This is just interesting. New German Town Models Car-Free Living

“The Vauban development – 2,000 new homes on a former military base 10 minutes by bike from the heart of Freiburg – has put into practice many ideas that were once dismissed as eco-fantasy but which are now moving to the center of public policy.

With gas prices well above $6 per gallon across much of Europe, Vauban is striking a chord in Western Europe as communities encourage people to be less car-dependent. Just this week, Paris unveiled a new electric tram in a bid to reduce urban pollution and traffic congestion.

Across Europe, similar projects are popping up. Copenhagen, for instance, maintains a fleet of bikes for public use that is financed through advertising on bicycle frames.

But what makes Vauban unique, say experts, is that “it’s as much a grass-roots initiative as it is pursued by the city council,” says Mr. Scheurer. “It brings together the community, the government, and the private sector at every state of the game.”

This entry was posted on Friday, December 22nd, 2006 at 12:29 pm by Transit for Livable Communities and is filed under Transit and Transportation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.