Author | Eduardo BravoAir pollution dropped across the world during the quarantine decreed as a result of COVID-19. In China, CO2 emissions dropped by 25% in March and, in May, the European Space Agency released images illustrating a considerable drop in Italy too. In Spain, a report drawn up by Ecologistas en Acción (Ecologists in Action), established that the average drop in areas with more than 150,000 inhabitants was 58%. There was a simple explanation behind this drop in nitrogen dioxide emissions across the planet: over a number of months, there were hardly any cars on the streets in cities in which the authorities had decreed a confinement.According to the World Health Organization, air pollution is to blame for approximately seven million deaths across the globe each year. Furthermore, the gases emitted by motor vehicles are one of the main causes of climate change. This reality has once again led to the debate about the convenience or not of banning motor vehicles in urban environments.In the main cities of Croatia, including Dubrovnik and Split, private vehicles can no longer be driven in its historic center. The same applies on various Greek Islands, in the medinas of Fez, Tangier and Casablanca, on the island of Nagasaki, in Vitoria-Gasteiz or in Pontevedra, where, after a decade with restrictive measures applied to the use of motor vehicles, traffic has dropped by 90% in the entire city. This decision has not only improved air quality, but has also enabled the number of traffic accidents including pedestrians hit by vehicles, to drop to almost zero. In 2000 1,203 accidents of this sort were recorded, while, in 2014, there were 484 and in 2020 just 20.
Despite the positive results for citizens’ health and quality of life, there are still sectors that do not believe it is possible to impose a total ban on motor vehicles in urban spaces. This opinion is based on the fact that suburban cities, i.e. those that have a main nucleus and a series of satellite districts with low population densities and where basic services such as hospitals, schools or shops, are located too far away and require the use of cars.The reasoning does make sense. While a large number of villages and islands in Brittany in France such as Mont Saint Michel, Île-d’Aix, Île de Porquerolles or Île-Molène are now car free areas because of the reduced size of the towns, larger cities, such as the country’s capital, are struggling to reach this point. Despite this, the policies to discourage the use of motor vehicles in Paris have led to 60% of Parisians who, in 2001, had private vehicles, dropping to 40%, a percentage which the authorities intend to reduce even further in the coming years.
Therefore, it will take more than prohibitions to banish motor vehicles from cities. It is essential to provide urban areas with extensive and efficient public transport networks that enable people to change their habits and for cars to become an indispensable asset, as well as infrastructures that enable the use of alternative means of transport such as bicycles, providing a risk-free environment for cyclists and pedestrians.These solutions are easy to apply in newly constructed smart cities, thanks to their reduced sizes, their efficient urban planning strategies and by promoting alternative means of transport. This is the case with the design of Chengdu, a city located in southwest China, which will enable to obtain any necessary service withing a 15 minute walk radius from downtown. The same goal set by Paris, shocking its own residents. Huge bets, but in no way impossible to achieve if planned with care and respect for all citizens.
Images | Donald Tong, Carlos Pernalete Tua, Maksim Goncharenok, Cottonbro, Pixabay.

Related Content

We asked Hardt Hyperloop which modes of transport are over- or underrated
Why cars running on e-fuel can’t replace EVs

Urban mobility: what is it and what are its most interesting trends?

Places that are reconsidering electric vehicles

Hyperloop Companies Join Forces to Launch the First International Hyperloop Association

Tier launches new, highly accurate micromobility parking solution

How E-Bike Rebates Will Make Cycling Safer

Unbreakable: the link between road safety and sustainable mobility

7-Eleven is testing robot deliveries in Los Angeles
Paris’ vote on banning e-scooters could shape the whole of Europe

VinFast: Is This Vietnamese Automaker For Real?
Hertz to help cities go electric, starting in Denver

Perfect Storm: Public Transport to the Rescue - Solutions Talks

Can MaaS coexist with public transport?

How to Design Future Resilient Cities?

13 predictions about the trends that will shape smart cities in 2023

What future for smart street parking in transforming cities?

What Can Cities Learn from Mercedes-Benz Data Platform?

What is MaaS and Who Are the Main Stakeholders?

Cristoph Vollath, RACC | Micromobility Safety: Key to Adoption and Accessibility

Noemi Moya, Micro-mobility for Europe | Micromobility Safety: Key to Adoption and Accessibility

EIT Urban Mobility, Forum Virium Helsinki | Up In The Air – Is Urban Air Mobility What Cities and Citizens Want?

Kshitija Desai, Skyroads | Up In The Air – Is Urban Air Mobility What Cities and Citizens Want?

Heather Allen, Median SRL | New Ways to Achieve Gender Equality in Transport

Jim Walker, Walk21 Foundation | New Ways to Achieve Gender Equality in Transport

Benjamin Büttner | Accessibility and Inclusiveness: Drivers of New Urban Mobility

Federico Savoldi, Solum Photovoltaic Innovation | The Right Infrastructure to Promote Shared and Active Mobility

Manel Villalante, Renfe | The Right Infrastructure to Promote Shared and Active Mobility

Andrés de León, Hyperloop | Getting Your Mobility Solutions Funded

Lucy Sadler | Urban Improvement with Vehicular Access Regulations

Omniflow: How Can We Transform Streetlights Into Carbon Neutral, Connected Infrastructures?

CTAG: EV & 5G Networks, a Winning Combo for Tomorrow Transportation

CARNET: Robot Ona as the Future of Delivery

Ping Manongdo, Eco-Business: Sustainable Business Is the Only Way Forward

EIT Urban Mobility | 15-Minute Cities

Urban Air Mobility: From Sci-Fi to Reality

EIT Urban Mobility & OECD | The Consequences of the Urban Mobility Transition

What Possibilities Exist for Startups to Scale in the Mobility Sector?

Next-Gen European Mobility Entrepreneurs | Are We Facing a Skills Mismatch?

Maria Tsavachidis, EIT Urban Mobility | On Green Transport, Sustainability Transitions, and European Growth

How Important Is Citizen Engagement in the Success of New Mobility Solutions?

Deloitte - Simplifying City Management With Data Models and Digital Twins

Dialogue with the Spanish Minister of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda: Cities and Mobility of the Future

The Energy Crisis – A Chance For Change?

Marco te Brömmelstroet: Why was John Lennon in bed with a bicycle?
What Happened to the New Normal?

Mikael Colville-Andersen: Techno-Optimism vs Actual Human Needs

Dutch cities team to optimise shared mobility

What is minimobility?

The Parking Reform Era Underway for Urban Planning
Recommended profiles for you
Remember to activate your profile to network!
Activate profileHH
Haydee Martinez Haydee
ARSIT3K COnsultores
Director
LO
Luca Orlando
TU Dortmund
SM
Sansa Marc
CCMA, SA
RB
Rafael Bechelin
Fleeter
CEO
PM
Patricia Madrigal
Giró Consultants
Senior Strategy Director
AA
Andrea Armando
Contek Srl
CEO and Owner
WT
Waldir Tume
Municipalidad de Miraflores
Gerente
JK
John Kamwengu
Tech
AM
Anat Mandil
Rashuiot portal&Magazine
Editor

Pierpaolo Bonanni
Microsoft
Industry Digital Strategist in Microsoft World Wide Public Sector Organization Following Transport
AG
Alexander Gutzmer
Euroboden
Director Communication and Marketing
MP
Mackens Brejnev Placide
Unniversite Laval

Thank you for registering to Tomorrow.City. You can now start exploring all the content for free!