Cities That Hardly Sleep Need Rest
By Justin Lindemann, NCSU Master of International Studies student
Transportation is an integral part of human society. Whether you live in a rural, suburban, or urban area, transportation is key when living in a connected world. In the US there are about 284.5 million registered motor vehicles, most of them cars and trucks. However, with transportation being the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the US — at about 30% of all US emissions — continuing on our current path of prioritizing gas-powered cars would further build disastrous consequences.
To put this into context, the Amazon Forest Fires in 2019 emitted an estimated 140 million metric tons of CO2. Compare that to the almost 1.1 billion metric tons of CO2 emitted just from light-duty vehicles (cars and lightweight trucks) in the United States alone in 2018.
On a state/local level, the Triangle has seen its share of air pollution coming from vehicle use. Recent data from 2018 shows that Durham, Chapel Hill, and Raleigh experienced enough days of elevated levels of air pollution (ozone and/or air particulates) equal to about two to three months out of the year, with traffic being a major source. The largest cities in the state, including Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greensboro, are seeing the most public health impacts from car emissions.
Our dependence on private transportation, like cars, and the impact that it has on the climate crisis puts the situation into a slight paradox. How can we reduce our impact on the crisis but still stay connected?
Gridlock at the intersection of 1st Avenue and 57th Street in NYC; Source: phys.org; Credit: Rgoogin via Wikipedia
On a national scale, the Biden-Harris Administration has outlined a plan filled with actions to tackle the climate crisis, with one part being the auto industry. This includes 1 million new industry jobs in the US by expanding the domestic auto supply chain, infrastructure, and increasing production and construction of electric vehicle charging stations. This investment is coupled with zero emissions public transportation options for any city with more than 100,000 people and upgrading millions of buildings with climate combatting efficiencies and cleaner electrification. All of these include a specific consideration regarding environmental justice, due to the fact that BIPOC (Black, Indigineous, and People of Color) communities are exposed to more air pollution than white communities. The air pollution in question comes from various sources, including cars, trucks, and other modes of transportation.
Investments in electric vehicles is an important step to get to where we need to be, but with climate change wasting no time we needed that step decades ago. Plus, even if we replace the entire American fleet of gas-powered cars with electric ones, the power plants needed as a power source to produce that electricity would still emit greenhouse gases. While this wouldn’t equate to the amount produced under the current gas automobile regime, just flipping the switch to electric wouldn’t result in a carbon-neutral auto industry.
Just flipping the switch to electric wouldn’t result in a carbon-neutral auto industry.
Nevertheless, nationally this plan would bring in lots of positives for various reasons, but to reach a carbon-free future there are more policy measures that we need to take. Since cities have a larger population density and account for more than 70% of the global CO2 emissions, taking the fight for climate neutral transportation into the megalopolises can get us there faster, without the federal government's political timetable. One of those heavy-hitting solutions is removing cars entirely, leaving a city to be entirely operated by carbon-neutral public transportation, as well as bike and pedestrian lanes.
Vehicles Prohibited Sign. Source: Signs R Us
Globally, this isn’t a new idea as several major metropolitan areas are gradually reaching a car-free paradigm. In Paris, the recently reelected Mayor Anne Hidalgo vowed to gradually remove cars and boost pedestrian zones, beyond the current policy of car free days (every first Sunday of the month). Other European cities like Oslo, Norway, have removed hundreds of parking places and upgraded biking networks and public transit systems over the last few years. European cities have had an easier time with such plans due to their much longer history (going back centuries) of car-free cities.
Neither is it entirely unknown in the U.S., even though the nation's cities are much younger than their Euro counterparts across the Atlantic. New York City closed one of its busiest streets, dedicating it to buses, pedestrians, and bicyclists. Though 14th Street’s closing prompted backlash from some, its closing did not lead to congestion in other NYC streets. Additionally, San Francisco has closed the heavily visited Market Street to cars, and other US cities like Denver, Chicago, and Madison, have built numerous pedestrian zones.
As for cities and metro areas in the North Carolina area, the Durham-Chapel Hill area is best equipped for car-free living and is ranked highly in the nation. Meanwhile, Raleigh and Charlotte have a long way to go to accommodate such a lifestyle and achieve car-free city centers, mainly due to the sprawling nature of these areas.
Residents enjoying the Avenue des Champs-Élysées during one of Paris’ car-free Sundays on 9/22/19. Source: Bloomberg CityLab;Thibault Camus/AP
There are certain things that are required before setting sight on restructuring a critical part of a metropolis. This includes strong support for citizens and businesses affected, a good media campaign (to gather and maintain support), and increased access to various forms of carbon-neutral public transportation to make up for the lack of car use. Keep in mind that major opposition from the auto and fossil fuel industries, and even ride-sharing corporations, will weaken any advancement of such a carbon-reducing shift.
The benefits of introducing such a policy are mainly composed of a reduction in carbon emissions, as well as the small amount of additional greenhouse gases emitted from gas-powered cars (methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons). This strengthens the health of surrounding citizens/residents who are then able to inhale cleaner air thanks to the massive reduction in gas-vehicle use and empower pedestrians to choose healthier modes of transportation, like walking and biking. A car-free city would reduce the hustle and bustle of so many congested cities, potentially changing the infrastructural basis of the cityscape to include activities that are closer to various residential areas, as well as creating safer streets. With transportation emissions being one of the biggest threats in this nation’s fight against the climate crisis, invoking a gradual change like this would mean that parts of society are serious about adapting to a different future — one that recognizes the damage we have already created and explores all the effective options in front of us.
