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Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in
British English
British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...
, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in which most or all
automobile traffic is prohibited. Converting a street or an area to pedestrian-only use is called ''pedestrianisation''.
Pedestrianisation usually aims to provide better accessibility and
mobility
Mobility may refer to:
Social sciences and humanities
* Economic mobility, ability of individuals or families to improve their economic status
* Geographic mobility, the measure of how populations and goods move over time
* Mobilities, a conte ...
for pedestrians, to enhance the amount of shopping and other business activities in the area or to improve the attractiveness of the local environment in terms of aesthetics, air pollution, noise and crashes involving motor vehicle with pedestrians.
However, pedestrianisation can sometimes lead to reductions in business activity, property devaluation, and displacement of economic activity to other areas.
In some cases, traffic in surrounding areas may increase, due to displacement, rather than substitution of car traffic.
[
Nonetheless, pedestrianisation schemes are often associated with significant drops in local air and noise pollution,][ accidents, and frequently with increased retail turnover and increased property values locally.
A ''car-free'' development generally implies a large scale pedestrianised area that relies on modes of transport other than the car, while pedestrian zones may vary in size from a single square to entire districts, but with highly variable degrees of dependence on cars for their broader transport links.
Pedestrian zones have a great variety of approaches to human-powered vehicles such as ]bicycles
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
, inline skates
Inline skates are a type of roller skate used for inline skating. Unlike quad skates, which have two front and two rear wheels, inline skates typically have two to five wheels arranged in a single line. Some, especially those for recreation, ha ...
, skateboard
A skateboard is a type of sports equipment used for skateboarding. They are usually made of a specially designed 7-8 ply maple plywood deck and polyurethane wheels attached to the underside by a pair of skateboarding trucks.
The skateboarde ...
s and kick scooter
A kick scooter (also referred to as a push-scooter or scooter) is a human-powered street vehicle with a handlebar, deck, and wheels propelled by a rider pushing off the ground with their leg. Today the most common scooters are made of aluminum, ...
s. Some have a total ban on anything with wheels, others ban certain categories, others segregate the human-powered wheels from foot traffic, and others still have no rules at all. Many Middle Eastern kasbah
A kasbah (, also ; ar, قَـصَـبَـة, qaṣaba, lit=fortress, , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term ''alca ...
s have no wheeled traffic, but use donkey
The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
-driven or hand-driven cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
s for freight transport.
History
Origins in arcades
The idea of separating pedestrians from wheeled traffic is an old one, dating back at least to the Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
. However, the earliest modern implementation of the idea in cities seems to date from about 1800, when the first covered shopping arcade was opened in Paris. Separated shopping arcades were constructed throughout Europe in the 19th century, precursors of modern shopping malls. A number of architects and city planners, including Joseph Paxton
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
, Ebenezer Howard
Sir Ebenezer Howard (29 January 1850 – 1 May 1928) was an English urban planner and founder of the garden city movement, known for his publication ''To-Morrow: A Peaceful Path to Real Reform'' (1898), the description of a utopian city in whic ...
, and Clarence Stein, in the 19th and early 20th centuries proposed plans to separate pedestrians from traffic in various new developments.
1920s–1970s
The first "pedestrianisation" of an existing street seems to have taken place "around 1929" in Essen
Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...
, Germany. This was in Limbecker Straße, a very narrow shopping street that could not accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic. Two other German cities followed this model in the early 1930s, but the idea was not seen outside Germany. Following the devastation of the Second World War a number of European cities implemented plans to pedestrianise city streets, although usually on a largely ad hoc
Ad hoc is a Latin phrase meaning literally 'to this'. In English, it typically signifies a solution for a specific purpose, problem, or task rather than a generalized solution adaptable to collateral instances. (Compare with ''a priori''.)
Com ...
basis, through the early 1950s, with little landscaping or planning. By 1955 twenty-one German cities had closed at least one street to traffic, although only four were "true" pedestrian streets, designed for the purpose. At this time pedestrianisation was not seen as a traffic restraint policy, but rather as a complement to customers who would arrive by car in a city centre.
Pedestrianisation was also common in the United States during the 1950s and 60s as downtown businesses attempted to compete with new suburban shopping malls. However, most of these initiatives were not successful in the long term, and about 90% have been changed back to motorised areas.
1980s–2010s
In the United States, several pedestrian zones in major tourist areas were successful, such as the renovation of the mall in Santa Monica
Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...
on Los Angeles' Westside and its relaunch as the Third Street Promenade
The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian mall esplanade, shopping, dining and entertainment complex in the downtown area of Santa Monica, California which originally opened as the Santa Monica Mall on November 8, 1965. It is considered a premier ...
; the creation of the covered, pedestrian Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some ot ...
in Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming area was the primary gambling district of Las Vegas prior to the S ...
;[ ''Pedestrian zones in cities'', National Urban League, 2020](_blank)
/ref> the revival of East 4th Street in Downtown
''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...
Cleveland
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
; and the new pedestrian zone created in the mid-2010s in New York City including along Broadway (the street) and around Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and neighborhood in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway, Seventh Avenue, and 42nd Street. Together with adjacent ...
.
COVID-19 pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
in 2020, some cities has made the pedestrianization of additional streets in order to encourage social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious dis ...
and in many cases to provide extra rooms for restaurants to serve food on patios extended into the newly available spaces. In the United States, New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
closed up to of streets to cars across the city. In Madrid
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, the city pedestrianized of streets and of spaces in total. The COVID-19 pandemic gave also birth to proposals for radical change in the organisation of the city, in particular Barcelona, being the pedestrianisation of the whole city one of the key elements, proposing an inversion of the concept of ''sidewalk''.
