Harald Belker

Recent studies find that LA has among the worst traffic in the nation, with LA drivers wasting around 60 hours annually behind the wheel; the LA 2020 commission found that traffic would not even be relieved by all the new public transit currently under construction; the report found drivers would shave off a mere three minutes from their drives. So should we throw up our hands in frustration and accept being in a permanent state of staying still? Or are there ways to keep moving, with the style and panache we enjoyed for so long, along with a commitment to safety and cleaner energy?

Harald Belker studied car design at Art Center College of Design, then worked for Porsche and Mercedes before going on to design cars for Batman and Robin and Minority Report. He is currently head of design at Anki, an interactive video game involving robotic cars. He talks about whether we should be optimistic about the future of mobility in L.A.