Editing Pedestrian zone

{{Short description|Urban car-free area reserved for pedestrian use}}
{{About|parts of urban areas without cars|mixed-use areas without cars|Pedestrian village}}
{{EngvarB|date=December 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}

[[File:Wien - Graben (2).JPG|thumb|upright=1|[[Vienna]]'s first pedestrian zone on the [[Graben, Vienna|Graben]] (2018)]]
[[File:Sunset in Plaza San Miguel, Lima, Peru - 2.jpg|thumb|220x220px|Pedestrian mall in [[Lima]], [[Peru]]]]
[[File:Nederlands verkeersbord G7 Zone.svg|thumb|220x220px|Sign]]

'''Pedestrian zones''' (also known as '''auto-free zones''' and '''car-free zones''', as '''pedestrian precincts''' in [[British English]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/pedestrian-precinct|title=Pedestrian precinct - Definition, meaning & more - Collins Dictionary|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref> and as '''pedestrian malls''' in the United States and Australia) are areas of a city or town restricted to use by people on foot or human-powered transport such as bicycles, with non-emergency motor [[traffic]] not allowed. Converting a street or an area to pedestrian-only use is called ''pedestrianisation''.

Pedestrianisation usually aims to provide better accessibility and [[Mobilities|mobility]] for pedestrians, to enhance the amount of shopping and other business activities in the area or to improve the attractiveness of the local environment in terms of aesthetics, air pollution, noise and crashes involving motor vehicle with pedestrians.<ref name="Chiquetto">{{cite journal |last=Chiquetto |first=Sergio |title=The Environmental Impacts from the Implementation of a Pedestrianization Scheme |journal=Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment |volume=2 |issue=2 |pages=133–146 |date=1997 |doi=10.1016/S1361-9209(96)00016-8|bibcode=1997TRPD....2..133C }}</ref> In some cases, motor traffic in surrounding areas increases, as it is displaced rather than replaced.<ref name=Chiquetto/> Nonetheless, pedestrianisation schemes are often associated with significant falls in local air and noise pollution<ref name=Chiquetto/> and in accidents, and frequently with increased retail turnover and increased property values locally.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Castillo-Manzano |first1=José |last2=Lopez-Valpuesta |first2=Lourdes |last3=Asencio-Flores |first3=Juan P. |title=Extending pedestrianization processes outside the old city center; conflict and benefits in the case of the city of Seville |journal=Habitat International |volume=44 |pages=194–201 |date=2014 |doi=10.1016/j.habitatint.2014.06.005|hdl=11441/148812 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

A ''car-free'' development generally implies a large-scale pedestrianised area that relies on modes of transport other than the car, while pedestrian zones may vary in size from a single square to entire districts, but with highly variable degrees of [[Car dependency|dependence on cars]] for their broader transport links.

Pedestrian zones have a great variety of approaches to human-powered vehicles such as [[bicycle]]s, [[inline skates]], [[skateboard]]s and [[kick scooter]]s. Some have a total ban on anything with wheels, others ban certain categories, others segregate the human-powered wheels from foot traffic, and others still have no rules at all. Many Middle Eastern [[kasbah]]s have no motorized traffic, but use [[donkey]]- or hand-[[cart]]s to carry goods.
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==History==

===Origins in arcades===
[[File:GalerieVivienne1.jpg|thumb|upright|The Galerie Vivienne in Paris]]
The idea of separating pedestrians from wheeled traffic is an old one, dating back at least to the [[Renaissance]].<ref name="hall"/> However, the earliest modern implementation of the idea in cities seems to date from about 1800, when the first [[Covered passages of Paris|covered shopping arcade was opened in Paris]].<ref name="hall">{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Peter|last2=Hass-Klau|first2=Carmen|title=Can Rail Save the City? The impacts of rapid transit and pedestrianisation on British and German cities|date=1985|publisher=Gower Publishing|location=Aldershot|isbn=978-0566009471|page=83}}</ref> Separated shopping arcades were constructed throughout Europe in the 19th century, precursors of modern shopping malls. A number of architects and city planners, including [[Joseph Paxton]], [[Ebenezer Howard]], and [[Clarence Stein]], in the 19th and early 20th centuries proposed plans to separate pedestrians from traffic in various new developments.<ref name="hall2">{{cite book|last1=Hall|first1=Peter|last2=Hass-Klau|first2=Carmen|title=Can Rail Save the City? The impacts of rapid transit and pedestrianisation on British and German cities|date=1985|publisher=Gower Publishing|location=Aldershot|isbn=978-0566009471|page=89}}</ref>

