Conference aims to rid cities of cars

DELEGATES from across the world will attend a conference in Yorkshire next month which will call for a radical shift away from modern society's reliance on cars.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st May 2010, 11:16 BST
Updated 21st May 2010, 11:16 BST

The UK's first Towards Carfree Cities event will be staged in York to discuss a range of measures aimed at encouraging other modes of transport, including cycling and walking as well as rail services.

The conference is expected to attract more than 100 campaigners, academics and architects from four continents. Delegates are due to travel from as far afield as Australia, Columbia and South Africa as well as Germany, Hungary, Belgium and Italy.

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One of the organisers, Richard Lane, claimed that there needed to be a dramatic re-think in the design of cities and towns to encourage people to ditch cars.

He added: "It is a rational decision to jump into your car now and drive to a supermarket on the outskirts of town, because that is the way that urban areas have been designed.

"There needs to be a radical change in the way towns and cities are designed to try and reduce the reliance on cars.

"The biggest incentives to stop using cars are the rising cost of fuel and the congestion on our roads, and these are problems which are not going to go away."

Related topics:YorkshireYorkBelgiumItalyHungaryGermany