Editing Pedestrian zone (section)

===Car free towns, cities and regions===
{{See also|List of pedestrian zones}}
[[File:Marktplatz Panorama.jpg|thumb|Marktplatz in [[Karlsruhe]], Germany, coexisted with a tramline until 2013.]]
A car-free zone is different from a typical pedestrian zone, in that it implies a development largely predicated on modes of transport other than the car.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Examples====
[[File:Stockholm pedestrian sign father and daughter.jpg|thumb|upright|Sign for pedestrian street in Central [[Stockholm]] showing a father and daughter]]
A number of towns and cities in Europe have never allowed [[motor vehicle]]s. [[Archetype|Archetypal]] examples are:

* [[Venice#Transportation|Venice]], which occupies many islands in a lagoon, divided by and accessed from canals. Motor traffic stops at the car park at the head of the viaduct from the mainland, and water transport and walking take over from there. However, motor vehicles are allowed on the nearby [[Lido di Venezia|Lido]].
* [[Zermatt]] in the Swiss Alps. Most visitors reach Zermatt by a [[cog railway]], and there are pedestrian-only streets, but there are also roads with motor vehicles.

Other examples are:

* [[Cinque Terre]] in [[Italy]]{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* [[Ghent]] in Belgium: the pedestrian zone was extended in 2017<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2017/04/01/alleen_koppigaardskunnenzoncirculatieplandoorvoeren-stijndegroot-1-2938939/|title=Alleen koppigaards kunnen zo'n circulatieplan doorvoeren|date=1 April 2017|website=VRT}}</ref> from 35 to more than 50 hectares (123 acres), one of the largest car-free areas in Europe.
* [[Pontevedra]] in [[Spain]], an international model of pedestrianization, almost 50% of the city is pedestrianised.;<ref>{{cite web|title='For me, this is paradise': life in the Spanish city that banned cars|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/sep/18/paradise-life-spanish-city-banned-cars-pontevedra|work=[[The Guardian]] |date=18 September 2018|access-date=18 September 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pontevedra - How To Ban Cars Downtown| date=19 November 2018 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGFDejyvIUA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/HGFDejyvIUA| archive-date=12 December 2021 |url-status=live|publisher=Mike looks at the map|access-date=18 December 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* [[Rhodes, Greece|The Old Town of Rhodes]], where many, if not most, of the streets are too steep and/or narrow for car traffic.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* [[Mount Athos]], an autonomous monastic state under the [[sovereignty]] of [[Greece]], does not permit automobiles on its territory. Trucks and work-related vehicles only are in use there.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* The medieval city of [[Mdina]] in [[Malta]] does not allow automobiles past the city walls. It is known as the "Silent City" because of the absence of motor traffic in the city.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* [[Sark]], an island in the [[English Channel]], is a car-free zone where only bicycles, [[carriages]] and tractors are used as transportation.
* [[Gulangyu]], an island off the coast of [[Xiamen]] in southeastern China. The only vehicles permitted are small electric buggies and electric government service vehicles.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

To assist with transport from the car parks in at the edge of car-free cities, there are often bus stations, bicycle sharing stations, and the like.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Car-free development====
The term car-free ''development'' implies a physical change: either build-up or changes to an existing built area.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Melia ''et al.'' (2010) define car-free developments as "residential or mixed use developments which:
* Normally provide a traffic-free immediate environment, and
* Offer no parking or limited parking separated from the residence, and:
* Are designed to enable residents to live without owning a car."{{sfn|Melia|2010|p=28}}

This definition (which they distinguish from the more common "low car development") is based mainly on experience in North West Europe,{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} where the movement for car-free development began.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Within this definition, three types are identified:

* Vauban model,{{sfn|Melia|2010|p=25}} based on [[Vauban, Freiburg]]: it is not "carfree", but "parking-space-free" ({{langx|de|stellplatzfrei}}) in some streets.{{sfn|Melia|2010|p=25–26}}
* Limited Access model{{sfn|Melia|2010|p=26}}
* Pedestrianised centres with residential population{{sfn|Melia|2010|p=26}}

[[File:Knez Mihailova at night.jpg|thumb|[[Knez Mihailova Street|Knez Mihailova]] pedestrian zone at night with New Year decoration in [[Belgrade]], [[Serbia]]]]