September 22, 2023 - Every year on September 22, cities across the globe celebrate World Car-Free Day, encouraging motorists to give up their cars for a day. The event highlights the numerous benefits of going car-free to citizens—including reduced air pollution and the promotion of walking and cycling in a safer environment.
Meanwhile, every year from September 16-22, European towns showcase their commitment to clean and sustainable urban transport during #MobilityWeek.
According to The Washington Post, World Car-Free Day promotes improvement of mass transit, cycling and walking, and the development of communities where jobs are closer to home and where shopping is within walking distance. Studies showed that for short trips in cities, one can often reach their destination more quickly using a bicycle rather than using a car.
The events, which vary by location, give motorists and commuters an idea of their locality with fewer cars. While projects along these lines had taken place from time to time on an ad-hoc basis starting with the 1973 oil crisis, it was only in October 1994 that a structured call for such projects was issued in a keynote speech by Eric Britton at the International Ciudades Accessibles (Accessible Cities) Conference held in Toledo (Spain).
Within two years the first Days were organized in Reykjavík(Iceland), Bath (United Kingdom) and La Rochelle (France), and the informal World Car Free Days Consortium was organized in 1995 to support Car-Free Days worldwide.
The first national campaign was inaugurated in Britain by the Environmental Transport Association in 1997, the French followed suit in 1998 as In town, without my car! and was established as a Europe-wide initiative by the European Commission in 2000. In the same year the Commission enlarged the program to a full European Mobility Week which now is the major focus of the Commission, with the Car-Free Day part of a greater new mobility whole.
Also in 2000, car free days went global with a World Carfree Day program launched by Carbusters, now World Carfree Network, and in the same year the Earth Car Free Day collaborative program of the Earth Day Network and the World Car Free Days collaborative.
UN Environment shines a light on those who are taking the lead in promoting sustainable lifesytles all year round. For instance, there is the story of Diego Osorio, founder of “Mejor en bici” (Better by bike) in Bogotá, Colombia whose goal is to convince the city’s inhabitants of the benefits of biking on health, exercise levels and air pollution.
“Latin American cities have given all the power to cars and we have ended up destroying ourselves; we have no space left for parks or for pedestrians. We have forgotten about human beings—it is time to reconquer the lost space,” says Osorio.
With files from Awareness Days and UN Environment Programme.