Definitions and types
A pedestrian zone may be limited in scope, for example, a single square or street being for pedestrians, but a city where residents still largely get around in cars. A car-free town, city or region may be much larger.
Car free towns, cities and regions
A car-free zone is different from a typical pedestrian zone, in that it implies a development largely predicated on modes of transport other than the car.
Examples
A number of towns and cities in Europe have never allowed motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
s. Archetypal
The concept of an archetype (; ) appears in areas relating to behavior, historical psychology, and literary analysis.
An archetype can be any of the following:
# a statement, pattern of behavior, prototype, "first" form, or a main model that o ...
examples are:
* Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, which occupies many islands in a lagoon, divided by and accessed from canal
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...
s. Motor traffic stops at the car park at the head of the viaduct from the mainland, and water transport or walking takes over from there. However, motor vehicles are allowed on the nearby Lido
Lido may refer to:
Geography Africa
* Lido, a district in the city of Fez, Morocco
Asia
* Lido, an area in Chaoyang District, Beijing
* Lido, a cinema theater in Siam Square shopping area in Bangkok
* Lido City, a resort in West Java owned by MN ...
.
* Zermatt
Zermatt () is a municipality in the district of Visp in the German-speaking section of the canton of Valais in Switzerland. It has a year-round population of about 5,800 and is classified as a town by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
...
in the Swiss Alps, which most visitors reach by a cog railway
A rack railway (also rack-and-pinion railway, cog railway, or cogwheel railway) is a steep grade railway with a toothed rack and pinion, rack rail, usually between the running Track (rail transport)#Rail, rails. The trains are fitted with one or ...
Other examples are:
* Cinque Terre
The Cinque Terre (; lij, Çinque Tære, meaning "Five Lands") is a coastal area within Liguria, in the northwest of Italy. It lies in the west of La Spezia Province, and comprises five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarol ...
in Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
* Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
in Belgium: the pedestrian zone was extended in 2017 from 35 to more than 50 hectares (123 acres), one of the largest car-free areas in Europe.
* Pontevedra
Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...
in Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
, an international model of pedestrianization, almost 50% of the city is pedestrianised.;
* The Old Town of Rhodes, where many, if not most, of the streets are too steep and/or narrow for car traffic.
* Mount Athos
Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...
, an autonomous monastic state under the sovereignty
Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
, does not permit automobiles on its territory. Trucks and work-related vehicles only are in use there.
* The medieval city of Mdina in Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
does not allow automobiles past the city walls. It is known as the "Silent City" because of the absence of motor traffic in the city.
* Sark
Sark (french: link=no, Sercq, ; Sercquiais: or ) is a part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a royal fief, which forms part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with its own set of l ...
, an island in the English Channel
The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
, is a car-free zone where only bicycles
A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist.
Bic ...
, carriages and tractors
A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most common ...
are used as transportation.
* Gulangyu
The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride fro ...
, an island off the coast of Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
in southeastern China. The only vehicles permitted are small electric buggies and electric government service vehicles.
To assist with transport from the car parks in at the edge of car-free cities, there are often bus stations, bicycle sharing stations, and the like.
Car-free development
The term car-free ''development'' implies a physical change: either build-up or changes to an existing built area.
Melia ''et al.'' (2010) define car-free developments as "residential or mixed use developments which:
* Normally provide a traffic-free immediate environment, and
* Offer no parking or limited parking separated from the residence, and:
* Are designed to enable residents to live without owning a car."
This definition (which they distinguish from the more common "low car development") is based mainly on experience in North West Europe, where the movement for car-free development began. Within this definition, three types are identified:
* Vauban model, based on Vauban, Freiburg
Vauban () is a neighbourhood (''Stadtteil'') to the south of the town centre in Freiburg, Germany. It was built as "a sustainable model district" on the site of a former French military base named after Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the 17th c ...
: it is not "carfree", but "parking-space-free" (german: stellplatzfrei) in some streets.
* Limited Access model
* Pedestrianised centres with residential population
Limited access type
The more common form of carfree development involves some sort of physical barrier, which prevents motor vehicles from penetrating into a car-free interior. Melia ''et al.'' describe this as the "limited access" type. In some cases, such as Stellwerk 60 in Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, there is a removable barrier, controlled by a residents' organisation. In Amsterdam, Waterwijk is a 6-hectare neighborhood where cars may only access parking areas from the streets that form the edges of the neighborhood; all of the inner areas of the neighborhood are car-free.
Temporary street closures
Many cities close certain streets, typically on weekends and especially in warm weather, to provide more urban space for recreation, and to increase foot traffic to nearby businesses. Examples include Newbury Street
Newbury Street is located in the Back Bay area of Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. It runs roughly east–west, from the Boston Public Garden to Brookline Avenue. The road crosses many major arteries along its path, with an entran ...
in Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
(which is along a river). In some cases, popularity has resulted in permanent street closures, including JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...
, San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
; Griffith Drive in Griffith Park
Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the Ameri ...
, Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
; and Capel Street
Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin.
History
Capel ...
in Dublin.
Reception
Benefits
Several studies have been carried out on European carfree developments. The most comprehensive was conducted in 2000 by Jan Scheurer.[Scheurer, J. (2001) Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities: Towards Sustainability in Neighbourhood CommunitiesThesis (PhD), Murdoch University Institute of Sustainable Transport.] Other more recent studies have been made of specific car-free areas such as Vienna's Floridsdorf
Floridsdorf (; Central Bavarian: ''Fluridsduaf'') is the 21st district of Vienna (german: 21. Bezirk, Floridsdorf), located in the northern part of the city and comprising seven formerly independent communities: Floridsdorf, Donaufeld, Greater Jed ...
car-free development.
Characteristics of car-free developments:
* Very low levels of car use, resulting in much less traffic on surrounding roads
* High rates of walking and cycling
* More independent movement and active play for children
* Less land is used for parking and roads, so more available for green or social space
The main benefits found for car-free developments:
*Low atmospheric emissions
*Low road accident rates
*Better built environment conditions
*Encouragement of active modes.
The main problems related to parking management. Where parking is not controlled in the surrounding area, this often results in complaints from neighbours about overspill parking
Overspill parking is the parking of vehicles beyond a defined area specifically designed for this purpose. It can occur because provided parking spaces are insufficient for demand or considered unsatisfactory, and may have unintended consequence ...
.
Problems and criticism
There were calls for traffic to be reinstated in Trafalgar Square
Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson commemo ...
, London, after pedestrianisation caused noise nuisance for visitors to the National Gallery
The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
. The director of the gallery is reported to have blamed pedestrianization for the "trashing of a civic space".
Local shopkeepers may be critical of the effect of pedestrianization on their businesses. Reduced through traffic can lead to fewer customers using local businesses, depending on the environment and the area's dependence on the through traffic.
By region and country
Europe
A large number of European towns and cities have made part of their centres car-free since the early 1960s. These are often accompanied by car park
A parking lot (American English) or car park (British English), also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface ...
s on the edge of the pedestrianised zone, and, in the larger cases, park and ride
A park and ride, also known as incentive parking or a commuter lot, is a parking lot with public transport connections that allows commuting, commuters and other people heading to city centres to leave their vehicles and transfer to a bus, Rail t ...
schemes.
Armenia
Northern Avenue
Many arterial roads in the Phoenix metropolitan area have the same name in multiple cities or towns. Some roads change names or route numbers across town borders, resulting in occasional confusion. For example, the road known as Apache Boulevard ...
, located in the Kentron district
Kentron ( hy, Կենտրոն վարչական շրջան, translit=Kentron varčakan šrĵan), is one of the Districts of Yerevan, 12 districts of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. It comprises the downtown, the commercial centre of the city. As of ...
of central Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
, is a large pedestrian avenue. The avenue was inaugurated in 2007 and is mainly home to residential buildings, offices, luxury shops and restaurants.
Belgium
In Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
implemented Europe's largest pedestrian zone (French: ''Le Piétonnier''), in phases starting in 2015 and will cover . The area covers much of the historic center within the Small Ring
The Small Ring (french: Petite Ceinture, nl, Kleine Ring) inner ring road, formally R20 and N0 is a series of roadways in central Brussels, Belgium, surrounding the historic city centre. The city centre is usually defined as the area within t ...
(the ring road
A ring road (also known as circular road, beltline, beltway, circumferential (high)way, loop, bypass or orbital) is a road or a series of connected roads encircling a town, city, or country. The most common purpose of a ring road is to assist i ...
built on the site of the 14th century walls), including the Grand-Place
The Grand-Place (French, ; "Grand Square"; also used in English) or Grote Markt (Dutch, ; "Big Market") is the central square of Brussels, Belgium. It is surrounded by opulent Baroque guildhalls of the former Guilds of Brussels and two larger ...
, the Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein, the Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan, and the Place de la Bourse/Beursplein.
Denmark
Central Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
is one of the oldest and largest: it was converted from car traffic into a pedestrian zone in 1962 as an experiment, and is centered on Strøget
Strøget () is a pedestrian, car free shopping area in Copenhagen, Denmark. This popular tourist attraction in the centre of town is one of the longest pedestrian shopping streets in Europe at 1.1 km. Located at the centre of the old city o ...
, which is not a single street but a series of interconnected avenues which create a very large pedestrian zone, although it is crossed in places by streets with vehicular traffic. Most of these zones allow delivery trucks to service the businesses there during the early morning, and street-cleaning vehicles will usually go through these streets after most shops have closed for the night. It has grown in size from in 1962 to in 1996.
Germany
A number of German islands ban or strictly limit the private use of motor vehicles. Heligoland
Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...
, Hiddensee
Hiddensee () is a car-free island in the Baltic Sea, located west of Germany's largest island, Rügen, on the German coast.
The island has about 1,000 inhabitants. It was a holiday destination for East German tourists during German Democratic ...
, and all but two of the East Frisian islands
The East Frisian Islands (German: ''Ostfriesische Inseln'', West Frisian: ''Eastfryske eilannen'', stq, Aastefräiske Ailounds) are a chain of islands in the North Sea, off the coast of East Frisia in Lower Saxony, Germany. The islands extend f ...
are car-free; Borkum
Borkum ( nds, Borkum, Börkum) is an island and a municipality in the Leer District in Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany. It is situated east of Rottumeroog and west of Juist.
Geography
Borkum is bordered to the west by the Westerems strait ...
and Norderney
Norderney ( nds, Nördernee) is one of the seven populated East Frisian Islands off the North Sea coast of Germany.
The island is , having a total area of about and is therefore Germany's ninth-largest island. Norderney's population amounts ...
have car-free zones and strictly limit automobile use during the summer season and in certain areas, also forbidding travel at night. Some areas provide exceptions for police and emergency vehicles; Heligoland also bans bicycles.
In the early 1980s, the Alternative Liste für Demokratie und Umweltschutz (which later became part of Alliance 90/The Greens) unsuccessfully campaigned to make West Berlin
West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...
a car-free zone.
Netherlands
In the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the inner city of Arnhem
Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
has a pedestrian zone ( nl, voetgangersgebied) within the boundaries of the following streets and squares: Nieuwe Plein, Willemsplein, Gele Rijdersplein, Looierstraat, Velperbinnensingel, Koningsplein, St. Catharinaplaats, Beekstraat, Walburgstraat, Turfstraat, Kleine Oord, and Nieuwe Oeverstraat.
