Car Free Suburbs

Don't miss this article in the NY Times about some experimental car-free suburburban towns.

... 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said ...mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.

...Vauban, home to 5,500 residents within a rectangular square mile, may be the most advanced experiment in low-car suburban life. But its basic precepts are being adopted around the world in attempts to make suburbs more compact and more accessible to public transportation, with less space for parking...

“If you have one (a car), you tend to use it,” ...

... he is glad to be raising his children away from cars; he does not worry much about their safety in the street.