In todays society driving or riding in a car is a completely normal activity.  You drive to school, work, extracurricular activities, social gatherings, and everything else that doesnt happen in your own home.  Cars are a part of everyday life.

What if I told you that there a cities that are banning car usage?  Vauban in Germany is a suburb that has given up cars.  Paris banned driving for a few days to reduce smog.  Bogata, Columbia initiated an annual "car-free day."  Cities all over the world are giving up cars and looking to other forms of transportation.  So why limit car usage? Well, the usage of cars produces O-zone harming greenhouse gass emissions, smog, traffic jams, and adds stress to the our everyday lives.

A large amount of the harmful greenhouse gas emissisions that surround the earth come directly from cars.  According to source 1 "Passenger cars are responsible for 12 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in Europe... and up to 50 percent in some car-intensive areas in the United States."  By ending the use of even a fraction of our car usage we would drastically improve the amount of gas emissions produced.  This improvement would mean healthier air and a healthier O-zone.

In Paris, France pollution and smog is a big problem.  Source 2 states that Paris has much more smog than other European capital cities. "Paris had 147 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter compared with 114 in Brussels and 79.7 in london."  Because of this intense smog Paris created a partial driving ban policy to help clear and clean the city air.  The policy stated that on Monday vehicles with an even-mumbered lincense plate would have to leave their cars at their home or be issued a 22-euro fine.  The next day this rule would apply to odd-numbered licence plates.  As a result to this partial ban the city smog and congestion levels decreased by 60 percent.  Even this partial change benefited the city greatly by reducing smog and poor air quality.

One growing trend in some cities in South America is "car-free day."  Source 3 describes how "cars have been banned with only buses and taxis permitted." The objective of this day is to enchorage the usage of public transportation.  This day was "a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution" according to one businessman by the name of Carlos Arturo Plaza.  He is right.  Cars are an added stress to a busy day.  While driving there is a constant fear of being involved in an accident, getting lost, popping a tire, or having your car break down.  There is also the nuisance of heavy stop-and-go traffic, bad drivers, and uncooperative lights.  When the amount of cars on the road is reduced there are less bad drivers, less traffic jams, and less stress.  That also means that safety is improved so there are less accidents.

By limiting their car usage many cities have improved their enviroments and their lives.  In all these cities greenhous gas levels are reduced, the smog levels in Paris have fallen, safety in these cities has improved, and the stress of transportation has become less of an issue. With all of these advantages is there really a question why these cities have been limiting car usage? When you think about the advantages of reducing private transportation these vehicle bans make perfect sense.