Ingles

imagine a place where is no sound of traffic; where all you can hear are birds singing, children playing and bicycle bells ringing. imagine a place where there are no parking places in front of homes but simply beautiful flowers. residents of Vauban, a suburd of the german town of Freiburg, live in such a place. This environmentally-friendly neighbourhood is practically car-free.



it ispermitted for residents to own car in Vauban, but there is little incentive for them to do so. street parking and home garages are forbidden in the town. those who do choose to own cars must park them in large garages at the edge of the town and a spaces in one of these garages is expensive, costing around €20000. while 40 per cent of vauban's residents have bought spaces in these garages, many ofthem have done so simply for the benefit of their guests from other towns. in fact, 70 per cent of residents live without a car.

So how do people manage without a car? the town has been planned in such a way as to enable people to live comfortably without having to use a car. it is long and narrow and there are shops, restaurants, banks and schools in different areas of vauban. residents are ableto easily access the main road where then tram to Freiburg runs and to get to most places on foot. for shopping trips or for transporting young children, many people have carts that they pull behind bicycles. if they want to go on holiday or to move heavy things, they hire a car or join one of the town's car sharing schemes.



The Vauban experiment has been seen as a possible model for afuture way of living in an age of climate change. Experts around the world believe that gas emissions from cars play a significant role in global warning. As a result, there is a growing trend in Europ and the United State to attempt to reduce private car use. In Copenhagen, for example, the city maintains bicycles for public use. Britain has also begun an effort to discourage car use by creating newregulations which demand that ay new building development must be accessible by public transport. These regulations ensure that shopping centres and recreational facilities are not located in places that require peolple to get to them by car.



The Vauban experiment has been seen as a possible model for a future way of living in an age of climate change. Experts around the world believe thatgas emissions from cars play a significant role in global warning. As a result, there is a growing trend in Europa and the United State to attempt to reduce private car use. In Copenhagen, for example, the city maintains bicycles for public use. Britain has also begun an effort to discourage car use by creating new regulations which demand that any new building development must be accessible bypublic transport. These regulations ensure that shopping centres and recreational facilities are not located in places that require people to get to them by car.



While Vauban may well be a sign of things to come, it still has not been imitated on a large scale around the world. For this reason it remains unique and has become a tourist attraction, for people intrigued by how such a communitycan function. Each day six or seven busloads of visitors arrive to view the unusual suburb. at the entrance to the town, where the buses are parked , visitors are greeted by a slogan in big letters reads: "we are creating the world we want," yet if Vauban residents are indeed intent on changing the world and not just the small suburb where they live, they will first have to find a way to convincepeople that it is possible to live without cars. that may not be such an easy task







In Vauban

no-one owns a car

there are very few cars

there are no cars

there is nowhere to park



The residents of Vauban

live at the edge of town

walk a lot

don't do a lot of shopping

don't have a lot of guests



Parking a car in Vauban is

easy

not cheap...