Hamburg, Germany center to ban car access by 2034

Alternatives: public transport or on foot or bicycle

Authorities in Hamburg, Germany have announced plans to ban access in the city's center by 2034.

The ambitious plan is part of an urban development scheme called "Green Network" which implies forbidding car access in the city's center by 2034 and also covering 40 percent of Hamburg's 292-square-mile surface in an intertwining network connecting parks, gardens, playgrounds, recreational areas and cemeteries. Hamburg city spokeswoman Angelika Fritsch says "in 15 to 20 years it will be possible to explore the city exclusively by bike or on foot."

Aside from making Hamburg quieter, greener and overall a more pleasant city to live in, the project's objective is to absorb CO2 emissions which will help prevent storm flooding. Over the past 60 years the median temperatures have risen by 1.2 degrees Celsius to more than 9 degrees and at the same time the sea levels have risen by 20 cm.

Critics of the Green Network plan are saying all the space would be more suitable for business development as well as new housing projects, but Sven Schulze of Hamburg's Institute for International Economics mentions a greener Hamburg  will "also bring economic advantages" since he believes it will better attract "highly educated and competent people."

Source: independent.co.uk