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
's city center was almost completely destroyed by German bombing in 1940. The city decided to build a central shopping street, for pedestrians only, the Lijnbaan
The Lijnbaan is the main shopping street of Rotterdam. It was opened in 1953, as the main pedestrian street in the new shopping district, after the old shopping district was completely destroyed during the bombing of Rotterdam by the German Luft ...
. This served as a model for many other such streets in the early post-World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
era, such as Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland and the UK's first pedestrianised shopping precinct in Stevenage in 1959. Rotterdam has since expanded the pedestrian zone to other streets. As of 2018, Rotterdam featured three different types of pedestrian zones: "pedestrian zones", "pedestrian zones, cycling permitted outside of shopping hours", and "pedestrian zones, cycling permitted 24/7". Three exceptions to motor vehicles could apply to specific sections of these three zones, namely: "logistics allowed within window times (5 to 10:30 a.m)", "logistics allowed 24/7", and "commercial traffic allowed during market days".
United Kingdom
In Britain, shopping streets primarily for pedestrians date back to the thirteenth century. A 1981 study found that many Victorian and later arcades continued to be used. A third of London's 168 precincts at that time had been built before 1939, as were a tenth of the 1,304 precincts in the U.K. as a whole.[
Early post-1945 new towns carried on the tradition of providing some traffic-free shopping streets. However, in the conversion of traditional shopping streets to pedestrian precincts, Britain started only in 1967 (versus Germany's first conversion in 1929, or the first in the U.S. in 1959). Since then growth was rapid, such that by 1980 a study found that most British towns and cities had a pedestrian shopping precinct; 1,304 in total.]
Turkey
In Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, İstiklal Caddesi
İstiklal it means " Independence " it is a national Turkish daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey.
İstiklal is a local newspaper founded in 1974. andThe publishing center of the newspaper is located in Zeytinburnu
Zeytinburnu (literall ...
is a pedestrian street (except for a historic streetcar that runs along it) and a major tourist draw.
U.S. and Canada
Canada
Some Canadian examples are the Sparks Street
Sparks Street (''French:'' Rue Sparks) is a pedestrian mall in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was a main street in Ottawa that was converted into an outdoor pedestrian street in 1967, making it the earliest such street or mall in Canada. Mall area of Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, the Distillery District
The Distillery District is a commercial and residential district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, east of downtown, which contains numerous cafés, restaurants, and shops housed within heritage buildings of the former Gooderham and Worts Distillery. ...
in Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
, Scarth Street Mall in Regina, Stephen Avenue
Stephen Avenue is a major pedestrian mall in downtown Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The mall is the portion of 8 Avenue SW between 4 Street SW and 1 Street SE. It is open to vehicles only from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
The street is known for some of C ...
Mall in Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...
(with certain areas open to parking for permit holders) and part of Prince Arthur Street and the Gay Village
A gay village is a geographical area with generally recognized boundaries that is inhabited or frequented by many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBT) people. Gay villages often contain a number of gay-oriented establish ...
in Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. Algonquin and Ward's Islands, parts of the Toronto Islands
The Toronto Islands are a chain of 15 small islands in Lake Ontario, south of mainland Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Comprising the only group of islands in the western part of Lake Ontario, the Toronto Islands are located just offshore from the ...
group, are also car-free zones for all 700 residents. Since summer 2004, Toronto has also been experimenting with " Pedestrian Sunday
in its busy Kensington Market
Kensington Market is a distinctive multicultural neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Market is an older neighbourhood and one of the city's most well-known. In November 2006, it was designated a National Historic Site of Canad ...
. Granville Mall Granville Mall can refer to two different locations:
* Granville Mall, Halifax, a pedestrian mall in Halifax
* Granville Mall, Vancouver, a transit and pedestrian mall in Vancouver
{{Disambig ...
in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
was a run-down section of buildings on Granville Street built in the 1840s that was restored in the late 1970s. The area was then closed off to vehicles.
United States
=Downtown pedestrian zones
=
In the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, these zones are commonly called pedestrian malls or pedestrian streets and today are relatively rare, with a few notable exceptions. They were more closely tied to the success of retail than in Europe, and by the 1980s, most did not succeed competing with ever more elaborate enclosed malls. Almost all of this generation of pedestrian malls built from 1959 through to the 1970s, have disappeared, or were shrunk down in the 1990s at the request of the retailers. Half of Kalamazoo's pedestrian mall, America's first, has been converted into a regular street with auto traffic, though with wide sidewalks.
In 1959, Kalamazoo
Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...
was the first American city to implement a "pedestrian mall" in its downtown core,
This became a method that some cities applied for their downtowns to compete with the growing suburban shopping malls of the time. In the 1960s and 70s over 200 towns in the United States adopted this approach.[ The idea of exclusive pedestrian zones lost popularity through the 1980s and into the 1990s and results were generally disappointing, but are enjoying a renaissance with the 1989 renovation and relaunch of the ]Third Street Promenade
The Third Street Promenade is a pedestrian mall esplanade, shopping, dining and entertainment complex in the downtown area of Santa Monica, California which originally opened as the Santa Monica Mall on November 8, 1965. It is considered a premier ...
in Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
, the 1994-5 Fremont Street Experience
The Fremont Street Experience (FSE) is a pedestrian mall and attraction in downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. The FSE occupies the westernmost five blocks of Fremont Street, including the area known for years as "Glitter Gulch", and portions of some ot ...
in Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
and recent pedestrianization of various streets in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
The Downtown Mall
The Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, Virginia is one of the longest pedestrian malls in the United States. Located on Main Street, it runs from 6th St. N.E. to Old Preston Ave., where it extends to Water St., for total length of eight blocks. I ...
in Charlottesville, VA
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen C ...
is one of the longest pedestrian mall
Pedestrian zones (also known as auto-free zones and car-free zones, as pedestrian precincts in British English, and as pedestrian malls in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town reserved for pedestrian-only use and in whi ...
s in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, created in 1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
and spanning nine city blocks.