===1920s–1970s===
The first "pedestrianisation" of an existing street seems to have taken place "around 1929" in [[Essen]], Germany. This was in Limbecker Straße, a very narrow shopping street that could not accommodate both vehicular and pedestrian traffic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/sendungen/lokalzeit-ruhr/video-aelteste-fussgaengerzone-deutschlands-wird--und-befindet-sich-in-essen-100.html| url-status = dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171022215306/http://www1.wdr.de/mediathek/video/sendungen/lokalzeit-ruhr/video-aelteste-fussgaengerzone-deutschlands-wird--und-befindet-sich-in-essen-100.html| archive-date = 22 October 2017| title = Video: Älteste Fußgängerzone Deutschlands wird 90 und befindet sich in Essen - Lokalzeit Ruhr - Sendungen A-Z - Video - Mediathek - WDR}}</ref> Two other German cities followed this model in the early 1930s, but the idea was not seen outside Germany.<ref name="hall"/> Following the devastation of the Second World War a number of European cities implemented plans to pedestrianise city streets, although usually on a largely [[ad hoc]] basis, through the early 1950s, with little landscaping or planning.<ref name="hall"/> By 1955 twenty-one German cities had closed at least one street to automobile traffic, although only four were "true" pedestrian streets, designed for the purpose.<ref name="hall"/> At this time pedestrianisation was not seen as a [[traffic calming|traffic restraint]] policy, but rather as a complement{{clarify|date=July 2016}} to customers who would arrive by car in a city centre.<ref name="hall"/>

Pedestrianisation was also common in the United States during the 1950s and 60s as downtown businesses attempted to compete with new suburban shopping malls. However, most of these initiatives were not successful in the long term, and about 90% have been changed back to motorised areas.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Judge|first1=Cole|title=The Experiment of American Pedestrian Malls: Trends Analysis, Necessary Indicators for Success and Recommendations for Fresno's Fulton Mall|url=http://downtowndevelopment.com/pdf/americanpedmallexperiment.pdf|publisher=Fresno Future|access-date=19 June 2016}}</ref>

===1980s–2010s===
{{Globalize section|date=July 2020}}
[[File:Times Square, Manhattan, New York (7237734924).jpg|thumb|Pedestrianized area in [[Times Square]], [[New York City]]]]
[[File:LasVegas-FremontStreet.jpg|thumb|[[Fremont Street Experience]] in [[Las Vegas]] with the neon lights on]]
In the United States, several pedestrian zones in major tourist areas were successful, such as the renovation of the mall in [[Santa Monica]] on [[Westside, Los Angeles|Los Angeles' Westside]] and its relaunch as the [[Third Street Promenade]];<ref name="Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade: the failure and resurgence of a downtown pedestrian mall">{{cite journal|url=http://www.palgrave-journals.com/udi/journal/v13/n3/full/udi20088a.html|title=Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade: the failure and resurgence of a downtown pedestrian mall|year=2008|doi=10.1057/udi.2008.8|last1=Pojani|first1=Dorina|journal=Urban Design International|volume=13|issue=3|pages=141–155|s2cid=108994768|url-access=subscription}}</ref> the creation of the covered, pedestrian [[Fremont Street Experience]] in [[Downtown Las Vegas]];<ref name="nlc.org">[https://www.nlc.org/sites/default/files/2020-01/CS_PedestrianReport_Final_WEB.pdf  ''Pedestrian zones in cities'', National Urban League, 2020]</ref> the revival of [[East 4th Street (Cleveland)|East 4th Street]] in [[Downtown Cleveland|Downtown]] [[Cleveland]];<ref>{{cite news|last=Nickoloff|first=Annie|title=Exploring East 4th Street: 16 restaurants, shops and venues in the downtown neighborhood|newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]]|url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2021/04/exploring-east-4th-street-16-restaurants-shops-and-venues-in-the-downtown-neighborhood.html|date=22 April 2021|access-date=15 July 2022}}</ref> and the new pedestrian zone created in the mid-2010s in New York City including along Broadway (the street) and around [[Times Square]].<ref name=Torossian_Observer>{{cite news|last=Torossian |first=Ronn|author-link=Ronn Torossian|title=New York For New Yorkers|url=http://observer.com/2014/05/new-york-for-new-yorkers/|newspaper=New York Observer|date=14 May 2014}}</ref>

