Freedom from cars

It is funny. In the early half of the last century, with the industrial revolution in full swing, Germany led Europe in giving the everyman a passport to freedom in the form of a cheap and reliable car. And now it seems the Germans may be leading again, but this time giving people freedom from their cars.

I came across this story from the NY Times. Vauban is a suburb on the outskirts of Freiburg. What makes this drab sounding locality special is that Vauban is a leading example of how people can live without cars. You see, cars are not allowed on the streets of Vauban and driveways are prohibited. There are two garages on either end of the suburb to serve the residents, containing both private and a rental cars for occasional use by the residents. A central tramway provides links to the city. 70% of families in Vauban do not own cars. It really does sound like science fiction - especially in the Fatherland of the car itself.

It warms me to read stories like this; demonstrating that while a change to more "sustainable" transport does require some sacrifice, it also brings with it many gains - and that these benefits are not just of the sort that hippies on the fringes will enjoy, but rather genuine improvements in quality of life that outweigh the sacrifices.

But I think it is important that we don't see this (and similar) ideas as anti-car, pro-bike - but rather a return from industrial to human scale town planning. Spaces designed to be used and enjoyed by people, where kids can play in the streets and where we interact with each other. This German experience continues the thread of the urban redesign trials in NYC - which, I believe, have sparked a renewal of people using streets.

Human scale technology. Pedal on.