A number of streets and malls in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
are now pedestrian-only, including 6½ Avenue
__NOTOC__
6½ Avenue is a north-south Pedestrian malls in the United States, pedestrian passageway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, running from 51st Street (Manhattan), West 51st to 57th Street (Manhattan), West 57th Streets between Sixth ...
, Fulton Street, parts of Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
, and a block of 25th Street.
A portion of Third Street in Santa Monica in Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
was converted into a pedestrian mall in the 1960s to become what is now the Third Street Promenade, a very popular shopping district located just a few blocks from the beach and Santa Monica Pier
The Santa Monica Pier is a large double-jointed pier at the foot of Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica, California, United States. It contains a small amusement park, concession stands, and areas for views and fishing.
Attractions Pacific Park
Th ...
.
Lincoln Road in Miami Beach
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...
, which had previously been a shopping street with traffic, was converted into a pedestrian only street in 1960. The designer was Morris Lapidus. Lincoln Road Mall is now one of the main attractions in Miami Beach.
=Outside large cities
=
Mackinac Island
Mackinac Island ( ; french: Île Mackinac; oj, Mishimikinaak ᒥᔑᒥᑭᓈᒃ; otw, Michilimackinac) is an island and resort area, covering in land area, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The name of the island in Odawa is Michilimackinac an ...
, between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, banned horseless carriage
Horseless carriage is an early name for the car, motor car or automobile. Prior to the invention of the motor car, carriages were usually pulled by animals, typically horses. The term can be compared to other transitional terms, such as mobile ph ...
s in 1896, making it auto-free. The original ban still stands, except for emergency vehicles. Travel on the island is largely by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage. An road, M-185 rings the island, and numerous roads cover the interior. M-185 is the only highway in the United States without motorized vehicles.
Fire Island
Fire Island is the large center island of the outer barrier islands parallel to the South Shore of Long Island, in the U.S. state of New York.
Occasionally, the name is used to refer collectively to not only the central island, but also Lo ...
in Suffolk County, New York
Suffolk County () is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of New York. It is mainly located on the eastern end of Long Island, but also includes several smaller islands. According to the 2020 United States census, the county's populatio ...
is pedestrianised east of the Fire Island Lighthouse
The Fire Island Lighthouse is a visible landmark on the Great South Bay, in southern Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York on the western end of Fire Island, New York, Fire Island, a barrier island off the southern c ...
and west of Smith Point County Park
Smith Point County Park is a beachfront park facing the Atlantic Ocean on the east end of Fire Island, along the central south shore of Long Island, near Shirley, New York, United States. It is the largest park owned by Suffolk County.
The park ...
(with the exception of emergency vehicles).
Supai, Arizona
Supai ( yuf-x-hav, Havasuuw) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Coconino County, Arizona, United States, within the Grand Canyon.
As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a population of 208. The capital of the Havasupai Indian Reservation, Supai ...
, located within the Havasupai Indian Reservation
The Havasupai Indian Reservation is a Native Americans in the United States, Native American Indian reservation, reservation for the Havasupai people, surrounded entirely by the Grand Canyon National Park, in Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino Cou ...
is entirely car-free, the only community in the United States where mail is still carried out by mule. Supai is located eight miles from the nearest road, and is accessible only by foot, horse/mule, or helicopter.
Culdesac Tempe
Culdesac Tempe is an urban planning initiative that opened in the autumn of 2022.
Overview
Culdesac Tempe is a car-free neighborhood in the U.S. consisting of 1000 residents and zero cars or parking spaces, aside from a few for visitors. Culd ...
, a 17-acre (0.069 square kilometers) car-free district in Tempe, Arizona
, settlement_type = City
, named_for = Vale of Tempe
, image_skyline = Tempeskyline3.jpg
, imagesize = 260px
, image_caption = Tempe skyline as se ...
, is intended to be the nation's first market-rate rental apartment district to ban its tenants from owning cars. Bikes and emergency vehicles are allowed. It has received significant investments from executives at Lyft
Lyft, Inc. offers mobility as a service, ride-hailing, vehicles for hire, motorized scooters, a bicycle-sharing system, rental cars, and food delivery in the United States and select cities in Canada. Lyft sets fares, which vary using a dyn ...
and Opendoor
Opendoor Technologies Inc. is an online company that buys and sells residential real estate. Headquartered in San Francisco, it makes instant cash offers on homes through an online process, makes repairs on the properties it purchases and relists ...
.
Latin America
Argentina
Argentina's big cities, Córdoba, Mendoza and Rosario
Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...
, have lively pedestrianised street centers ( es, peatonales) combined with town square
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...
s and parks which are crowded with people walking at every hour of the day and night.
In Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, some stretches of Calle Florida
Florida Street ( es, Calle Florida) is a popular shopping street in Downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina. A pedestrian street since 1971, some stretches have been pedestrianized since 1913.
The pedestrian section as such starts at the intersection ...
have been pedestrianised since 1913, which makes it one of the oldest car-free thoroughfares in the world today. Pedestrianised Florida, Lavalle and other streets contribute to a vibrant shopping and restaurant scene where street performers and tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
dancers abound, streets are crossed with vehicular traffic at chamfered corners.
