# cities without cars



## yubnub (May 3, 2010)

Ive been lucky enough to travel alot recently and one city that really stands out in my memory is Venice. I think one of the prime reasons for this is the city can be enjoyed without having to worry about road traffic making noise, danger and fumes. So my question is, are there any other cities like Venice that have no cars?


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

I think it is possible, that Venice is really the largest city without cars. There are large pedestrian zones in many European cities, and also a few alpine towns with no cars, but I can't think of any city of that scale.


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## The Cake On BBQ (May 10, 2010)

Tibet and Nepal?


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Mackinac Island, Mich., United States
The Medina of Fes-al-Bali, Morocco | Pop: 156,000
Hydra, Saronic Islands, Greece | Pop: 3,000
La Cumbrecita, Argentina | Pop: 345
Lamu Island, Kenya | Pop: 2,000-plus


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

Louvain-la-Neuve Most or all of the city University town; surface is car free; streets and parking are below pedestrian streets 

Brugge
(Bruges) Medieval town with large car free center 

Gent 350,000 m² Entire city heart 80.000 in car- free zone Largest car free area in Belgium; Public transport, taxis and permit holders may enter but not exceed 5 km/h


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

*Go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_car-free_places#Belgium
and find out wich cities/towns are partly or totally carfree in your country!*


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

joshsam said:


> Mackinac Island, Mich., United States
> The Medina of Fes-al-Bali, Morocco | Pop: 156,000
> Hydra, Saronic Islands, Greece | Pop: 3,000
> La Cumbrecita, Argentina | Pop: 345
> Lamu Island, Kenya | Pop: 2,000-plus


The Medina of Fes-al-Bali seems to be the only one of the list that I would consider a city.



> Tibet and Nepal?


No!









Lasa









Kathmandu


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## castermaild55 (Sep 8, 2005)

it does not need a car in Tokyo


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## The Cake On BBQ (May 10, 2010)

Forgot to mention, Prince Islands (pop 100,000) of Istanbul is also car-free.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

The Cake On BBQ said:


> Forgot to mention, Prince Islands (pop 100,000) of Istanbul is also car-free.


True!!!:cheers: all forgotten, I've been there on Adalar several years ago


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## Atmosphere (Mar 15, 2009)

They are building a city without cars in Abu Dhabi. It's called masdar city and everything relies on small metro cars under the ground. They are already working on it.

http://www.masdar.ae/en/home/index.aspx


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## El_Greco (Apr 1, 2005)

^ Whos going to live there I wonder, from that aerial it looks like its going to be a hyper dense place.


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## poshbakerloo (Jan 16, 2007)

I know Sheffield has tons of cars...BUT!!.....they really aren't needed. I've lived there for 3 years and i can't even drive haha


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

Discovery Bay, a Hong Kong suburb, has no cars - only buses ply the main road and golf carts.


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## Steel City Suburb (Jun 13, 2007)

I know what you are getting on to. 

Venice is peaceful and without cars, its more relaxed.


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## dark_shadow1 (May 24, 2009)

Steel City Suburb said:


> its more relaxed.


Relaxed? Not with an average density of around 1 million tourists per square meter.


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## yubnub (May 3, 2010)

dark_shadow1 said:


> Relaxed? Not with an average density of around 1 million tourists per square meter.


most of those 1 million can be found in St Marks square or around the Rialto which is great because it leaves most of the rest of the city peaceful and beautiful 

So there seem to be some other car free places but none of them seem comparable to Venice.

I did however find out about a place in China often referred to as the "Chinese Venice" called Suzhou. It seems like a large city but it has an old district that is full of canals. There seem to be a few other similar places in CHina as well that i hope to visit one day


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## hkskyline (Sep 13, 2002)

yubnub said:


> most of those 1 million can be found in St Marks square or around the Rialto which is great because it leaves most of the rest of the city peaceful and beautiful
> 
> So there seem to be some other car free places but none of them seem comparable to Venice.
> 
> I did however find out about a place in China often referred to as the "Chinese Venice" called Suzhou. It seems like a large city but it has an old district that is full of canals. There seem to be a few other similar places in CHina as well that i hope to visit one day


Yes, there are a couple of "water towns" in the Yangtze River Delta. Besides Suzhou, smaller ones include Zhouzhuan and Wuzhen. I visited *Zhujiajiao *last December. It is about an hour west of Shanghai.


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

> So there seem to be some other car free places but none of them seem comparable to Venice.


The Medina of Fes-al-Bali, Morocco | Pop: 156,000

I don't now about the historical number of people that lived in venice but today that's only 80.000, Fes-al-Bali is bigger...


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

Well, it would be interesting to see the numbers with tourists included.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

dark_shadow1 said:


> Relaxed? Not with an average density of around 1 million tourists per square meter.


But the far majority of those tourists cram themselves into the tiny area around St Marks square and a thin strip to the Rialto Bridge.
Tourists in general are quite predictable and rarely venture past the main sights.

By far the rest of the main island group has far fewer toursist, and there are plenty of places virtually tourist free.

My memories of Venice are a tourist crush around the tiny area of St Marks square, and then peace and relaxation in the vast majority.


