The car-free future of cities: story from Oslo

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Even though the majority of the world’s population lives in cities, urban areas are not always designed for the health and comfort of humans. Cities filled with traffic jams and pollution are often the “regular” image. With the devastating effects of climate change becoming more apparent than ever, more cities seem to be realizing the importance of human-scale cities. Making cities greener, more sustainable and putting them at the heart of the energy transitions must be one of the absolute priorities today.

At the city level, it is important to have a strategic development plan that supports climate and sustainability aspirations. That sometimes means redesigning the cities and giving parts of them back to their residents. And that is exactly what the Norwegian capital Oslo did. The capital of Norway, with a population of around 630,000 people, serves as the country’s governmental and economic hub. It is also one of the world’s northernmost capitals.

A few years ago, the Norwegian capital announced the plan to make its city centre completely car-free. At the time, Guardian reported that the city’s newly elected council was concerned about Oslo’s carbon footprint. Their fear was also fueled by the projection which suggested a 30% population increase in the Norwegian capital by 2040. The capital of Norway, which has a long-standing reputation as one of the European innovation champions, decided it was time to make the city centre more livable and environmentally friendly.

Though banning cars from cities is not a very light decision to make, there are undoubtedly numerous benefits of that. Cities around the world are encouraging their residents to join the global fight against climate change by changing some of their everyday habits. Giving up on the car can be seen as one of the options, as passenger cars are considered major polluters. Next to that, cars are also largely responsible for noise pollution in the cities, which has a negative impact on people’s quality of life. Furthermore, by eliminating cars, more space is won for cyclists and pedestrians. 

Making the city more bike-friendly would likely encourage more people to opt for this type of transportation. In the case of car-free cities, more residents would also rely on public transportation or simply walk more. However, there are also numerous other advantages. Removing cars from cities also creates more space for new green areas and parks and provides an additional boost to community life. Moreover, maintenance of roads to make them suitable for cars is an additional cost that could be avoided if cities decide to become human-centred instead of car-centred.

The initiative, which would see Oslo become the first major European city to ban cars from its centre, focused on the innermost ring road of Oslo’s motorways. Shortly after the plan was revealed in Oslo, it encountered its first critics, most notably from people who claimed the change was too large and sudden and that the move would endanger local businesses. The plans were quickly adopted and Oslo decided to go for a different strategy. Instead of banning cars, it decided to ban all the parking spots in the centre. This was a part of Oslo’s fresh efforts to discourage people from travelling by car in the centre. 

Large portions of the Norwegian capital are nowadays car-free, particularly around key locations like schools and parks. According to Fast Company, more than 700 parking spaces in Oslo’s central district have been replaced with bike lanes, plants, small parks, and seats, marking a significant step toward the city’s objective of a car-free city center. Going hand in hand with these changes, the city also made significant improvements to its public transportation system. In 2020, The Guardian reported that Oslo, as well as the Finnish capital Helsinki, recorded no pedestrian or cyclist deaths in the city during the previous year.

Norway is soon set to introduce new measures which could further limit the number of cars in its capital. The country, which is already one of the leaders in electric car sales, plans to fully ban petrol-powered cars from 2025. Oslo’s outstanding effort to return the city centre to its residents can be considered a truly revolutionary move and a great example of how cities’ ambitious policy can directly benefit the residents. (photo credit: OpenIcons/Pixabay)