Will the City of the Future be a Car-free Zone?
With the League of American Cyclists declaring May as Bike Month, and cities all over the world increasing pedestrianisation and cycling facilities, now seems like a good time to ask: will the city of the future be a car-free zone?
You could argue that our cities have already started to evolve in that direction. London currently has many shared-space schemes planned, including one on Exhibition Road that will see curbs, signage and road lines removed. The theory is that pedestrians, cyclists and drivers are more likely to use their own judgement and create a safer city, a belief supported by various shared-space schemes successfully and safely implemented in mainland Europe.
So what about a space exclusively for pedestrians and cyclists? There are already many of these car-free zones on the planet, but most are in small, barely populated islands. The Ile de Brehat off the northern coast of France, and Sark – a tiny island 80 miles off the south coast of England – are both car free, with Sark’s neighbour Herm taking it one step further by banning bicycles.
However, islands don’t share a border with other countries and are therefore more able to enforce uncommon rules – just look at how Australia and Britain continue to drive on the left hand side of the road – so is the replication of these car free societies possible in a city? There are few examples that suggest it can, but Louvain-la-Neuve – a planned-city in Belgium – is one of the few. Inhabited from 1972 onwards, the city operates an ‘automobile under’ system which means the street level is entirely car free, with all roads and parking provided underneath the city.
Of course, planned cities can implement ambitious design concepts that older cities could never even contemplate, but if London’s efforts with shared-space schemes and the recent pedestrianisation of Times Square in New York are reflective of the direction cities are moving in, is it just a matter of time before the city is handed over to pedestrians and cyclists, and becomes a car free zone?
Image courtesy of Novemberfive on flickr.
Thanks for this post. One of my fav videos from Bike “Mecca” Copenhagen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXznapqmulE
What a great idea and I think it is finally gaining some traction around the world. Thanks for the great post!
I think that both posts (Joe’s and Jeanne’s) show the rising demand for bike and pedestrian all around the world.
Great post!
Sadly, I think car-free cities are a nice fantacy that won’t happen. People are to attatched to their cars and see them as status objects. Our whole culture is built around the car. However I think the car will be used less in bigger citys due to difficulty in driving and parking. London, New York and Copenhagen shows that with a good public transfer system and well planned bicycle lanes and roads you can get many to let go of the car.
A newly planned city, designed to be car free might run into problem when motorists want to use their cars to get around. Then there will be complaints about that. But as I haven’t seen the plans from Belgium, I may well be wrong.
I think that we will have to start with getting people to let the car rest a coupple of days/ week. Then they learn that the car isn’t the only way to get to work. Perhaps by making a competition of it; The one in the family/neighburhood who save the most CO2 or most car free km/miles in a month win a cake (or something). Using a calculator or excel spredsheet to calculate and display the savings make it easier. I use Commute Greener!, and for this purpose it is quite good.