CarFree City, USA: Walk Away From Oil
by Dominic Muren, Philadelphia, USA 
on 05.17.05
We've written about the necessity for something like carfree cities before, and the need is no less urgent now. But what can a little old lone treehugger do get something done, short of digging a 3 foot deep trench around your town's civic center? Why, band together with a bunch of other treehuggers! Carfree City, USA is a nonprofit organization founded in 2003 with the goal of creating the first "carfree city" in the USA.
With a number of prospective sites ranging from Vermont, to Wisconsin, to California, the members of Carfree City are extremely excited about their goal. While the methods for it's implementation are sketchy, the idea is interesting. Many notable European cities are largely, or entirely car-free, or at least pedestrian centered, whereas very few US cities would qualify. Obviously, being built before cars is a major factor, but the benefits of a pedestrian center are compelling. If you have the ear of your local government, or just some time to give, Carfree City seems like a worthy and interesting cause.
:: Carfree City USA [by DM]
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
Thirsty for more? Check out these related articles:
- Is School Food Harming Kids? Enlist a Labor Day Eat-In To Promote Fresh, Healthy Food
- Rainwater Channeling with Steve Thomas (Video)
- Turn a Belt Into a Guitar Strap
- Build a Greenhouse without Going Broke
- Mini Blinds are Boring—Craft Them into Chic Fabric Shades
- No Sew Breezy Beanie Hat From Scrap Fabric
Paolo Soleri has been trying to build a carless city in Arizona for more than thirty years. It's called Arcosanti.
http://www.arcosanti.org
They allow fire engines right?
It could have changed, but when (when I visited a few years back) Mackinac Island, in michigan, was a carfree city...island, that is. The residents usually use bikes, walk, or ride horses. It is mainly a tourist location, and the main way to get there is on a large gas-guzzling boat, but to my knowledge even the fire engines are drawn by horses...
I live in Michigan and as the previous Rachel pointed out- Mackinaw Island is carfree and beautiful. Although I wouldn't classify it as a city. It's a little like a tourist trap island if anything. But the fact they are using the "no car" concept is fantastic.
Hydra is a Greek island that is carfree. I visited there last weekend and it was absolutely fantastic, absolutely an experience not to miss. No cars, except for 3 garbage trucks and 3 small trucks in service of the town council (which we discovered parked away, never in motion). People walk, bicycles are rare (to much altitude changes? too rough pavement on the roads?). Transports are done by hand carriage or by donkey.
It's very quiet, people even talk softer, you hear less loud music. There is no need to overpower the noise made by cars and motorbikes. You see very few overweight people and everybody takes big steps, obviously used to walk. I hope to write a bigger sum up of my visit in a few days on my weblog.
Of course it's a touristy place and the ferry boats burn a lot of oil. The "fast" ferry boats take about 1.5 hours from Pireus (the port of Athens). What a big change from that crowded, noisy city.