Recently, in many countries around the world, there have been actions made towards the reduction or complete banishment of most automobiles in order to help advance society. In Paris, there was a law enacted forcing drivers to leave their cars at home every other day. A majority of the reasoning behind such a ban was the pollution that were constantly emitted into the atmosphere. This is not only accepted by the general public, but some even say that their stress was much lower than with automobiles in daily life.

The people who give up their vehicles to live in Vauban, Germany report having less stess than when they did use cars as daily transportation. As stated by Heidrun Walter, a media trainer who lives in Vauban, "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier this way." In this experimental surburban community, places to park a car are forbidden in most areas. They go as far as to rid of all driveways and parking lots in the community. This cerates more spaces or businesses to operate, causing all stores to be built closer to households. This in turn makes getting to and from places faster and safer. The people in Paris also prefer the decreased amount of vehicles during rush hour, which allieveates their stress tremendously when navigating the city. This has affected less major cities also, such as Bogota. Their annual car-free day has lead to the construction of over 118 miles of bicycle paths, which is the longest amount in any Latin country. Not only that, but other recreational activity centers have also emerged throughout the city, according the mayor of Bogota.

Pollution has had a large impact in large, car-intensified cities like Paris, which was, at some points, comparable to places with the most pollution. The smog eventually resided, but some aspects of the ban still remained. The cars there typically use diesel over gasoline due to tax policies that prefer it specifically. Thus, about two thirds of the vehicles in France prefer diesel engines, which are to blame for the smog that engulfed Paris. According the New York Times, Passenger cars in Europe are responsible for twelve percent of the total greenhouse emissions. The percentage in the United States is over four times that in some congested areas.

The cities of Paris, Vauban, and Bogota are few of the many global areas that have taken on the challenge of removing cars from their daily lives, which has benefited both their health and their environment. This is a part of the long-term shift in our societies' way of commuting from one place to another. The amount of people going to get driver licesnses has been on a decline since 2005 in the United States, and is projected the continue that path for a long time. In fact, there was a twenty three percent decrease in young poeple driving form 2001 to 2009. People are alreading seeing the benefits of decreasing the use of cars, and the amount of traffic is only going to keep decreasing. As a local businessman in Bogota said, "It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution."