)

For urban mobility / city impacts

• Brookings
• WRI
• ITF/OECD
• Urban Institute
• UC Davis ITS

---

Also worth checking

These aren’t always “think tanks” in the strict sense, but they publish excellent free material:

• USDOT Volpe Center
• NCSL (for U.S. state legal issues)
• ICLEI and C40 Cities for urban policy perspectives
• Law review articles on SSRN / HeinOnline preprints
• Google Scholar + institution repositories for open-access working papers

---

Best overall starting combo

If you want the fastest path to a solid overview, I’d start with:

1. ITF/OECD
2. RAND
3. Brookings
4. UC Davis ITS
5. Eno Center

If you want, I can also give you:

• a ranked list specifically for U.S. legal issues
• a Europe-focused list
• or a curated reading list of free reports on AV public acceptance and regulation