The World Carfree Network (WCN) is an international network that coordinates the actions of car-free advocates from around the world. It is the main hub of the global

car-free movement The car-free movement is a broad, informal, emergent network of individuals and organizations, including social activists, urban planners, transportation engineers, environmentalists and others, brought together by a shared belief that large and ...

. The World Carfree Network brings together roughly 90-member organisations and many more individuals dedicated to promoting alternatives to

car dependence Car dependency is the concept that some city layouts cause cars to be favoured over alternate forms of transportation, such as bicycles, public transit, and walking. Overview In many modern cities, automobiles are convenient and sometimes nec ...

and automobile-based planning at the international level. Working to reduce the human impact on the natural environment while improving the

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

for all are major goals.

History

The network grew out of the activities of Car Busters, an international organisation within the carfree movement founded in 1997. The name Car Busters continued to be used in its joined spelling for Carbusters Magazine. Carbusters Magazine celebrated ten years of existence in 2008. The Towards Carfree Cities conference series is one of the principal activities every year in the network. The conference has been held so far eight times and on three different continents: *Towards Carfree Cities I: October 26-November 1, 1997 -

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, France *Towards Carfree Cities II: April 10–15, 2000 -

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, Romania *Towards Carfree Cities III: March 17–22, 2003 -

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, Czech Republic *Towards Carfree Cities IV: July 19–24, 2004 -

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, Germany *Towards Carfree Cities V: July 18–22, 2005 -

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary *Towards Carfree Cities VI: September 20–24, 2006 - Bogotá, Colombia *Towards Carfree Cities VII: August 27–31, 2007 -

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, Turkey *Towards Carfree Cities VIII: June 16–20, 2008,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

, USA *Towards Carfree Cities IX: 28 June-1 July 2010,

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, UK *Towards Carfree Cities X: 5–9 September 2011, Guadalajara, Mexico

Activities

The network runs many projects and activities. Some of these are run by the network's International Coordination Centre (ICC). Others are coordinated in a decentralised manner by network members. Others still, such as the Towards Carfree Cities conference series, function by consensus between a project coordinator at the ICC and one or more local partners. * World Carfree News monthly e-bulletin * Carbusters Magazine * Car-Free Days coordination and resources * Towards Carfree Cities conference series * World Carfree Network Resource Centre * Carfree Green Pages online directory * International Youth Exchanges (on irregular basis) * Ecotopia Biketour coordination assistance * Visegrad Publications Project (Central Europe) * Autoholics Anonymous (UK) * Carfree_Network discussion list Its International Coordination Centre is located in

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. See also

list of car-free places This is a list of car-free islands: islands inhabited by humans which have legally restricted or eliminated vehicle traffic from their territories. See also * Carfree city * Car-free movement * Low Traffic Neighbourhood * Pedestrian zone ...

External links

World Carfree Network websiteCarfree.com website
{{Authority control International environmental organizations Car-free movement