In Miami, sitting in traffic is simply a part of everyday life, be it during lunch hour or rush hour or be it because of unpredictable accidents or planned road closures. The city is so large that it is oftentimes impossible to walk from point A to point B in a timely manner, and the climate is so unpredictable that is is oftentimes impossible to make such a trek anyways. Could Miami ever be made a car-free community? Considering that these types of communities lower municipal carbon emissions, require better city planning, and encourage people to take advantage of public transportation, Miami, and other cities and suburbs around the United States, should make efforts to reduce private car ownership and use.

Car-free communities are not a theoretical concept. In fact, cities and smaller suburbs have made the move to car-free lifestyles and even been designed with limited car usage in mind all over the world, and even in some parts of the United States. Places like Vauban, Germany and Bogota, Colombia are using this trend to make citizens happier, healthier, and more efficient (Rosenthal, Selsky). Alternative transportation, be it walking, bicycling, or taking a bus, is just as viable a way to get around as cars are, and it leads to smarter city planning that accounts for a higher volume of pedestrians walking from their homes to run errands and go shopping and a lessened impact on the environment through fewer greenhouse gas emissions. These things also work together to make for happier citizens. "It's a good opportunity to take away stress and lower air pollution," says businessman Carlos Arturo about Bogota's city-wide car-free day, a program instituted by city officials to encourage limited car usage in 1999 (Selsky). A mother of two and media trainer in Vaudan, Germany, where 70 percent of families do not own cars, agrees with Mr. Arturo, saying that life with cars was "always tense" (Rosenthal).

It is very understandable that cars would make people nervous. "Cars are responsible for ... up to 50 percent" of greenhouse gas emissions in some areas of the United States (Rosenthal). Greenhouse gas is notoriously harmful for the environment because it speeds up the process of global warming which can result in higher mean temperatures and things like smog that can bring up very serious health risks. Record high levels of smog in Paris, France last year forced city officials to institute a temporary ban on driving while the city's air was allowed to clear (Duffer). Paris typically has a higher amount of pollution in the air than other more eco-conscious European cities, sometimes even a full 67.3 micrograms higher than the level of pollution in London according to Reuters, an international news agency (Duffer).

Car-free communities lower carbon emissions tremendously, making smog and other consequences of greenhouse gases much less pressing issues to deal with. In order to reduce the number of cars on the roads, public transportation must be readily accessible and as effictient as possible. This helps city governments manage the amount of carbon they are pumping into the atmosphere by giving them the opportunity to regulate things such as buses, subways, and other forms of metro transit. Public transportation does not only mean actual modes of transportation, though; car-free communities must make allowances for the creation and maintainment of things like better sidewalks and bicicyle paths for citizens who elect to use them (Rosenthal, Selsky). Congestion would then also be lowered because fewer cars on roadways usually do not result in city-typical, and definitely Miami-typical, traffic jams (Duffer).

While it is impossible to assume that Americans will stop using their cars from one day to the next, there are many ways to gradually increase the appeal of car-free lifestyles in commuter cities and suburbs and therefore to reap some of the benefits of diminished popular car usage. In fact, milennials in America have already started this move towards car-free communities (Rosenthal). Younger generations are waiting longer to apply for their licenses and buy cars, instead choosing to utilize public transportation, walk, or car-pool with friends. Sociologists have also noticed that America has surpassed peak car usage, meaning that Americans no longer drive as much as they once did. The "car culture" that prevails in suburbs and cities through the nation may be on its way into obscurity if the trend continues (Rosenthal). Scientists, sociologists, and citizens alike will most likely agree that this move will indubitably be one for the better!