===COVID-19 pandemic===
During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] in 2020, some cities had made the pedestrianization of additional streets to encourage [[social distancing]] and in many cases to provide extra rooms for restaurants to serve food on patios extended into the newly available spaces. In the United States, [[New York City]] closed up to {{convert|100|mile|km}} of streets to cars across the city.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Spivack |first1=Caroline |title=New York will open up to 100 miles of streets to pedestrians: The move will help New Yorkers socially distance amid the coronavirus pandemic |url=https://ny.curbed.com/2020/4/27/21238276/nyc-coronavirus-opens-100-miles-streets-pedestrians-biking |publisher=Curbed |date=27 April 2020}}</ref> In [[Madrid]], [[Spain]], the city pedestrianized {{convert|19|km|mile}} of streets and {{convert|235000|sqm|acre}} of spaces in total.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Domingo |first1=Marta |title=Madrid peatonalizará 29 calles los fines de semana y festivos y abrirá los parques de los distritos mañana |url=https://www.abc.es/espana/madrid/abci-coronavirus-madrid-peatonalizara-23-calles-fines-semana-y-festivos-y-abrira-parques-distritos-manana-202005071214_noticia.html |publisher=ABC Madrid |date=7 May 2020}}</ref> The COVID-19 pandemic gave also birth to proposals for radical change in the organisation of the city, in particular [[Barcelona]], being the pedestrianisation of the whole city and the proposal of an inversion of the concept of ''sidewalk'' two elements of the Manifesto for the Reorganisation of the city, written by architecture and urban theorist Massimo Paolini and signed by 160 academics and 300 architects. <ref>{{Cite news|last=Paolini|first=Massimo|date=20 April 2020|title=Manifesto for the Reorganisation of the City after COVID19|language=en-GB|url=https://www.degrowth.info/en/2020/05/manifesto-for-the-reorganisation-of-the-city-after-covid-19/|access-date=1 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Argemí|first=Anna|date=8 May 2020|title=Por una Barcelona menos mercantilizada y más humana|language=es|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/05/06/alterconsumismo/1588769208_267470.html|access-date=11 May 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Maiztegui|first=Belén|date=18 June 2020|title=Manifiesto por la reorganización de la ciudad tras el COVID-19|language=es|url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2020/05/06/alterconsumismo/1588769208_267470.html|access-date=11 May 2021}}</ref>

==Definitions and types==
[[File:201109 - Åland (Mariehamn) (2).JPG|thumb|Torggatan, a pedestrian street in [[Mariehamn]], [[Åland]]]]
A pedestrian zone is often limited in scope: for example, a single square or a few streets reserved for pedestrians, within a city where residents still largely get around in cars. A car-free town, city or region may be much larger.

===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]]]]

===Limited access type===
The more common form of carfree development involves some sort of physical barrier, which prevents motor vehicles from penetrating into a car-free interior. Melia ''et al.''<ref name="melia">{{cite web|url=http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wtj_index.htm|title=WTPP Index - Main Index|access-date=23 July 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160112094521/http://www.ecoplan.org/wtpp/wtj_index.htm|archive-date=12 January 2016}}</ref> describe this as the "limited access" type. In some cases, such as Stellwerk 60 in [[Cologne]], there is a removable barrier, controlled by a residents' organisation. In Amsterdam, [[Waterwijk (Amsterdam)|Waterwijk]] is a 6-hectare neighborhood where cars may only access parking areas from the streets that form the edges of the neighborhood; all of the inner areas of the neighborhood are car-free.
<ref>{{cite web |title=Het GWL-terrein: Nederlands eerste duurzame wijk ("The Amsterdam Waterworks Site: The Netherlands' First Sustainable Neighborhood |url=https://gwl-terrein.nl/bezoekers/het-gwl-terrein/ |website=GWL Terrein |access-date=1 July 2020 |language=nl}}</ref>

