Car Free Citiesby Dharmendra Kapri | 03-10-2014 16:57 |
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There is a growing trend amongst big metropolitan centers in Europe to curve their emissions and the best example is Copenhagen that is building 26 bicycle superhighways that are to extend out from the city center as part of the city's goal to become carbon neutral by 2050. One of the most beautiful cities in Europe, Hamburg has embarked on an ambitious plan that aims to promote cycling and walking as the main means of transportation throughout the city. The goal of Hamburg's project is to replace roads with a ?gruenes netz? or a green network of interconnected open areas covering 40 percent of the city. The local administration plans to complete its green network that would virtually connect all parts of the city within 15 - 20 years. Even animal inhabitants are to benefit, as any critter that chooses to move through the network would be safe from being run over. Hamburg is already one of the greenest cities of Europe with about 40 percent of the city's surface maintained as green areas, cemeteries, sports facilities, gardens, parks and squares. The city comprises of two major green hubs, one in the north and the other to the south. After the proposed green network is completed, all the residents would enjoy access to nature and a sustainable commute. Median temperatures of the previous 60 years having risen to 9 degrees Celsius, marking a change of 1.2 degrees Celsius, the residents of Hamburg are reported to be particularly concerned about the implications of global warming on their routine lives. A bristling port city, Hamburg relies a lot on its North Sea trade routes and with the sea level already risen by 20 centimetres over the past 60 years and expected to rise by another 30 to 110 centimetres by 2100 their economy is sure to be adversely affected. Besides curving their emissions and making their own contributions to dimming global warming, the administration also has their residents' health in mind. Given that residents, especially children, the elderly and the ill, are to suffer with rise in temperature, making the city's climate as comfortable as possible is very important in order to provide quality of life. Hamburg's vision does not just help residents get from point A to point B in a sustainable fashion, it offers people opportunities to hike, swim, do water sports, enjoy picnics and restaurants, experience calm and watch nature and wildlife right in the city. This is to ultimately reduce the need to take the car for weekend outings outside the city. Hamburg is however not alone in banishing car from urban areas and the same is becoming a common trend in many European cities. London imposes a ?congestion charge? on private vehicles entering the city centre during peak hours.
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