Amplifying the Call to Ban Cars

Could a political movement to ban cars be gaining momentum in North America?

1 minute read

November 22, 2017, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Street Closed

Dennis Hamilton / Flickr

Lloyd Alter takes on one of the sacred cows of American lifestyles, the automobile, and says its time to have a serious conversation about banning cars from cities.

Alter takes a cue from the ongoing gun control debate, noting that after a mass shooting, people will inevitably call for a ban on guns, to which another group will reply something along the following lines: "Cars kill more people than guns. Do you want to ban cars, too?"

Increasingly, however, people are voicing the opinion that cars should, in fact, be banned. Alter collects a variety of media sources who have made that exact argument in recent years, from Jessie Singer at BuzzFeed to Alissa Walker at her former post at Gizmodo. Alter says he too has come to adopt this belief—moving beyond his previous of banning SUVs or pickup trucks.

According to Alter, "It's time to stop being wishy-washy and recognize that we have to go further. Private cars simply do not belong in cities and should be banned."

Monday, November 20, 2017 in Treehugger

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

People walking up and down stairs in New York City subway station.

In Both Crashes and Crime, Public Transportation is Far Safer than Driving

Contrary to popular assumptions, public transportation has far lower crash and crime rates than automobile travel. For safer communities, improve and encourage transit travel.

7 hours ago - Scientific American

White public transit bus with bike on front bike rack in Nashville, Tennessee.

Report: Zoning Reforms Should Complement Nashville’s Ambitious Transit Plan

Without reform, restrictive zoning codes will limit the impact of the city’s planned transit expansion and could exclude some of the residents who depend on transit the most.

April 18 - Bloomberg CityLab

An engineer controlling a quality of water ,aerated activated sludge tank at a waste water treatment plant.

Judge Orders Release of Frozen IRA, IIJA Funding

The decision is a victory for environmental groups who charged that freezing funds for critical infrastructure and disaster response programs caused “real and irreparable harm” to communities.

April 18 - Smart Cities Dive