From Tokyo to Milan: seven ways to banish cars from the city

BarcelonaDaniel Knowles was born in the United Kingdom and now lives in Chicago, USA. In both countries, he says he is fed up with hearing radio alerts about a new "Carmageddon"The typical apocalyptic traffic jams on the return from vacation. That's where the idea for the title of his book came from." Carmageddon (Captain Swing), where this journalist, former correspondent of The Economist It analyzes the forces that have made the car the king of transportation in today's society and its implications, starting with air pollution. "We are approaching 2 billion cars worldwide, but the number is growing much faster than the population," it warns. Nearly 25% of the CO₂ emitted globally comes from transportation, and three-quarters of these emissions are from road transport. And this only considers the gases that warm the planet; cars also emit other gases and particles harmful to health, such as NO₂.₂ or PM2.5. "The switch to electric cars [which is now even being called into question with the reversal of European policies] isn't the solution, I think; it's only part of it," says Knowles via videoconference from Chicago. He explains that Europeans drive an average of 10,000 kilometers a year. In the United States, where public transportation is minimal and everything revolves around the car, it's nearly double: 19,000 kilometers on average. Knowles did the math, and converting all of this to electric cars would require "spending twice as much on electricity." There's no alternative; it's necessary to reduce car use.

For ISGlobal researcher Mark Nieuwenhuijsen, the main solution lies in creating pedestrian-only streets, more green spaces in cities, and above all, urban planning that takes mobility into serious consideration. "Even creating more jobs outside major metropolitan areas to reduce commuting," says Nieuwenhuijsen, who points out that while housing depends more on the private market, municipal governments can do a lot in terms of mobility and urban planning. The expert cites the positive example of Barcelona's superblocks and agrees with Knowles that the gentrification problem they can generate has a simple solution: keep doing it. "If you do it in just a few places, everyone wants to live there and prices go up; you have to do it throughout the city, close streets to cars, and build affordable housing," says Nieuwenhuijsen.

"What has been demonstrated is that policies that only offer the carrot don't work: no matter how good your public transport is, you won't get people to stop using private vehicles if you don't combine it with some restrictions on cars," says Oriol Marquet, an urban mobility expert at ICTA-UA. His group studies precisely the public response to these types of measures to reduce car use. "What we see is that there's really no opposition; resistance is magnified by media coverage or because it goes viral, but the majority of the population receives them very positively," he assures. Knowles is convinced that we are "on the verge of a very big change," not only because of electric vehicles, but also because of autonomous vehicles, which "could eliminate the need to own a car thanks to on-demand services." He also has great faith in the rise of electric bicycles and is hopeful about the new generations, who are less inclined to drive. Nieuwenhuijsen adds, "There's the gender issue: women are more likely to use public transport, and most of the time, if you look at who's driving, it's middle-aged men." Owning a car is expensive, as well as polluting. But some cities are already driving change with concrete measures. We'll tell you about some of them.

When you walk through Japan's capital, the silence makes you lower your voice without even realizing it. Even on the main avenues, traffic is quite moderate, and on the smaller streets, the sidewalks are marked only by a line on the ground, with no need for a separation from the roadway because so few cars pass. "The main reason is that in the 1950s, the Japanese passed a law stating that if you want to own a car, you must present a certificate from the police stating that you also have a place to park it," explains Knowles. The Shako Shomeisho law (as the certificate is known) requires car owners to also purchase a parking space, and this increased cost discourages many people from buying a car. Furthermore, the city has an efficient public transportation system, and there aren't many free parking spaces on the streets. "In other cities where large amounts of land are allocated for parking and developers are even required to offer a minimum number of spaces, this is a huge subsidy for car ownership," says Knowles.

The Georges Pompidou Avenue is a 13-kilometer road that runs through Paris along the banks of the Seine. In 2017, a section on the right bank was closed to traffic. The project "was incredibly controversial and took more than a decade" due to resistance from conservative politicians and drivers, explains Knowles, but "today it's hard to find anyone who regrets the closure." The city has gained an avenue lined with terraces, bars, and even a beach. The current mayor, Anne Hidalgo, was the one who finally brought it to fruition and has gone even further, implementing changes to make Paris "the 15-minute city," where every citizen has everything they need within a 15-minute commute. The goal is to ensure that "everyone has all the basic services and even cultural offerings, such as theaters and cinemas, close to home—or within easy reach of public transport," explains Nieuwenhuijsen, who adds: "Paris is a good example of the great changes that can be achieved when you have a mayor who prioritizes the fight against pollution."

Beyond Tokyo, other Asian cities are keeping cars at bay. Singapore is a similar case to the Japanese capital: owning a car is very expensive, it has excellent public transportation, and it has also invested heavily in creating green spaces instead of roads. China is another example. In Shanghai, for instance, owning a car is also difficult: the registration process is so restrictive that it's done directly by lottery. But what has worked in Chinese cities "is a planning model in which urban development goes hand in hand with transportation," explains Marquet. The government plans where housing, skyscrapers, and workplaces will be located in order to design efficient public transportation. Some experts believe it would be difficult to replicate Chinese measures in Europe, given their authoritarian policies, but Nieuwenhuijsen sees it as possible. According to the researcher, the European problem is that urban planning, mobility, public health, and housing are isolated compartments when they should all be planned together, in a "holistic" way, he says.

The British capital has implemented Low Traffic Neighborhoods, car-free areas where only cyclists and pedestrians are allowed, either during specific times or permanently. Although some residents complain that this system has shifted traffic congestion to the main roads outside these neighborhoods, data shows that car use has decreased in the British capital, partly due to other measures such as low-emission zones and congestion charges for polluting vehicles. "The resistance they generate is small but very vocal, and in reality, most people are in favor because the resulting spaces are much more pleasant and healthy," says Nieuwenhuijsen.

There's a lot of talk about Amsterdam, but Copenhagen is the bike-friendly city.Friendly Paris is the quintessential city for cycling. Sixty percent of journeys in Denmark's capital are made by bicycle. "There are even bicycle traffic jams," says Marquet. This has been achieved through the creation of an extensive and efficient network of bike lanes, which has required significant investment and a commitment to policies that prioritize this mode of transport. Another city with high bicycle usage is Utrecht in the Netherlands, but Paris, Barcelona, and Seville are also investing heavily in developing good bike lane networks.

Another restrictive policy that has proven effective is congestion pricing, such as the one implemented in Milan covering the entire city center. This is the so-called Area C, where, between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on weekdays, vehicles from outside the city cannot enter without paying a toll, with some exceptions. They have added another measure to reduce the number of cars, which they call open squares or open plazas, "which is basically removing cars to create parking spaces and public areas," Marquet explains. New York is also experimenting with congestion pricing. It has implemented a toll for entering Manhattan, starting at 60th Street, and despite political resistance, even from Donald Trump himself, it is yielding good results and has managed to reduce the flow of cars in the Big Apple, the expert assures.

The Dutch concept woonerf It emerged in the 1960s, but in recent decades it has expanded beyond the borders of the Netherlands, reaching the Nordic countries and even across the Atlantic, as it is now taking root in Canada. It can be translated as "residential neighborhood" but also incorporates the idea of a "living street," and it is a place where cars, cyclists, and pedestrians coexist—it is not confined to vehicles—in an attempt to bring people together and create welcoming spaces in the street. Cars cannot exceed speeds of 10 or 15 km/h, meaning they must travel at pedestrian pace, because pedestrians have absolute priority, and the street furniture is designed to foster a sense of community.