City dwellers around the world share a desire to be less dominated by cars

A survey of residents in New York, Paris and London found that a majority support the idea that cities should no longer be car-dominated places and that transport coordinators should do a better job of giving pedestrians and cyclists more freedom.

Conducted by a research group Survival On behalf of the Car-Free Cities campaign, the headline findings include the finding that support for fewer cars in cities in London, Paris and New York was 72%, 66% and 72% respectively.

Along with this shift in attitudes, support for providing more space for pedestrians and cyclists on city streets was 68%, 70%, and 71%, respectively; while support for completely car-free cities – with the exception of car-sharing clubs and cars for people with disabilities – was 51%, 45% and 49% respectively.

The main drivers of the desire to see change among citizens depended on a desire to tackle air pollution, carbon emissions and unsafe driving. Globally, 21.6% of all emissions come from road transport, the bulk of which comes from private cars. 81% of Londoners polled suggested they want direct action on climate change.

The majority of people surveyed in the cities also did not own a car: 66% did not own a car in London, 70% in Paris and 65% in New York. 61% of Londoners, 68% of Paris residents and 54% of Londoners said that if public transport were free, they would use it to replace most or all of the journeys they currently make by car.

With the data in hand, the “Metropolis without cars” campaign calls on the mayors of each city to be bolder in the fight against the dominance of cars. As part of his work, he created pedestrianized visions of heavily car-oriented areas in each of their cities (Hyde Park Corner in London, Place de la Concorde in Paris, and Grand Army Plaza in New York).

Cathy Lamrie of Paris Sans Voiture and project manager for car-free metropolises in Paris said: “This survey shows us that if traffic in London, New York and Paris were to be radically reduced, the majority of city dwellers in our three major cities would be delighted. They want to live in a peaceful city where their children can move safely, breathe clean air, where nature and biodiversity have their place. All this will help us build sustainable cities that can adapt to climate challenges – the need and desire to reduce traffic is universal!”

Sample size from each surveyed city:
London: 1073
Paris: 1095
New York: 1085

Also in the UK, the above findings are consistent with the National Travel Attitudes survey conducted by the Department for Transport. here 64% support increasing the number of bike laneseven if the space for car drivers is reduced.