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## Justme (Sep 11, 2002)

redstone said:


> I think small towns should ban cars. Only vehicles allowed are bicycles and electrical vehicles for emergency (ambulances, police cars, fire fighting)... Air would be a lot better.


What about delivery's?


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## potiz81 (Aug 9, 2005)

Hydra island, Greece, is totally car-free. People circulate with donkeys and boats


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## Mascabrother (Jan 25, 2009)

There are so many Greek Islands without cars. 

Paseo de la Reforma Mexico ... no cars in some many places of this 28 millions city while the Flu Vacinne.


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## Mascabrother (Jan 25, 2009)

*Vauban Germany*

Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5000 habitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district".





























Within Vauban, transportation is primarily by foot or bicycle. As of 2009 around 70% of the households had chosen _*to live without a private car*_.

From Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vauban,_Freiburg


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## Ωρτimuş (Mar 21, 2010)

joshsam said:


> Mackinac Island, Mich., United States
> *The Medina of Fes-al-Bali, Morocco | Pop: 156,000*
> Hydra, Saronic Islands, Greece | Pop: 3,000
> La Cumbrecita, Argentina | Pop: 345
> Lamu Island, Kenya | Pop: 2,000-plus



Fes-al-Bali means the Old City of Fez 

Here some photos of the Medina of Fez


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## Balaputradewa (Jul 11, 2008)

*Jakarta, Indonesia*
*Population: 14,101,720 (2010)*













































































































All photo by Paul Kada


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## atariboy15 (Sep 11, 2002)

What was the original thread posters meaning behind this thread? 

I only ask because I don't think it was to pollute the thread with photos of whatever city during a non-rush-hour. I was hoping to see more photos of cities like Venice or Fes-al-Bali, not asphalt devoid of cars.


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

^^ It's impossible to control how a thread will develop once you create it.


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## earthJoker (Dec 15, 2004)

Actually I think picture spammers should get more warnings


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## idnobleg (Sep 14, 2012)

What are your opinions/views about Masdar city in respect of the quality of features it has.


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## The Cake On BBQ (May 10, 2010)

Mascabrother said:


> Vauban is a new neighborhood of 5000 habitants and 600 jobs 4 km to the south of the town center in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district".
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'd like to live there


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## aaabbbccc (Mar 8, 2009)

The fes medina is huge , not sure how big in size in KM 2 but I believe 30 % of the greater fes region is the medina , fes is not a sprawling metro area , it is very compact compared to Marrakech which has a lot more sprawl than Fes and the population of Fes is actually larger than Marrakech


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## Spookvlieger (Jul 10, 2009)

^^Yes and btw, Marrakech was full of cars everywhere. The differend districts where far away from eachother with lots of open and unused land in between them. Rush hour was a nightmare when i visited last week. Even in the medina there where big roads crossing that where conjested most of the time.

But Fez has lots and lots of cars and big roads to, so I don't think it does belong in here aftherall. But I guess of only speaking about the medina of Fez it's ok.


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## Clery (Dec 5, 2010)

Torch said:


> Occit said:
> 
> 
> > Some favelas or slums in latinamerica could be considered as non-cars cities (or zones of cities), generally that kind of urban places do not have road access, sometimes the access is by stairs or by sidewalks.
> ...


No. It's a photoshop trick.

However, I agree with you, it would be great if it would become real! With a bit of organization but it could really become a reality.


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## skyridgeline (Dec 7, 2008)

*Cheung Chau, Hong kong*

Technically not a city but an island community of ~ 25,000 people. The ferries take ~ 35(fast)-60 minutes from Central Hong Kong to Cheung Chau.


By yewco










By m.gin









By Johnny.Lee









By tangpauline










By m.gin









By rocdy










By yussefThe3rd









By Sarah K Moore


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## Dannyyo (Sep 21, 2012)

hno:No way I can't imagine living without a car!


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## Dannyyo (Sep 21, 2012)

hno:No way I can't imagine living without a car!:dizzy:


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## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

A car-less city? Now that's something I would definitely like to look into... Will buses be enough to replace cars, or will it be future-thinking? I immediately thought of Venice as a car-less city, but I guess I want to learn more.


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## CNB30 (Jun 4, 2012)

Its not a whole city, but Charlottesville VA blocked off their entire main street for pedestrians. It would be great to see more of this


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## Suburbanist (Dec 25, 2009)

earthJoker said:


> Zermatt has only 5700 permanent inhabitants so it's more a village than a city. On the other hand it has beds for another 17000 tourists.


I consider Zermatt (and a handful of similar villages in Switzerland) as a large public mountain resort with an unusual number of permanent dwellers.


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## He Named Thor (Feb 15, 2008)

There's an entire country without cars. It's called North Korea.






Zing!


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## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

^^ North Korea does have cars. However, to have one, you must be a high-ranking member of the government or military. The rest of its citizenry either walk, bike, or take public transit.


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## Tincho_Lavie (Nov 21, 2012)

Cabo Polonio, Uruguay

No cars, no electricity...










But i'm not sure how many people actually lives there, it's mostly a touristic place


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

^That is not a city, and it doesn't look very "touristy" either.