Brazil
Paquetá Island
Paquetá Island ( pt, Ilha de Paquetá) is an island in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. The name of the island is a Tupi word meaning "many pacas". The island is an auto-free zone, so travel is limited to bicycles and horse-drawn carriages. Paque ...
in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
is auto-free. The only cars allowed on the island are police and ambulance vehicles. In Rio de Janeiro, the roads beside the beaches are auto-free on Sundays and holidays.
Downtown Rio de Janeiro, Ouvidor Street, over almost its entire length, has been continually a pedestrian space since the mid-nineteenth century when not even carts or carriages were allowed. And the Saara District, also downtown, consists of some dozen or more blocks of colonial streets, off-limits to cars, and crowded with daytime shoppers. Likewise, many of the city's hillside favelas are effectively pedestrian zones as the streets are too narrow and/or steep for automobiles.
Eixo Rodoviário
Eixo e Eirol is a civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their comb ...
, in Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
, which is 13 kilometers long and 30 meters wide and is an arterial road
An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...
connecting the center of that city from both southward and northward wings of Brasília's Plano Piloto, perpendicular to the well known Eixo Monumental (Monumental Axis
The Monumental Axis ( pt, Eixo Monumental) is a central avenue in Brasília's city design.
The avenue begins on the National Congress of Brazil building and is considered part of the DF-002 road. Its first section is known as "Ministries Espl ...
in English), is auto-free on Sundays and holidays.
Rua XV de Novembro
Rua XV de Novembro (15 November Street) is one of the major streets in downtown Curitiba. Also known as ''Rua das Flores'' (Flower Street), it is one of the first major pedestrian streets in Brazil. It was inaugurated in 1972, with well-tended ...
(15 November Street) in Curitiba
Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...
is one of the first major pedestrian streets in Brazil.
Chile
Chile has many large pedestrian streets. An example is Paseo Ahumada
Paseo Ahumada is four-block-long street in downtown Santiago. It extends in a north–south direction from Plaza de Armas to the Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins and is lined by buildings housing retail establishments at their lower ...
in Santiago and Calle Valparaíso in Viña del Mar.
Colombia
During his 1998–2001 term, the former Bogotá
Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
mayor, U.S.-born Enrique Peñalosa
Enrique Peñalosa Londoño (born 30 September 1954) is a Colombian politician. He was mayor of Bogotá from 1998 until 2001 and elected again in 2015 for the 2016–2019 term. He was prominently featured in the Panama Papers for use of off-s ...
, created several pedestrian streets, plaza
A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...
s and bike paths
A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...
integrated with a new bus rapid transit system.
The historic center of Cartagena closes some streets to cars during certain hours.
In downtown Armenia, Colombia
Armenia () is the capital of Quindio Department. Armenia is a medium-sized city and part of the " coffee axis" along with Pereira and Manizales. It is one of the main centers of the national economy and of the Colombian coffee growing axis. As ...
there is a large pedestrian street where several boutiques are located.
Santa Marta
Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...
also has permanent pedestrian zones in the historic center around the Cathedral Basílica of Santa Marta
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
.
Mexico
The Historic center of Mexico City
The historic center of Mexico City ( es, Centro Histórico de la Ciudad de México), also known as the Centro or Centro Histórico, is the central neighborhood in Mexico City, Mexico, focused on Zócalo or main plaza and extending in all direction ...
has 12 pedestrian streets including Madero Street
Francisco I. Madero Avenue, commonly known as simply Madero Street, is a geographically and historically significant pedestrian street of Mexico City and a major thoroughfare of the historic city center. It has an east–west orientation from Z ...
, and as of June 30, 2020, is expanding the number to 42 pedestrian streets.
Génova is a busy pedestrian street in the Zona Rosa as is Plaza Garibaldi
Plaza Garibaldi is located in historic downtown Mexico City, on Eje Central (Lázaro Cárdenas) between historic Calle República de Honduras and Calle República de Peru, a few blocks north of the Palacio de Bellas Artes. The original name of thi ...
downtown, where mariachis play.
Playa del Carmen
Playa del Carmen, known colloquially as 'Playa', is a resort city located along the Caribbean Sea in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is part of the municipality of Solidaridad. As of 2020, the city's population was just over 300,000 peopl ...
has a pedestrian mall, '' Quinta Avenida'', ("Fifth Avenue") that stretches and receives 4 million visitors annually with hundreds of shops and restaurants.
Peru
Jirón de La Unión in Lima is a traditional pedestrian street located in the Historic Centre of Lima, part of the capital of Peru.
In the city of Arequipa, Mercaderes is also a considerably large pedestrian street.
Also, recently three of the four streets surrounding the city's main square or "Plaza de Armas" were also made pedestrian.
South and East Asia
Mainland China
Nanjing Road
Nanjing Road (; Shanghainese: ''Noecin Lu'') is a road in Shanghai, the eastern part of which is the main shopping district of Shanghai. It is one of the world's busiest shopping streets, along with Fifth Avenue, Oxford Street, Orchard Road, T ...
in Shanghai is perhaps the most well-known pedestrian zone in mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
. Wangfujing
Wangfujing () is a shopping street in Beijing, China, located in Dongcheng District. The majority of the main area is pedestrianised. Since the middle of the Ming Dynasty there have been commercial activities in the area. In the Qing Dynas ...
is a famous tourist and retail oriented pedestrian zone in Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. Chunxilu
Chunxi Road () is a pedestrianized shopping street in Chengdu, the capital of China's Sichuan Province. More than 700 shops can be found here including large shopping malls, department stores, supermarkets, street stalls, and boutiques, as well as ...
in Chengdu
Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...
is the most well known in western China. Dongmen is the busiest business zone in Shenzhen
Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...
