World Carfree Network
Encyclopedia
The World Carfree Network is an international network that coordinates the actions of car-free advocates from around the world. It is the main hub of the global car-free movement
. The World Carfree Network brings together roughly 90 member organisations and many more individuals dedicated to promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning at the international level. Working to reduce the human impact on the natural environment while improving the quality of life for all are major goals.
The Towards Carfree Cities conference series is one of the principal activities every year in the network. The conference has been held so far eight times and on three different continents:
Its International Coordination Centre is located in Prague
, Czech Republic
. See also list of car-free places.
Car-free movement
The car-free movement is a broad, informal, emergent network of individuals and organizations including social activists, urban planners and others brought together by a shared belief that cars are too dominant in most modern cities...
. The World Carfree Network brings together roughly 90 member organisations and many more individuals dedicated to promoting alternatives to car dependence and automobile-based planning at the international level. Working to reduce the human impact on the natural environment while improving the quality of life for all are major goals.
History
The network grew out of the activities of Car Busters, an international organisation within the carfree movement founded in 1997. The name Car Busters continues to be used in its joined spelling for Carbusters Magazine. Carbusters Magazine celebrated ten years of existence in 2008.The Towards Carfree Cities conference series is one of the principal activities every year in the network. The conference has been held so far eight times and on three different continents:
- Towards Carfree Cities I: October 26-November 1, 1997 - LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France - Towards Carfree Cities II: April 10–15, 2000 - TimişoaraTimisoaraTimișoara is the capital city of Timiș County, in western Romania. One of the largest Romanian cities, with an estimated population of 311,586 inhabitants , and considered the informal capital city of the historical region of Banat, Timișoara is the main social, economic and cultural center in the...
, Romania - Towards Carfree Cities III: March 17–22, 2003 - PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic - Towards Carfree Cities IV: July 19-24, 2004 - BerlinBerlinBerlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany - Towards Carfree Cities V: July 18–22, 2005 - BudapestBudapestBudapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Hungary - Towards Carfree Cities VI: September 20–24, 2006 - BogotáBogotáBogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia - Towards Carfree Cities VII: August 27–31, 2007 - IstanbulIstanbulIstanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, Turkey - Towards Carfree Cities VIII: June 16–20, 2008, Portland, OregonPortland, OregonPortland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, USA - Towards Carfree Cities IX: tba
Activities
The network runs many projects and activities. Some of these are run by the network's International Coordination Centre (ICC). Others are coordinated in a decentralised manner by network members. Others still, such as the Towards Carfree Cities conference series, function by consensus between a project coordinator at the ICC and one or more local partners.- World Carfree News monthly e-bulletin
- Carbusters Magazine
- World Carfree Day coordination and resources
- Towards Carfree Cities conference series
- World Carfree Network Resource Centre
- Carfree Green Pages online directory
- International Youth Exchanges (on irregular basis)
- Ecotopia Biketour coordination assistance
- Visegrad Publications Project (Central Europe)
- Autoholics Anonymous (UK)
- Carfree_Network discussion list
Its International Coordination Centre is located in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
. See also list of car-free places.