Around the world, cars are being used every day to get to place to place. Cars are useful things that get us to places faster than public transportation, walking, biking, etc. But it doesnt seem to be worth all the things its causing. Pollution and smog carpet over cities because of all the car usage in such a small area. Sure cars are useful to going somewhere 20 or so miles away when there is no bus to bring you there, but do we really need them to go half a mile to get to work?

Many places have tried to reduce car usage, some even have special days where the complete ban them from being used. In Bogota, Colombia, for three straight years have had a day called "Day withough Cars". Only buses and taxis were permitted to drive on the roads on this day and anyone who decided to drive on their own, recived a $25 fine. Even when the rain came down, people didn't stop participating. Seeing the results, Colombian cites, Cali and Valledupar, also joined this event.

Some cites have big problems with smog and pollution from cars alone. After days of near-record pollution, Paris decided that it would be best to give the air some time to clear up. They enforced a partial driving ban to clear the air and it seemed to help. The ban was to decrease cars on the road by half, on Monday, drivers with odd-numbered license plates were allowed on the roads and the evens were told to leave their cars at home. The next day, the roles were switched and even though almost 4,000 drivers were fined and 72 people had their cars inpounded for the reactions to the fine, it helped.

In Vauban, Germany, They do allow cars, but it only has two parking spaces; large garages and at the edge of the development, which costs $40,000, along with a home. This place is an experimental district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near French and Swiss borders. 70 percent of the families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. Citizens seem to be much more happy with the no car zone and seem to enjoy walking and biking from place to place. Vauban, along with its 5,500 residents, are the part of a trend in Europe, the United States, and elsewhere to seperate suburban from cars as a component of a movement called "smart planning".

Many countries and cities are trying to help reduce the use of cars and are doing as much as they can to help out with the pollution and smog. This is an important step to helping our enviorment and conserving the resouces we need to better our lives. This doesn't mean getting rid of cars completely, carpooling and more conservative driving would help a lot as well. Limiting car usage is something we all need to do to live a better life and help our world.