. Zhongyang Street is a historical large pedestrian street in Harbin
Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...
.
Hong Kong
In Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
, since 2000, the government has been implementing full-time or part-time pedestrian streets in a number of areas, including Causeway Bay, Central, Wan Chai, Mong Kok, and Tsim Sha Tsui. The most popular pedestrian street is Sai Yeung Choi Street
Sai Yeung Choi Street () are two streets in Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong, namely, Sai Yeung Choi Street South (西洋菜南街) and Sai Yeung Choi Street North (西洋菜北街). Although officially two streets, local people seldom make distin ...
. It was converted into a pedestrian street in 2003. From December 2008 to May 2009, there were three acid attacks during which corrosive liquids were placed in plastic bottles and thrown from the roof of apartments down onto the street.
India
Vehicles have been banned in the town of Matheran
Matheran is an automobile-free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and one of the smallest hill ...
, in Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
, India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
since the time it was discovered in 1854.
In India, a citizens’ initiative in Goa state, has made 18 June Road, Panjim's main shopping boulevard a Non-Motorised Zone(NoMoZo). The road is converted into a NoMoZo for half a day on one Sunday every month.
In Pune, Maharashtra, similar efforts have been made to convert M.G. Road (a.k.a. Main Street) into an open-air mall. The project in question aimed to create a so-called "Walking Plaza".
In May 2019, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) made the busy Ajmal Khan Road in Karol Bagh
Karol Bagh is a neighbourhood in Central District of Delhi, India. It is a mixed residential and commercial neighborhood known for shopping streets such as the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road.
It was home to the Karol Bagh Lok Sabha cons ...
pedestrian-only.
Japan
Pedestrian zones in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
are called ''hokōsha tengoku'' (歩行者天国, literally "pedestrian heaven"). Clis Road, in Sendai
is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture, the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,091,407 in 525,828 households, and is one of Japan's 20 Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, desig ...
, Japan, is a covered pedestrian mall, as is Hondōri
is a commercial area in Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan, which centers on the Hondōri street which today is a shopping arcade. Hondōri, which means "Main Street", runs from Hatchōbori to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Hondōri was also prev ...
in Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...
. Several major streets in Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
are closed to vehicles during weekends. One particular temporary ''hokōsha tengoku'' in Akihabara was cancelled after the Akihabara massacre
The was an incident of mass murder that took place on 8June 2008, in the Akihabara shopping quarter in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The perpetrator, 25-year-old of Susono, Shizuoka, drove into a crowd with a rented truck, initially killing three peo ...
in which a man rammed a truck into the pedestrian traffic and subsequently stabbed more than 12 people.
South Korea
Insadong
Insa-dong is a ''dong'', or neighborhood in the Jongno-gu district of Seoul. The main street is Insadong-gil, which is connected to a multitude of alleys that lead deeper into the district,David Armstrong (June 3, 2007)''SEOUL lives life on the e ...
in Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
has a large pedestrian zone (''Insadong-gil'') during certain hours.
Also in South Korea, in 2013, in the Haenggun-dong neighbourhood of Suwon
Suwon (, ) is the capital and largest city of Gyeonggi-do, South Korea's most populous province which surrounds Seoul, the national capital. Suwon lies about south of Seoul. It is traditionally known as "The City of Filial Piety". With a populati ...
, streets were closed to cars as a month-long car-free experiment while the city hosted the EcoMobility
The EcoMobility Alliance is a global, cross-sectoral partnership for the affirmation of EcoMobility i.e. the ''integrated promotion of walking, cycling, wheeling and passenging''. The Alliance promotes EcoMobility for the purpose of mobility and ac ...
World Festival. Instead of cars, residents used non-motorized vehicles provided by the festival organizers. The experiment was not unopposed; however, on balance it was considered a success. Following the festival, the city embarked on discussions about adopting the practice on a permanent basis.
Taiwan
Ximending
Ximending (sometimes Hsimenting, ; Tâi-lô: Se-mn̂g-ting; Japanese Romaji: ) is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan, along with its main rival, the Eastern District of Taipei.
Overview
Ximending ha ...
in Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
, Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
is a neighborhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan. It was the first pedestrian zone in Taiwan. The district is very popular in Taiwan. In central Taiwan, Yizhong Street
Yizhong Street () is a pedestrian mall, pedestrian street located in North District, Taichung, North District, Taichung, Taiwan. It is located between Sanmin Rd. (三民路), Yizhong St.(一中街), Taiping Rd.(太平路), Yucai St.(育才街), Y ...
is one of the most popular pedestrian shopping area in Taichung
Taichung (, Wade–Giles: ''Tʻai²-chung¹'', pinyin: ''Táizhōng''), officially Taichung City, is a special municipality located in central Taiwan. Taichung has approximately 2.8 million residents and is the second most populous city of Taiw ...
.
Thailand
In Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, some small streets (Soi) in Bangkok
Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...
are designed to be all-time closed traffic, the city's famous shopping streets of Sampheng
Sampheng ( th, สำเพ็ง, ) is a historic neighbourhood and market in Bangkok's Chinatown, in Samphanthawong District. It was settled during the establishment of Bangkok in 1782 by Teochew Chinese, and eventually grew into the surroundi ...
Lane in Chinatown
A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...
and Wang Lang Market 250px, Sushi shop within the market
Wang Lang Market ( th, ตลาดวังหลัง, , ) is a daily market in Bangkok Noi district next to Siriraj Hospital and Chao Phraya river in Bangkok's Thonburi side.
The name "Wang Lang Market" mean ...
nearby to Siriraj Hospital, are the most popular for both local and tourists shopping streets. Additionally the city has built long skywalk
A skyway, skybridge, skywalk, or sky walkway is an elevated type of pedway connecting two or more buildings in an urban area, or connecting elevated points within mountainous recreational zones. Urban skyways very often take the form of enclos ...
systems. Walking Street, Pattaya
Walking Street is an entertainment and red-light district in the city of Pattaya, Thailand. The street is a tourist attraction which draws foreigners and Thai nationals, primarily for its night life. The Walking Street area includes seafood resta ...
is also closed to traffic. Night market
Night markets or night bazaars are street markets which operate at night and are generally dedicated to more leisurely strolling, shopping, and eating than more businesslike day markets. They are typically open-air markets popular in East Asia, Sou ...
s are routinely closed to auto traffic.
Vietnam
Huế
Huế () is the capital of Thừa Thiên Huế province in central Vietnam and was the capital of Đàng Trong from 1738 to 1775 and of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty from 1802 to 1945. The city served as the old Imperial City and admi ...
in Vietnam has made 3 roads into pedestrians-only on weekend nights. Also, Hanoi
Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...
has opened an Old Quarter Walking Street on weekend nights.
Ho Chi Minh City
, population_density_km2 = 4,292
, population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2
, population_demonym = Saigonese
, blank_name = GRP (Nominal)
, blank_info = 2019
, blank1_name = – Total
, blank1_ ...
also changed Nguyễn Huệ street into pedestrian zone.
Middle East and North Africa
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
contains some of the largest auto-free areas in the world. Fes-al-Bali, a medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
of Fes
Fez or Fes (; ar, فاس, fās; zgh, ⴼⵉⵣⴰⵣ, fizaz; french: Fès) is a city in northern inland Morocco and the capital of the Fès-Meknès administrative region. It is the second largest city in Morocco, with a population of 1.11 mi ...
, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
, with its population of 156,000, may be the world's largest contiguous completely carfree area, and the medinas of Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
, Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Meknes
Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...
, Essaouira, and Tangier
Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
are quite extensive.
In Israel, Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
has a pedestrian mall, near ''Nahalat Binyamin Street''. Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
is a pedestrian mall.
Oceania
Australia
In Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, as in the US, these zones are commonly called pedestrian malls and in most cases comprise only one street
A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...
. Most pedestrian streets were created in the late 1970s and 1980s, the first being City Walk, Garema Place
Garema Place is a paved outdoor area in Civic, Canberra, Australia, with a number of shops, restaurants and cafes with outdoor dining. As a central point within the CBD, many community events including protests and festivals are held at the l ...
in Canberra
Canberra ( )
is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...
in 1971. Of 58 pedestrian streets created in Australia in the last quarter of the 20th century, 48 remain today, ten having re-introduced car access between 1990 and 2004.Australian Outdoor Pedestrian Mall Survey
2006 All capital cities in Australia have at least one pedestrian street of which most central are: Pitt Street Mall
Pitt Street Mall is the pedestrianised section of Pitt Street in the Sydney central business district, in the Australian state of New South Wales. Running for approximately 200 metres between Market Street and King Street, it is one block lon ...
and Martin Place
Martin Place is a pedestrian mall in the Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. Martin Place has been described as the "civic heart" of Sydney. in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Bourke Street#Bourke Street Mall, Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne, Queen Street Mall and Brunswick Street Mall in Brisbane, Rundle Mall in Adelaide, Hay Street, Perth, Hay Street and Murray Street, Perth, Murray Street Malls in Perth, Elizabeth Street Mall in Hobart, City Walk in Canberra, and Smith Street, Darwin, Smith Street in Darwin, Northern Territory, Darwin. Many other mid-sized and regional Australian cities also feature pedestrian malls, examples include Langtree Avenue Mildura, Cavill Avenue Surfers Paradise, Bridge Street Ballarat, Nicholas Street Ipswich, Queensland, Ipswich, Hargreaves Street Bendigo, Maude Street Shepparton and Little Mallop Street Geelong.
Empirical studies by Jan Gehl indicate an increase of pedestrian traffic as result of public domain improvements in the centres of Melbourne with 39% increase between 1994 and 2004[Melbourne 'Places for People'](_blank)
and Perth with 13% increase between 1993 and 2009.[City of Perth - Public Spaces Public Life](_blank)
Most intensive pedestrian traffic flows on a summer weekday have been recorded in Bourke Street Mall Melbourne with 81,000 pedestrians (2004), Rundle Mall Adelaide with 61,360 pedestrians (2002), Pitt Street Mall Sydney with 58,140 (2007) and Murray Street Mall Perth with 48,350 pedestrians (2009).
Rottnest Island off Perth is car-free, only allowing vehicles for essential services. Bicycles are the main form of transport on the island; they can be hired or brought over on the ferry.
In Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs, there have been many proposals to make the Doncaster Hill development area a pedestrian zone. If the proposals are passed, the zone could be one of the largest in the world, by area.
New Zealand
In New Zealand, it is becoming more common to use public transportation against cars, such as in Queenstown, New Zealand, Queenstown, a prominent pedestrianised area including multiple lanes and streets inside the main blocks. Queenstown Lakes District Council and affiliated groups including Destination Queenstown and Downtown Queenstown propose adding another stretch into a car free zone. This is continuing with large grassed settings along the full pedestrianised promenade. Auckland is also starting to pedestrianise malls and streets.
See also
* Carfree city
* Car Free Days
* Car-free movement
* Footpath
* Jan Gehl
* List of car-free places
* Mobility transition
*
*
* ''Principles of intelligent urbanism''
*
*
*
* Urban vitality
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedestrian Zone
Car-free zones,
Pedestrian safety