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The war on cars in New York City

Oct 16, 2023

The invention of the automobile revolutionized how people could move around the world. But for all the benefits, the proliferation of cars has also brought with it many negative consequences for our cities, like increased air pollution and injuries and deaths from accidents. Also, a tremendous amount of space in cities goes toward accommodating cars, not just the roads but also the parking places. And this is space that’s in high demand. In this episode of Better Cities by Design, we spoke with Doug Gordon, safe streets advocate and co-host and producer of the podcast The War on Cars. Doug explains why he’s declared war on cars and how life in his home city, New York, could be improved by drastically reducing the number of cars there.

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Co-host and producer of The War on Cars podcast, Doug Gordon joins us for this episode of the show and talks about his fight to rid New York City (and cities around the world) of cars. Unlike many cites in the US, most New Yorkers do not own a car. Across the 5 boroughs, 55% of households do not own a car and a mere 22% of people commute to work with a car. Still, it’s estimated that there are around 620 car accidents in the city every day. And a 2021 Harvard and University of North Carolina study found that around 1400 New York residents die prematurely each year from pollution caused by trucks, cars, and buses. Doug and Davion discuss these and many other problems that cars create in cities, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic opened many New Yorkers’ eyes to what life in the Big Apple could be like with far fewer cars.

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The Arcadis global podcast

Better Cities by Design

Arcadis' fortnightly global podcast series, where we talk to change-makers to discuss how they are making our urban environments better places for people to live, work, and play

Episode transcript:

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