===Temporary car-free streets===

Many cities close certain streets to automobiles, typically on weekends and especially in warm weather, to provide more urban space for recreation, and to increase foot traffic to nearby businesses. Examples include [[Newbury Street]] in [[Boston]], and [[Memorial Drive (Cambridge)|Memorial Drive]] in [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]] (which is along a river).{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} In some cases, popularity has resulted in streets being permanently closed to cars, including JFK Drive in [[Golden Gate Park]], [[San Francisco]]; Griffith Drive in [[Griffith Park]], [[Los Angeles]]; and [[Capel Street]] in Dublin.<ref>{{Cite web |title=These Cities' Car-Free Streets Are Here to Stay |last=Tu |first=Maylin |work=Reasons to be Cheerful |date=5 December 2022 |access-date=20 December 2022 |url=https://reasonstobecheerful.world/car-free-streets-long-angeles-san-francisco-new-york-dublin/}}</ref>

==Reception==
[[File:Autoluw.webm|thumb|Introduction to pedestrian, car-free and ''autoluw'' ([[Low Traffic Neighbourhood|low-traffic]]) zones: history, examples, pros and cons]]

===Benefits===
Several studies have been carried out on European carfree developments. The most comprehensive was conducted in 2000 by Jan Scheurer.<ref name = "scheurer">Scheurer, J. (2001) Urban Ecology, Innovations in Housing Policy and the Future of Cities: Towards Sustainability in Neighbourhood CommunitiesThesis (PhD), Murdoch University Institute of Sustainable Transport.</ref> Other more recent studies have been made of specific car-free areas such as Vienna's [[Floridsdorf]] car-free development.<ref>Ornetzeder, M., Hertwich, E.G., Hubacek, K., Korytarova, K. and Haas, W. (2008) The environmental effect of car-free housing: A case in Vienna. Ecological Economics 65 (3), 516-530.</ref>

Characteristics of car-free developments:{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
* Very low levels of car use, resulting in much less traffic on surrounding roads
* High rates of walking and cycling
* More independent movement and active play for children
* Less land is used for parking and roads, so more available for green or social space

The main benefits found for car-free developments:{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
*Low atmospheric emissions
*Low road accident rates
*Better built environment conditions{{clarify|date=July 2016}}
*Encouragement of active modes.{{clarify|date=July 2016}}

The main problems related to parking management. Where parking is not controlled in the surrounding area, this often results in complaints from neighbours about [[overspill parking]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===Problems and criticism===
[[File:National Gallery 2004.jpg|thumb|[[The National Gallery]], [[Trafalgar Square]], [[London]] ]]

There were calls<!--by whom?--> for traffic to be reinstated in [[Trafalgar Square]], London, after pedestrianization caused [[noise pollution|noise nuisance]] for visitors to the [[National Gallery]]. The director of the gallery is reported to have blamed pedestrianization for the "trashing of a civic space".<ref>{{cite news
|title=Trafalgar Square is being trashed, says gallery chief
|date=10 July 2009
|publisher=ES London
|work=London Evening Standard
|url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23718006-trafalgar-square-is-being-trashed-says-gallery-chief.do
|access-date=17 May 2010}}</ref>

Local shopkeepers may be critical of the effect of pedestrianization on their businesses. Reduced through traffic can lead to fewer customers using local businesses, depending on the environment and the area's dependence on the through traffic.<ref>{{cite news
|title='They're going to ruin us with the pedestrianization'
|date=29 April 2010
|publisher=Media Wales
|work=WalesOnline
|url=http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/pontypridd-llantrisant/2010/04/29/they-re-going-to-ruin-us-with-the-pedestrianisation-91466-26329016/
|access-date=17 May 2010}}</ref>

==By region and country==
{{main|List of pedestrian zones}}

===Europe===
[[File:De Lijnbaan in Rotterdam verlicht met beeldje op voorgrond, Bestanddeelnr 913-2107.jpg|thumb|[[Lijnbaan]], [[Rotterdam]]'s main shopping street, 1961]]
[[File:Aleksanterinkatu Helsinki summer.jpg|thumb|[[Aleksanterinkatu]], [[Helsinki]]'s main shopping street, 2007]]
[[File:Madrid - Calle Preciados.jpg|thumb|[[Calle de Preciados]], [[Madrid]]]]
[[File:Istiklal busy afternoon.JPG|thumb|[[İstiklal Avenue]], [[Istanbul]]]]
A large number of European towns and cities have made part of their centres car-free since the early 1960s. These are often accompanied by [[car park]]s on the edge of the pedestrianised zone, and, in the larger cases, [[park and ride]] schemes.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Armenia====
[[Northern Avenue, Yerevan|Northern Avenue]], located in the [[Kentron district]] of central [[Yerevan]], is a large pedestrian avenue. The avenue was inaugurated in 2007 and is mainly home to residential buildings, offices, luxury shops and restaurants.<ref>{{cite news|title=Yerevan Remade: The Case of the Northern Avenue |url=https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/923fe230ab2f43faac15e12fee52f221 |access-date=8 February 2023}}</ref>