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## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

Mr Bricks said:


> ^That is not a city, and it doesn't look very "touristy" either.


It's quite touristy in my opinion because of the nearby beach, and cities that survive with sunlight seem to be very interesting as you would need to work with sunlight to do your daily activities, something that humanity may not have done for a long time... thanks to electricity, we can work much longer, sometimes at the expense of our health and well-being.


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## Tincho_Lavie (Nov 21, 2012)

fieldsofdreams said:


> It's quite touristy in my opinion because of the nearby beach, and cities that survive with sunlight seem to be very interesting as you would need to work with sunlight to do your daily activities, something that humanity may not have done for a long time... thanks to electricity, we can work much longer, sometimes at the expense of our health and well-being.


well yea, that's what tourists are looking for when they go there, escaping from the stress and noise of the big cities


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## fieldsofdreams (Sep 21, 2012)

^^ Exactly. That's why I believe such carless cities should be preserved because they offer a unique slice of life that other cities do not necessarily have or enjoy.


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## Mr Bricks (May 6, 2005)

But it's hardly a city, just a collections of (shabby and run-down) houses.


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## fulger2013 (Jan 5, 2013)

Yakutsk city ... most coldest city on Earth ... Siberia, Russia


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## CNB30 (Jun 4, 2012)

^^ that has no people, let alone cars.


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## Wig (Dec 4, 2008)

joshsam said:


> .... Violaters face fines of $67, ...


As we use EURO's (€) , not dollars, it's completely ridiculous to post such a comment detail about Venice. It's more then ridiculous. It's typical American neo-collonialist behaviour. I'm very sorry about that.


By the way, Venice probably has the largest "official one-location city parking" in the world. No cars, therefore, is slightly forced reality.















The motorised trafic, lets face that realistic fact, in the hundreds of canals, is tremendous. There are even trafic lights on some crossings in the canals. Not joking. 
The perception of "no cars - no trafic" can exist only in the romantic tourists perception. Venice has HEAVY trafic..... (Taxis, busses, trucks, delivery vans, trash collection, funeral services, police, fire brigade, ambulance, private cars ... etc ... ALL in BOAT version. Burning DIEZEL. But then, what's the difference, apart from the romantic tourists vision ???????????? ) 
And YES, some fools do "excess speeding" and are caught by police for this offence... lol
Please, stop fooling romanticism. 
Boats in water look nicer then cars on asfalt, but the trafic pressure IS RIGHT THERE.


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## Wig (Dec 4, 2008)

redstone said:


> I think small towns should ban cars. Only vehicles allowed are bicycles and electrical vehicles for emergency (ambulances, police cars, fire fighting)... Air would be a lot better.


Well, redstone, then I think you're at least ONE (probably more) of these 3 options : ... (1) a dreamer, (2) an absolutist demagog, (3) a biased reality faker, because your profile is telling us you yourself are living in a very big city.... :banana: 

"Trafic", in whatever form, is a consequence of economy. "Banning" trafic for it's inhabitors, through absolutist fun-of-power reasons, is residing in the same category of power abuse, as the 16th century inquisition, the many collonial apartheid rules etc etc .... opposed social mental and physical IN-equality, as means of FUN for those who have the power...

++++ 

Reducing trafic pressure, is a very good topic, because it is realistic. 
"Banning" traffic is pure demagogy, based on the political ruling peoples' power abuse.


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## skyscraperus (Dec 25, 2012)

Chernobyl (Чорнобиль) is an abandoned city in the Ukraine.
Big city without people and cars


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## Caio RML (Aug 28, 2013)

*Morro de São Paulo-Brazil*


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## 009 (Nov 28, 2007)

most of the city of Siena, Italy is car free. Also, many old towns/medieval quarters in Europe are car free, for example Dubrovnik

Many small Islands don't have cars, if we include those

There is a city in Mexico called Guanajuato where nearly all of the streets are underground, leaving the majority of the surface free for pedestrians


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## nick.english.dept (Jul 13, 2012)

Spetses Island, Greece ; population 4,100 

Avalon [Catalina Island], CA ; population 3,800 - residents go about with golf carts thus some may consider this as being partially car free. 





joshsam said:


> Mackinac Island, Mich., United States
> The Medina of Fes-al-Bali, Morocco | Pop: 156,000
> Hydra, Saronic Islands, Greece | Pop: 3,000
> La Cumbrecita, Argentina | Pop: 345
> Lamu Island, Kenya | Pop: 2,000-plus


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## nick.english.dept (Jul 13, 2012)

The population of the Prince Islands are just under 15,000. You can find the stats here using the Turkish name : Prens Adaları

http://rapor.tuik.gov.tr/reports/rwservlet?adn_Prens Adaları_ksdb2&ENVID=adnksdb2Env&report=wa_turkiye_ilce_koy_sehir.RDF&p_il1=34&p_kod=1&p_yil=2012&p_dil=2&desformat=html



The Cake On BBQ said:


> Forgot to mention, Prince Islands (pop 100,000) of Istanbul is also car-free.


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## CNB30 (Jun 4, 2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mackinac_Island


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