A car-free city is an urban area that does not allow motor vehicles. These cities use public transportation, walking, and cycling for travel instead of private cars. A "car-free zone" refers to areas within a city where motor vehicles are not allowed. The idea of car-free cities became popular in the second half of the 20th century because of traffic jams, problems with roads and buildings, and the possible benefits for the environment and better living conditions. Many cities in Asia, Europe, and Africa have car-free areas because they existed before motor vehicles were invented. Also, many developing cities in Asia are choosing the car-free model to improve their roads and buildings.

Characteristics

A city can be completely or partially car-free. Fully car-free cities do not allow any private cars within their boundaries, while partially car-free cities have areas where cars are not allowed but permit car use in other parts. These car-free areas are usually located near the center of the city. Car-free city designs focus on meeting the needs of people instead of cars. Careful planning helps create walking paths and efficient building layouts to improve movement for pedestrians.

There is no single plan for creating a car-free city, but many cities use similar models. An ideal car-free city has two main areas: a residential center and a service area around it. The residential center includes homes and living spaces in a shared public area. To reduce car traffic, walking is the main way to move around, with separate paths for bicycles. This setup reduces conflicts between cars and homes. Over time, walking and biking paths connect different parts of the city.

The service area, which surrounds the residential center, includes places like stores and gyms. These services are placed based on how often they are used, with the most commonly used ones closest to the city center. These services are spread out across the city to shorten walking distances, improve access for residents, and reduce the need for new roads. Another option is to have a central public transportation stop with shops and services nearby, making it easy for people to reach these places without walking far.

Outside the car-free city are areas for transportation and parking. These spaces are used by city residents but do not allow access to the car-free center. Parking lots are often built at the edges of the city so people can park their cars there and then use other transportation, like buses or trains, to enter the city. These systems help manage tasks like moving goods in and out of the city and collecting waste.

Motivations

Motivations for creating a car-free city include reducing air and noise pollution, as well as using land previously used for parking lots and wide roads for other purposes. In developing countries, current infrastructure often cannot handle the growing number of private vehicles, even after improving or building new roads.

Reducing the number of cars in urban areas can improve air quality and lower noise levels. Pollution from cars is believed to cause about 184,000 deaths worldwide each year. Removing cars from crowded areas may help reduce these effects. In Barcelona, future plans to create superblocks could lower the percentage of the population exposed to noise louder than 65 dB from 42.5% to 26.5%.

In many U.S. cities, about 70% of downtown land is used for cars. Removing parking lots and car-heavy areas can reduce pollution and free up space for other uses. Proper land use could also reduce the urban heat island effect, which happens when concrete and asphalt replace green spaces, causing higher temperatures due to albedo and other effects. In countries like Vietnam, efforts to manage traffic through road improvements, new infrastructure, and policy changes have not fully solved traffic problems. There is growing interest in creating a new car-free city model that could improve quality of life while meeting the needs of all residents.

Process

Changing busy cities to car-free cities needs steps that involve planning and working with people. These steps include holding meetings with groups like town halls, using computer programs to predict traffic before and after closing roads, and making sure rules are followed once the plan starts. Many European cities changing their designs have created rules for planning before changes, during design, and after changes are completed.

After closing streets and squares to cars, paths for walking and biking slowly connect different parts of the city. Because of the same goal to avoid conflicts with cars and improve walking, some walking paths are built below ground, like underground cities, or above roads, such as the Minneapolis Skyway System. For new areas on the edges of cities or new towns, two new planning ideas have been created. The idea called Filtered Permeability (2007) and a planning model called the Fused Grid (2003) both aim to change street designs to support walking and biking more.

Impacts

Car-free urban designs have several direct effects. These include better air quality because there are fewer pollutants from car engines, less noise and ground vibrations from vehicles, and reduced urban heat island effects. These designs also help lower the number of accidents and deaths involving cars, pedestrians, and cyclists. Indirectly, they improve quality of life by using resources more efficiently and moving people and goods faster.

Environmental benefits include fewer greenhouse gas emissions and quieter cities. In Madrid, limiting car access to the city center led to a 38% drop in nitrogen oxide levels and a 14.2% decrease in carbon dioxide levels in the city center. Across the entire city, nitrogen oxide levels fell by 9%, and carbon dioxide levels dropped by 2%. In Brussels, car-free Sundays reduced noise pollution by 10 decibels.

Residents of car-free areas often see more green spaces and economic benefits. In Madrid, restricting cars in the city center increased consumer spending by 9.5% on the main shopping street and by 3.3% citywide. In the Netherlands, car-free zones have seen higher real estate values, but nearby areas face challenges as cars park in non-car-free zones. This highlights the need for enough parking near car-free areas and raises questions about fairness. Car-free designs may also limit transportation choices. Cities vary in how much they rely on cars, and their layouts often follow a pattern where areas expand outward from the center. This can leave people in suburbs and outer areas with less access to city centers during redevelopment projects.

Car-free designs can encourage physical activity by making spaces more inviting for walking, exercising, or leisure. Reducing urban sprawl may improve mental health by decreasing social isolation and aesthetic issues in car-dependent communities.

Examples

Venice is an example of a modern city that works without cars. This design happened by accident because the city was founded over 1,500 years ago, long before cars existed. Visitors who drive to Venice or residents who own cars must park outside the city and then walk or take a train inside. The main way people move around Venice is on foot, but motorized waterbuses called vaporetti also travel through the city's canals.

Barcelona, Spain, introduced "superblocks" in 2014 as part of its Urban Mobility Plan. These are large areas where cars are not allowed, but the edges of these blocks remain open to all vehicles and city buses. Inside the superblocks, only local traffic is permitted, and vehicles must move slower than 10 km/h. The city government says this plan helps make transportation more sustainable and improves public spaces. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a document called the "Manifesto for the Reorganisation of the City after COVID-19" was created. It called for removing cars from the city, making streets more walkable, and expanding bicycle and public transportation. The idea of a "living street" was important in this plan. Fewer cars during the pandemic improved air and noise quality. Residents wanted living streets because they would add more nature to the city. These streets also give children safe places to play. The pandemic made people value green spaces more, as they became places of safety. This plan inspired other cities in Spain, like Granada, Zaragoza, Guadalajara, the Basque Country, and the initiative Ciudades Sostenibles, to create similar plans.

Since the 1970s, Nuremberg, Germany, has closed major roads for cars in stages, making its city center mostly car-free. In 1988, the city tested closing the last major road through the center. Within a year, traffic dropped by 25%, and air quality improved. Removing cars allowed the city to renovate buildings and add art, creating a pleasant area for walking.

As of 2021, Heidelberg, Germany, plans to use hydrogen-powered buses, build bicycle "superhighways" to suburbs, and design neighborhoods that discourage cars and encourage walking. People who give up their cars can get one year of free public transportation.

In Ghent, Belgium, a plan to reduce car use has made the city center (35 hectares) partially car-free. Some areas allow cars, but others do not. In some sections, public transport, taxis, and permit holders can enter but must move slower than 20 km/h. A parking route around the city center uses a system to guide drivers and includes underground parking. This change reduced traffic and increased use of bikes and public transport.

Other car-free areas include Mackinac Island and Paquetá Island, where cars are not allowed, and people use horses, bicycles, and boats for travel.

Masdar City in the United Arab Emirates is a futuristic city designed with eco-friendly ideas. It is car-free, with no personal cars on the streets. Instead, people walk or use an automated rapid transit system for longer trips.

The Great City in China is a new city built with car-free principles as a foundation.