WHEN protesters pour into city streets, they often chant, ‘Whose streets? Our streets!’ Of course, they do not really mean it. Everyone knows that streets are for cars and that joyful incursions into streets — during fairs, protests, the Red Shirt takeover of parts of Bangkok, and so on — are purely temporary events. We all understand that it is perfectly reasonable that many people’s office cubicle is smaller than the parking space for their car; that we prioritise affordable housing for cars, not for people; that while we are terrified of violence and terrorism, the carnage caused by cars is just part of daily life.
Do children have the opportunity to play outdoors or to walk or cycle to school? In most big cities around the world, and throughout Bangladesh — of course, not! We love our children, but let us be honest: we love our cars more. When young people do occupy a street during Ramadan, say, or on a Friday morning, to play cricket or football or to ride their bikes, they know that anyone coming down that street in a car has priority and would be forgiven if they ‘accidentally’ hit, hurt or even kill a child or youth. After all, streets are for cars!
We say that cars serve us. They provide us with ‘safe’ transport (never mind the more than one million people killed and tens of millions injured by cars each year). They are a convenient way to spend time in traffic congestion, offering at least some protection from heat and fumes… caused in part by all the cars. We are happy to lavish our money, time and affection on cars. And think of all the status they give us! Who wants to be a pathetic pedestrian or sorry cyclist when you can dominate the roads in your four-wheeled monstrosity? And while sitting in that car, feel free to honk away and curse at all those annoying people — in other cars, in rickshaws, or on foot. It is the others who are the problem! Why are they on our roads? Perhaps, every car user believes that he or she alone has the right to be on the streets. Civility out the window; me first! Honk, honk, honk!
Amazingly, not everyone is content with the status quo. Not everyone thinks it is reasonable that the 10 percent or so of trips made by cars occupy well over half of road space in Dhaka. Not everyone feels that cars have the right to cause however much damage they please — through pollution, congestion, waste of space and danger. Some intrepid and imaginative souls can envision a far better transport system, one that does not put cars first. Those brave and inspired souls see a system where more of what we need is closer to our homes; where the focus is on access, not mobility; and where people on foot, on bicycles and in public transit get priority over those in space-occupying, polluting, dangerous private cars.
Small examples of people retaking the streets exist, such as the mobile playgrounds and car-free events that, temporarily, return street space to children of all ages to play, enjoy and build community, without the noise, smell and threat of cars.
We, the dreamers, the resisters, those who believe that people, not cars, should have priority on our streets and in our cities, rally each year for World Carfree Day on September 22. We organise street parties. We march. We ride bicycles together. We remind people of all the advantages of reducing or eliminating cars in cities. European Mobility Week stretches the celebration over a whole week. This year the Carfree Cities Alliance is in touch with allies in Nepal, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Turkey, South Africa and a number of other countries worldwide.
We are unified by a common vision, of vastly more livable cities. We clearly see that we give up way too much for the convenience and comfort of cars. It is particularly ludicrous in places like Bangladesh where it is a small minority who use cars and the vast majority who suffer. We need to question the inevitability of car-centered transport systems. This year, the theme of World Carfree Day is ‘Step Up for Better Health, Environment, and Community.’ Together, we can achieve something far better. The first step in that process is understanding just how much we sacrifice to cars and how much better our lives could be without them.
Ìý
Debra Efroymson is executive director of the Institute of Wellbeing, Bangladesh, and an active member of the Carfree Cities Alliance. She has done a TEDx talk on Imagining a Carfree City.