Financial Times - Driving change towards car-free cities

Interest in some form of car restriction is growing fast worldwide. Singapore has a more sophisticated – and highly effective – congestion-charging regime than London, coupled with high payments for car ownership. Portland was the main test-bed for a study by the state of Oregon into road-charging technology and how it would change drivers’ behaviour. In Zurich, only residents can park their cars – an approach the Foundation for the Urban Environment’s Laconte says is even more effective than charging for road use.

The question is how many politicians in the world’s increasingly congested cities dare to match their rhetoric about protecting their environments with the adoption of such hard-hitting measures.