====Belgium====
In [[Belgium]], [[Brussels]] implemented Europe's largest pedestrian zone (French: ''Le Piétonnier''), in phases starting in 2015 and will cover {{convert|50|ha|acre}}. The area covers much of the historic center within the [[Small Ring, Brussels|Small Ring]] (the [[ring road]] built on the site of the [[Fortifications of Brussels#Second walls|14th-century walls]]), including the [[Grand-Place|Grand-Place/Grote Markt]], the [[Place de Brouckère|Place de Brouckère/De Brouckèreplein]], the [[Boulevard Anspach|Boulevard Anspach/Anspachlaan]], and the [[Place de la Bourse, Brussels|Place de la Bourse/Beursplein]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.brussels.be/project-pedestrian-zone|title=Project. Pedestrian Zone, Brussels city website|access-date=2 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921025633/https://www.brussels.be/project-pedestrian-zone|archive-date=21 September 2020|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Feargus |title=In Car-Choked Brussels, the Pedestrians Are Winning |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-01/a-new-battle-over-car-free-boulevards-in-brussels?sref=eDA8LJRu |access-date=2 July 2020 |publisher=Bloomberg |date=1 May 2019}}</ref>

====Denmark====
Central [[Copenhagen]] is one of the oldest and largest: it was converted from car traffic into a pedestrian zone in 1962 as an experiment, and is centered on [[Strøget]], which is not a single street but a series of interconnected avenues which create a very large pedestrian zone, although it is crossed in places by streets with vehicular traffic. Most of these zones allow delivery trucks to service the businesses there during the early morning, and street-cleaning vehicles will usually go through these streets after most shops have closed for the night. It has grown in size from {{convert|15800|sqm|acre}} in 1962 to {{convert|95750|sqm|acre}} in 1996.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Reclaiming city streets for people: Chaos or quality of life |journal=European Union, Directorate General of the Environment |date=13 March 2024 |page=16 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/environment/pubs/pdf/streets_people.pdf}}</ref>

====Germany====
A number of [[List of islands of Germany|German islands]] ban or strictly limit the private use of motor vehicles. [[Heligoland]], [[Hiddensee]], and all but two of the [[East Frisian islands]] are car-free; [[Borkum]] and [[Norderney]] have car-free zones and strictly limit automobile use during the summer season and in certain areas, also forbidding travel at night. Some areas provide exceptions for police and emergency vehicles; Heligoland also bans bicycles.<ref>{{Cite web |title=§ 50 Straßenverkehrs-Ordnung |url=https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/stvo_2013/__50.html |access-date=2023-10-12 |website=www.gesetze-im-internet.de}}</ref>

In the early 1980s, the Alternative Liste für Demokratie und Umweltschutz (which later became part of [[Alliance 90/The Greens]]) unsuccessfully campaigned to make [[West Berlin]] a car-free zone.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Netherlands====
In the [[Netherlands]], the inner city of [[Arnhem]] has a pedestrian zone ({{langx|nl|voetgangersgebied}}) within the boundaries of the following streets and squares: Nieuwe Plein, Willemsplein, Gele Rijdersplein, Looierstraat, Velperbinnensingel, Koningsplein, St. Catharinaplaats, Beekstraat, Walburgstraat, Turfstraat, Kleine Oord, and Nieuwe Oeverstraat.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verordening ontheffingen berijden voetgangersgebied binnenstad Arnhem 2004 |trans-title=2004 Regulation on exemptions for driving in the pedestrian zone in the inner city of Arnhem |author= |work=repository.officiele-overheidspublicaties.nl |date=2010 |access-date=16 December 2022 |url=https://repository.officiele-overheidspublicaties.nl/CVDR/CVDR2799/1/html/CVDR2799_1.html |language=nl}}</ref>

