Less road traffic means safer communities for people, pets and wildlife. It’s all interlinked. If we we want an animal-friendly world, it helps to focus on creating local walkable communities with good public transit, over roads gridlocked with traffic, from lorries thundering factory-farmed foods from central distribution houses to major supermarkets. And fosters locally owned co-operative farm shops and groceries, where we have a real community spirit. Read of a free bus transport idea from Miami.
The Dutch have the right idea, with thousands of bike highways, but what happens to people who want to cycle at a more leisurely place? And what about children playing outside their homes? Or wildlife which live in local areas? Why do we make traffic (‘getting there’) of importance above all else?
Curbing Traffic is a book by a couple who moved from Canada to Delft (The Netherlands) to experience the cycling city as residents. They weave their personal story with research and interviews with experts and locals, to help readers share the experience of living in a city designed for people. The book also looks at constant focus on the car has led to people without cars (especially the elderly) to feel isolated and become dependent on others for food or company or exercise.
For green spaces, avoid toxic plants near pets (also don’t plant in railings, where nocturnal wildlife could get trapped). Avoid facing indoor foliage to gardens, to help stop birds flying into windows.
Movement is a book concerned with how we get from A to B. And what happens if we radically rethink how we use our public spaces? Could our lives change for the better? Our dependence on cars at present is damaging both the health of the planet and of ourselves. Who do our streets belong to, what do we use them for, and who gets to decide? By the end of this book, you’ll never look at the street outside your front door, in the same way again.
An entertaining overview of how the Netherlands became a mecca for cycling. The authors make a strong case for putting cycling at the heart of our transport systems, but aren’t shy about identifying flaws in the Dutch approach. Ben Coates
This book will make you think in new ways. Why have we surrendered our cities to cars? What might it be like to inhabita a space designed for people instead? It’s exciting and hopeful – this can we do! Bill McKibben
Thaila Verkade lives in Rotterdam and writes about language, transport and democracy. Marco te Brömmelstroet is chair of Urban Mobility Futures at the University of Amsterdam.
