Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you did not have to drive as much. Maybe you didn't have a car at all. A small experimental suburb in Germany is tooling with the idea of a no car life style, along with many cities in the United States where a car is not a neccesity. Paris however has banned car usage all together, becuase of the amount of smog produced becuase of the automobiles. This could marke the end of car culture across many countries, exspecially the United States. There are many advantages to not owning or using a car, some of them may just cause you to get ride of your car.

A small suburb in Germany on the France and Swiss border have given up on their cars. "Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in the experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg." The streets of this small town are car free. The twon offers a tram that runs through the downtown, and a few small streets on one edge of the community. The town cannot bain cars altogether, but if you own a car the only place to store it is in large garages at the edge of the town. One space can cost $40,000, the cost of the space comes with the home. Only 70 percent of the population in Freiburg owns a car and 57 percent sold there vehicle before moving. Germany isn't the only country with this type of movement. The United States is promoting "car reduced" communities. This will cause increase demand of public transport to the suburbs surrounding big cities such as Chicago and New York.

Paris, however, is the first city to prohibit driving altogether. "After days of near-record pollution, Paris enforced a partial drribing ban to clear the air of the global city. Drivers where asked to leave their cars at home or risk a fine of 22 -euro ($31). Almost 4,000 drivers where fined. Diesel fuel was blamed becuase France has a tax policy which promotes diesel fuel. Almost 70% of drives have diesel vehicles. Delivery companies complained of lost revenue, but exceptions where made for hybrids and electric vehicles. The public transit was free of charge during the bane.

"President Obama's ambitious goals to curb the United States' greenhouse gas emission, unveiled last week." American now is has fewer car sales, people driving less, and there are fewer and fewer liscences each year. Americas love of motor vehicles seems to be subsiding. People are driving about as much as they did in 1995 which is 9% lower then the peak in 2005. Some people may blame the lack of cars and driving on the reccession. On the other hand people were buying less cars two to three years befor the reccession even hit. If this pattern presists sociologist believe it will be eneficial for cabon emissions and the enviorment. This is becuase transpertation is the 2nd leading cause of carbon emission. This could have negitive effects on the automotive companies but they are already rebranding themselves as mobiltiy companies. This allows them to have a broder range of personal vehicles. Cities like New York have established a bike sharing program. This allows people access to bikes accross the city instead of taking a taxi. Many of the young people accross the country have not even bothered to get driver's liscenses. Driving decreased by 23% between years 2001 and 2009. They instead plan activites where they can walk or ride a bike.

The age of the car may be coming to an end. Communities have started promoting a car free life style. Made othe ways of transportation avaliable. The younger people in the community have quit driving all together. Wether becuase it is good for the enviorment or a choice they had to make becuase of the city they live in. Transpotation is evolving into a public affair, not a personal one. The automotive industry may take a hit but in the long run this could be beneficial for our planet. There will always be car buffs, but sooner rather then later, you may not own a car altogether.