Cars are a major aspect of transportation in the twenty-first century. Having the hottest, newest, model of vehicle is all the craze in todays car-loving society. But new research shows that cars are becoming a leading contributor to the pollution of major cities world wide, and cities all across the globe are doing whatever they can to help prevent the pollution.

Eupore has always fancied its luxurious cars, esspecially in upscale communities. But in recent years countries such as Gremany and France have made efforts to reduce the amount of cars on the streets in order to reduce the amount of pollution in the air. A new upscale community in Vauban, Germany has been built competely on the basis of no cars. Seventy percent of the residents of this community do not own cars, and those who do own cars, must keep them outside of the community. Many residents here feel that having no cars gives them a little peace of mind. Heidrun Walter, a resident of Vauban says, "When I had a car I was always tense. I'm much happier this way." A major up-side to not owning a car is the relief from stress. Many people have many worries about their cars; whether it will work, the amount of gas in it, the cost of gas, and so on. Getting rid of the problem also gets rid of the worry. Getting rid of cars also allows new opportunities for better city building. Makeing cities and suburbs denser discourages the need for cars and promotes the idea of walking, biking, or skating to a destination.

The United States has always loved its cars, but recently many people have taken to the side-walks instead of taking to the streets. Transportation is the second largest source of emissions in America and it seems to be declining. Studyies find that after 2005, many Americans began to stop buysing cars and started to find other ways to go from point A to point B.  Many people credit this fact to the recession around 2008. After the down turn, people became more money contious, and the unemployed didn't need to go anywhere anyway. With no cars, Americans can save thousands of dollars a year because of no payments and not having to pay those expensive gas prices! The fewer cars on the street has also had a postivie impact on the enviornment. Less greenhouse gases has made the air in the suburbs and some cities much cleaner. Technology has also made a huge impact on our commute. People connected with friends and family without even having to drive and visit them, and teleconfernces across countries and continents have reduced the need to drive or fly places to do buisness. Many mojor car producig companies have also rebranded themselves in order to make personal transportation a thing of the past and make mass public transportation a obtainable goal.

Smog is a big issue, not only in the United States, but also in places such as Erope and Latin America, both of which have started to make efforts on cleaning the air and redcing the amount of cars on the road. In the 1990's Bogota, Colombia started a tradition in which the citizens find alternative ways of trasportation to work and shops one day out of the year, and for three straight years, cars have been banned in the streets on this "holiday." Because this event has grown so poular, many people have started to practice life without cars on a daily basis. New parks have formed, hundreds of biking paths have been added throughout the city, and upscale resturants and stores have began to pop up in the city. The car-free lifestyle has definitely effected Bogota, Colombia. Europe has also had a great quarrel with its smog problem in recent years, and Frane has been making an effort to stop the smog problem from getting any bigger. Paris recently put a ban on driving in the city in effort to reduce smog. On Monday, divers with even license plates were asked to find other ways of transportation, and on Tuesday drivers with odd license plates could not drive. The population did not have a very positive reaction, but the congestion of cars in the capital did go down sixty percent on both days, and the efforts worked so well, the city was able to lift the ban after on week.

Car culture has been a part of our societ for a long time. However, large strides have been made all across the globe in order to reduce the amount of cars on the road and the amount of pollution in the air. These strides have had many positive impacts on the communities they have served in and continute to make tomorrow a better and cleaner world.