We call them Open Streets events. In French it's Journée Sans Voiture. On September 27, the world saw a car-free Paris.
"Pedestrians and bicyclists took over the streets of Paris [Sunday] for the Journée Sans Voiture (Day Without Cars) event," reports Klona Smith-Strickland. "Paris banned cars from large parts of the city center, including the famous Avenue des Champs-Élysées, as part of an effort to draw attention to the city’s dire pollution problem, especially in advance of climate talks which will take place in the city in December."
The main purpose of the article is to share some of the many images that came flooding out of Paris on the day of the event. According to Smith-Strickland, "Images from the city show crowded streets and clear blue skies. The clear skies are no coincidence in a city whose air pollution, on a peak day, can rival that of Beijing."
More details about the event are available from announcements about the Journée Sans Voiture from earlier this year.
FULL STORY: This is What Paris Looks Like Without Cars

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