...CITIES BECAME CAR-FREE?
quality through strong government poli-
cies, a ‘bicycle comeback’ and low-emis-
sion technologies.
In a study of 13 European capitals,
London was joint third-worst on air quality.
So, what’s the answer? Electric cars
are a huge improvement on fossil-fuelled
vehicles. But simply going electric would
be to miss a tremendous opportunity
to remake cities for people, not for the
lumps of motorized metal that have come
to dominate public space.
Researchers in London have studied
the health impacts of cutting emis-
sions by two different methods: the first
technology-led, the second promoting
walking and cycling instead of driving.
Both scenarios resulted in similar levels
of improved air quality. But the second
generated up to 30 times more health-
related benefits. ‘I have carried out similar
research in other cities and reached the
same conclusions,’ says de Nazelle.
Cyclists are on average four kilos
lighter than car drivers. As many as
10,000 premature deaths a year could
be prevented by expanding cycling net-
works, a 2018 study of 167 European cities
found. Cycling and walking are better
for mental health too, reducing feel-
ings of loneliness and increasing social
contact. Lower car use reduces the risk of
fatal accidents. For children especially, it
means more and safer areas to play in.
Several city centres have started to go
‘car free’ or ‘car fewer’, including Milan,
Copenhagen, and Paris (with no-car first
Sundays). This year, Oslo restricted access
for private vehicles, introduced new
pedestrian walkways and cut 700 parking
places. Chengdu in China is creating a
new residential area designed for easy
walking everywhere.
Detaching people from their private
car addiction is not easy, and it will only
work if there is reliable clean, green
public transport available when walking
or cycling is simply not feasible. But
spurred by the current toxic urban air
and congestion crisis, we have everything
to play for. OWHAT IF...Here’s the fun bit. Did you know that
traffic in London today moves slower
than a horse-drawn carriage – and
the average cyclist? That car drivers in
Bogotá, Colombia, spent 271 hours in
traffic jams during 2018, in Dublin 246
hours and in London 227 hours, accord-
ing to global traffic data cruncher INREX.
Here’s the not-so-fun bit. Air pollu-
tion is now the world’s fourth biggest
killer, contributing to more than seven
million deaths every year. According to
the World Health Organization (WHO),
91 per cent of us breathe air that is unsafe
and it’s the cause of 36 per cent of deaths
from lung cancer, 34 per cent from stroke
and 27 per cent from heart disease.
Exposure to small particulates which
bypass the body’s defences, penetrating
deep into the respiratory system, is often
to blame.
Transport is responsible for up to 50
per cent of particulate emissions in the
cities of industrialized (OECD) coun-
tries, rising to 70 per cent in poorer
ones using old diesel vehicles. Anothertransport-related air pollutant is ground-
level ozone – a key factor in chronic res-
piratory diseases such as asthma.
Today more than half the world’s pop-
ulation lives in cities – and by 2050 this
will reach two-thirds. ‘City dwellers are
already suffering from fumes and smog
on their daily commutes,’ says Audrey de
Nazelle of the Centre of Environmental
Policy at Imperial College, London.
‘It’s outrageous that we’ve reached a
point where it’s healthier for some people
to stay inside and not exercise than to
walk outside and breathe polluted air.’
A recent study of Londoners over
60 found that the toxic air pollution in
Oxford Street cancelled out the health
benefits they got from light walking. In
Delhi cycling for more than an hour a
day can do you more harm than good.
A new study by IQAir, AirVisual and
Greenpeace shows that seven of the ten
most air-polluted cities in the world are
in India, with Gurugram the worst. Just
one of the ten, Hotan, is in China, thanks
to that country’s efforts to improve airVanessa Baird on how to turn a toxic bane into a liberating blessing.
82 NEW INTERNATIONALISTILLUSTRATION: ANDY CARTER