Here's what happens when cities ban cars
Key takeaways
- A citizen-led campaign in Berlin is collecting signatures to create a car‑free center in the German capital.
- The engineer spent years working on software for self-driving cars before realizing he really wanted to use his skills for things "that are more in the general interest of humankind."
- Having eased out of his job, he joined a group campaigning for a referendum to reduce traffic in the center of Germany's capital.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
A citizen-led campaign in Berlin is collecting signatures to create a car‑free center in the German capital. Other European cities show what happens when streets are built for people.
https://p.dw.com/p/5D1IEHeavy traffic fills Friedrichstraße in Berlin's city center in the early evening — something campaigners would like to change Image: Soeren Stache/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Berliners lost 60 hours to traffic congestion last year, which is something Oliver Collmann is hoping to change. The engineer spent years working on software for self-driving cars before realizing he really wanted to use his skills for things "that are more in the general interest of humankind."
Having eased out of his job, he joined a group campaigning for a referendum to reduce traffic in the center of Germany's capital.