There is now irrefutable evidence proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that cars place a huge cost on societies worldwide: loss of health and human lives, degradation of urban environment, a changing climate, and an economic burden that is shared by drivers and non-drivers alike. Yet, even though we are aware of all those [...]
Carjacked: The Culture of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives
Catherine Lutz and Anne Lutz Fernandez
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, 254 pages, ISBN 9780230618138
If you are solidly or fervently in the carfree camp, this book might exasperate you. Despite the edgy first word in the title, this book is not edgy – it’s gentle. While it [...]
In the last article, we examined the need for better cycling and walking. Here we turn to the question of where to begin carfree conversions and how to increase density in the carfree areas. The strategy is simple and obvious: start at the transport stops and gradually expand the carfree areas as alternatives to cars [...]
This year the international free public transport day took place on Saturday the 6th of March, and to celebrate it the Swedish commuter organisation Planka.nu arranged a huge – and free! – subway party. The idea was to raise awareness of the free public transport day and the question of making the public transport free, [...]
A woman from Essen, Germany became so furious after an argument with her husband, that she left her house armed with a hammer, in order to smash his car. After breaking the windshield, headlights and mirrors of the car, she realised she made a mistake by confusing the vehicle of her husband, a blue Ford [...]
One day every March, for 35,000 people in Cape Town and their supporters and families, it is “all about the bike”, as the city hosts the world’s largest individually-timed bicycle race.
But, for everyone else within hearing distance of the race, it is all about the car – and how to get by without it. That’s [...]
As we all know, the car is a strong cultural feature of our industrial societies. Many citizens all over the world devote an amazing amount of time to their car – talking about it, working for it, enjoying a car trip to rest, cleaning their car to relax. Everyday new adepts cross novel limits, tuning [...]
On Friday, March 19th, agent-technicians from the Bureau Of Organized Bikelane Safety (B.O.O.B.S.) descended by bicycle on the intersection of Broadway and 23rd Street in New York. The B.O.O.B.S. is charged with clean-up and removal of all gas-guzzling, dangerous vehicles illegally parked in and polluting city bike lanes. While preparing to patrol, multiple members of [...]
Everyday an unimaginable amount of oil – a precious resource! – is consumed without any vision for a future after Peak Oil. Not even the latest massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico affects the irresponsibility of oil companies like British Petroleum. According to Barack Obama, “we are dealing with a massive and potentially [...]
High-speed rail is often touted as a means to move forward and beyond the current modes for long distance transport. Its advocates tells us that, by combining the low energy use of trains and the high speed of planes, it will be the best option for our future transport needs. But is it really so? [...]
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