(Note: ‘car-free’, as used here, does not mean ‘no cars’. Rather, it’s used to describe a rebalancing of urban space away from cars towards walking, cycling, public transport and more public space. I’m planning another article soon about why the phrase ‘car-free’ isn’t accurate or useful.)
When it comes to sustainability and climate change, the media is rarely a cause for hope. This week alone we’ve seen COP26 in turmoil and bushfires continuing to burn across Australia. But in a world full of doom and gloom, a ray of light has broken through the clouds in recent weeks, with a wave of cities across the UK announcing plans for a car-free future.
Brighton, York, Birmingham and Bath have all announced intentions to rebalance at least some of the space in their centres, placing priority on people, public transport and public space. This adds to the ambitious plans of Glasgow and Edinburgh, the latter of which has just confirmed its plans for the next ten years and beyond through the City Mobility Plan and the City Centre Transformation.
The arguments (and need) for rebalancing urban space away from vehicles and towards people have been around for decades, but to date few cities have really embraced sustainable urban design to its full potential, especially in the UK. Across the North Sea, European cities have often been years ahead of UK cities when it comes to urban planning. In the past five years, the likes of Oslo and Brussels have taken major steps in transforming their centres, following in the footsteps of the ever-referenced Copenhagen and Amsterdam, which have been working for decades to make it easier to walk, cycle or use public transport. But now a score of UK cities are stepping up their game and reducing the dominance of cars in city centres.
So what’s behind this new-found interest in putting people first in city centres? Firstly, there’s a new-found recognition of the need to tackle the climate emergency that we find ourselves in. Transport is the largest source of carbon emissions in the UK, and designing urban spaces to reduce dependency on car use and getting more people walking, cycling and using public transport is seen by many cities as a key step to achieve this. Whilst much bigger actions will be needed on a national level to cut carbon emissions, car-free city centres hold potential to reduce local transport emissions and potentially have knock-on effects for regional transport trends, for example by shifting commuter travel towards public transport. Secondly, cities across Europe are setting a good example for UK cities to follow by demonstrating that cities become more social, sustainable and successful when people are put ahead of cars. With our European neighbours showing us what’s possible in urban environments, many in the UK are clearly starting to think we could do just the same here.
But most importantly, there seems to have been a real shift in political leadership when it comes to creating sustainable urban environments. More and more political leaders at the local level appear to be recognising that to tackle problems facing our cities - air pollution, congestion, declining high streets, climate change and transport poverty to name a few - tough decisions have to be made about how we use our urban space. Yes, achieving large reductions in car use in cities is not easy, but more and more people in power are beginning to see that there’s more to cutting car use than has commonly been claimed. Despite having clear environmental benefits, making city centres for people really isn’t about ‘saving the planet’ -- it’s about making cities more attractive and livable places, where people can enjoy spending time in the city in which they live. With this comes a host of social and economic benefits, from making it easier for people to live active lifestyles, to more sociable and friendly streets, to higher footfalls and revitalised high streets. If we can achieve these benefits whilst making cities more sustainable, it’s no wonder that more cities are looking to put people first.
With a fresh focus in the media and political spheres on creating car-free city centres, there’s a cause for optimism about the future of cities in the UK. However, with increasing hype and excitement about these projects, it’s time for cool heads and sensible discussion about turning these visions into reality. In the age of social media and all-too-common ‘with us or against us’ sentiments, there’s a risk of polarising the debate and alienating those groups who may not share such enthusiasm for cutting car use in cities.
One area which commonly causes conflict is the contested impact of reducing car use and parking on businesses and economic activity. Unsurprisingly this is a concern often raised by some business owners and business organisations, with similar sentiments often expressed by politicians from centre-right parties. People generally don’t handle change well, and given that cars have been at the centre of urban transport for so long, it’s understandable that many have negative preconceptions about the on-the-ground impact of reducing car use. For many, vehicle access is seen as being vital for city centre shops, both for customers accessing services as well as for deliveries.
What we know however, thanks to years of research on the topic, is that the importance of car access to the economic success of businesses in city centres is far less than many think, and indeed the opposite is usually true: reducing car access in shopping districts can bring significant economic benefits. Reducing car access has been shown to bring higher footfall and sales for shops (1). The purchasing power of car drivers is often overstated, with people using other modes of transport spending comparatively more. Shop vacancy rates have been shown to be lower in pedestrianised areas and streets with reduced car access (2). More people visit, and spend more time in, streets designed for people and public transport (3). I could go on. but the message is this: When a city puts walking, cycling and public transport ahead of cars, this doesn’t just benefit people, it benefits businesses too.
But this is not to say that there aren’t legitimate concerns about the impact of car-free city centres on businesses. When designing these projects, it’s vital that a healthy business environment is seen as a key objective. After all, people visit city centres in large to use the services there, and whilst there’s more to cities than shopping, businesses are an indisputably important part of a city centre.
To pick but one example, getting delivery access right is vital. This is one of the most common concerns of businesses when discussions about cutting vehicle access arise. There’s various solutions to this: Time windows for deliveries in the early morning, coupled with limited parking near businesses; consolidation centres on the outskirts of town to minimise the number of delivery vehicles; e-cargo bikes and small electric vans being used for ‘last mile’ deliveries. All these can help to ensure that businesses have continued access to the goods and services they need to operate. Care is needed to make this work, however. In particular, enforcement is key. If people driving cars feel they can get away with using access exemptions only applicable for delivery vehicles, the system simply won’t work (take a trip to Rose Street in Edinburgh before 11:00 and you’ll see private cars all too often driving down a pedestrian street -- not a friendly environment).
More generally, local authorities need to provide certainty and clarity to the business community (as well as to the public) about what, when and why changes are taking place, and how this will affect their operations. Getting the right messages to the right groups at the right time is key in addressing concerns and avoiding a backlash to proposals to cut car use. Achieving good cooperation with the business community through regular engagement is vital, ensuring that their views and any concerns can be adequately addressed and solutions found to find mutually beneficial solutions. Clearly setting out the end goal of what the local authority is trying to achieve, and asking businesses to collaborate in reaching that goal, is the way forward to achieve a city centre which works better for everyone.
But to unlock the full potential of car-free city centres, businesses also have to be willing to embrace change. Businesses may have to ask themselves how they can adapt their operations to better suit a new ‘people first’ urban realm. Do businesses need to change their offering to customers? Do businesses need to shift to a more experience-based offering, rather than purely offering physical goods? How can businesses better use the space outside their shop, perhaps making use of the new-found space freed up by reducing parking, to attract customers? Can businesses shift towards sustainability mobility options, such as electric vans or e-cargo bikes? Yes, local authorities need to put business considerations at the heart of car-free city centres, but urban economies and the urban realm are changing, and businesses need to be willing to respond to changes and capitalise on the benefits on putting people first in cities.
So whilst many UK cities look set for a car-free future, making sure that we bring everyone along on this journey is vital. The new-found enthusiasm for putting people first in urban areas is a welcome source of hope, so let’s make sure we make a success of it.
References
1: Wylie, J. (2019). Reducing business opposition to car-free city centres: The case of Oslo. See section 2.5. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/8996627.
2: Wylie, J. (2019). Reducing business opposition to car-free city centres: The case of Oslo. See section 2.5. https://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/search/publication/8996627.
3: Polle, S. (2018). Statusrapport 2018 – Midtveisevaluering (Status Report 2018 -Midterm evaluation). Report by Sweco for Oslo Kommune.