Brent pointed out this article in the New York Times about a carfree German suburb:
Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the French and Swiss borders. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.
Sound familiar? It’s the “car-lite” mode suggested by my favorite urban design manual, Carfree Cities. I’m glad to see communities implementing these principles in the real world; hopefully we can learn more about how to make places like this more common.
The city also looks well-placed as a destination for my upcoming (someday) architectural tour of Europe. Now if we could just get this silly dollar back up to its former value…
I saw that article this morning and was going to send it to you but Brent beat me to it!
And, in general, YAY!!
I keep meaning to note that a day without coughing would be a pretty sad day around here. Since Luke discovered coughing, we all have to take turns and do different types. Shallow, deep, different tones… Luke enjoys them all.