For the last 100 years streets have been destroyed by the automobile and corporations that profit from excessive use of cars. This has caused harm to the wellbeing of people both in and outside the cars as well as countless environmental issues. It does not have to be this way, and cities from Paris to Seoul have shown us that we can modify our cities to reclaim them from the scourge of the automobile industry. Over at Fast Company they have a nice list of five things cities can do to improve life for everyone in the.
Reversing car-centric design is not a utopian dream. Cities around the world are already doing it. Paris is removing 70,000 parking spaces to make room for bikes and trees. Barcelona is expanding its network of “superblocks” that prioritize pedestrians and eliminate through-traffic. Oslo removed cars entirely from its city center and saw foot traffic, and local business, surge. Cities in the Global South are pioneering new forms of green micormobility, such as Jakarta where the government has set a target of electrifying 2.1 million motor cyles by the end of 2025