Creating Car Free Cities

Silas writes "CarFree.com is a great site that "proposes a delightful solution to the vexing problem of urban automobiles." The site presents a fascinating, detailed proposal for a major city (1 million people in 100 square miles) that doesn't require the use of cars. This isn't a new concept; a lot of the ideas are modeled off of major car free cities in Europe (like Venice)." The page on Morocco is fascinating.

Comments

CarFree.com

[Anonymous Coward]

Sponsored by Segway and Amazon.com. Remember, buy a Segway and go car free!

Not for me.

[aeinome]

Maybe 5 years ago, I would've agreed with this, but now I don't. To me, it seems the main reason of "banning cars" is to make the environment cleaner. But with these new fuel cell cars and electric/gas hybrids, cars will be emission free soon. This idea doesn't really do it for me.

Re:Not for me.

[Wampus Aurelius]

Even with "emission free" cars, you still expend the energy to move the car to being with. Getting rid of pollution is an important goal, but the ultimate goal should be to conserve the environmental resources required to produce and operate cars. By creating a city in which cars are less necessary, you reduce the energy consumption of the average citizen, even after you factor in the energy required to operate the 24-hour mass transit systems.

Re:Not for me.

[American AC in Paris]

To me, it seems the main reason of "banning cars" is to make the environment cleaner.

...consider that no cars = greatly increased public safety. Consider, too, that having that no cars would encourage diverse, "fun" neighborhoods--residences and businesses intermingled, instead of huge, dull blocks of houses. Things like neighborhood markets and restaurants would make a real comeback. And of course, there's always the very real health benefit of that much more walking on a daily basis...

let's be practical about it....

[stonebeat.org]

here is another alternative http://www.arcosanti.org/ Arcosanti designed by the world famous artchitect - Paolo Soleri - actaully exists :)

Preplanning

[wmspringer]

I can see maybe designing a city to be car-free, but it seems like it would be next to impossible to convert a typical city to such. Consider:

1) People like cars. Tell them they can't use thier cars anymore, and you're liable to be voted out of office.

2) If you get rid of cars, you have to have an alternative system of transportation in place. Unfortunately, the only place to PUT that system will many times be where the roads are now. Result: you can't build the system until the cars are gone, and you can't get rid of the cars until the system is ready!

public transportation in NYC works well

[g4dget]

NYC is one of the best cities for public transportation in the US. The subway system alone is extensive.

But what many people overlook is that a large fraction of the cars are taxis and limousines. And taxis are fairly affordable.

You can get by without a car in NYC because you can just flag down a cab any time, day or night. Widespread availability of taxis is an important part of a city free of (personal) automobiles. If other cities had a taxicab system as good as that in NYC, far fewer people would need cars. As a bonus, it is politically and practically much easier to convert taxi fleets to new standards (natural gas, hydrogen, electricity) than personal automobiles.

Make the market do it

[dschl]

For someone like me, public transportation isn't even an option since the buses don't run anywhere near my home or office, let alone the rail lines.

Why do you live 50 miles from work? Is there no affordable accomodation within 10 miles? If you (and everyone else with similar desires for change) actively sought housing closer to your workplace, you would create a demand for a different type of housing supply, rather than the endless monotony of suburbia.

Everyone could live near work, but few are willing to change their lifestyle. There are a few things that would have to change from today's norm, including adapting to slightly smaller houses, much smaller yards, etc. Think of row housing, with enough yard for a small garden, and you get the idea. It would be much more sustainable, but most people want a freestanding house in the 'burbs, with a big driveway, and lots of useless lawn.

I live 25km from work, and commute via bike and bus. It takes about twice as long as a car, but I don't get to work frustrated from the traffic. Five or ten years from now, I expect that my next house will be closer to work, smaller, and better designed. Many poeple I know expect to keep upsizing to ever-larger houses on more land, further from work. Most environmental problems are not someone else's fault, they result from decisions we make every day, magnified by millions or billions of people.