[[Rotterdam]]'s city center was almost completely destroyed by [[German bombing of Rotterdam|German bombing]] in May 1940.<ref name="van der Zee"/> The city decided to build a central shopping street, for pedestrians only, the [[Lijnbaan]], which became Europe's first purpose-built pedestrian street.<ref name="van der Zee">{{Cite news |author=Renate van der Zee |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/sep/19/walk-lijnbaan-europe-first-pedestrian-street-rotterdam |title=Walk the Lijnbaan: decline and rebirth on Europe's first pedestrianised street |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=19 September 2018 |access-date=23 September 2018}}</ref> The Lijnbaan served as a model for many other such streets in the early post-[[World War II]] era, such as [[Warsaw]], [[Prague]], [[Hamburg]], and the UK's first pedestrianised [[Shopping mall|shopping precinct]] in [[Stevenage]] in 1959.<ref name="van der Zee"/> Rotterdam has since expanded the pedestrian zone to other streets.<ref name="Rotterdam overzichtskaart"/> As of 2018, Rotterdam featured three different types of pedestrian zones: "pedestrian zones", "pedestrian zones, cycling permitted outside of shopping hours", and "pedestrian zones, cycling permitted 24/7".<ref name="Rotterdam overzichtskaart">{{Cite web |url=https://www.rotterdam.nl/loket/documentenkcc/overzichtskaartOntheffingGoederenvervoer.pdf |title=Overzichtskaart voetgangers- en venstertijdgebieden Centrum Rotterdam |trans-title=Overview map of pedestrian and window areas in the centre of Rotterdam |work=Rotterdam city government website |access-date=2 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801072635/https://www.rotterdam.nl/loket/documentenkcc/overzichtskaartOntheffingGoederenvervoer.pdf |archive-date=1 August 2022}}</ref> Three exceptions to motor vehicles could apply to specific sections of these three zones, namely: "logistics allowed within window times (5 to 10:30 a.m)", "logistics allowed 24/7", and "commercial traffic allowed during market days".<ref name="Rotterdam overzichtskaart"/>

====United Kingdom====
In Britain, shopping streets primarily for pedestrians date back to the thirteenth century. A 1981 study found that many Victorian and later arcades continued to be used. A third of London's 168 precincts at that time had been built before 1939, as were a tenth of the 1,304 precincts in the U.K. as a whole.<ref name=roberts/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Harrison |first1=Brian |title=Finding a Role?: The United Kingdom 1970–1990 |date=9 September 2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=71 |isbn=978-0-19-254399-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BDwkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA71}}</ref>

Early post-1945 new towns carried on the tradition of providing some traffic-free shopping streets. However, in the conversion of traditional shopping streets to pedestrian precincts, Britain started only in 1967 (versus Germany's first conversion in 1929, or the first in the U.S. in 1959). Since then growth was rapid, such that by 1980 a study found that most British towns and cities had a pedestrian shopping precinct; 1,304 in total.<ref name=roberts>{{cite book |last1=Roberts |first1=J |title=Pedestrian Precincts in Britain |date=1981 |url=http://worldcat.org/isbn/0905545028}}</ref>

====Turkey====
In [[Istanbul]], [[İstiklal Avenue|İstiklal Caddesi]] is a pedestrian street (except for a historic streetcar that runs along it) and a major tourist draw.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===U.S. and Canada===
[[File:SparksStreetatBank.jpg|thumb|[[Ottawa]] [[Sparks Street|Sparks Street Mall]]]]

====Canada====
Some Canadian examples are the [[Sparks Street]] Mall area of [[Ottawa]], the [[Distillery District]] in [[Toronto]], Scarth Street Mall in [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]], [[Stephen Avenue]] Mall in [[Calgary]] (with certain areas open to parking for permit holders) and part of Prince Arthur Street and the [[Gay Village, Montreal|Gay Village]] in [[Montreal]]. Algonquin and Ward's Islands, parts of the [[Toronto Islands]] group, are also car-free zones for all 700 residents. Since summer 2004, Toronto has also been experimenting with "[[Pedestrian Sunday]]s"[https://web.archive.org/web/20150514062201/http://www.pskensington.ca/] in its busy [[Kensington Market]]. [[Granville Mall (Halifax)|Granville Mall]] in [[Halifax Urban Area|Halifax, Nova Scotia]] was a run-down section of buildings on Granville Street built in the 1840s that was restored in the late 1970s. The area was then closed off to vehicles.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====United States====
{{main article|Pedestrian malls in the United States}}

=====Downtown pedestrian zones=====
In the [[United States]], these zones are commonly called pedestrian malls or pedestrian streets and today are relatively rare, with a few notable exceptions. In 1959, [[Kalamazoo]] was the first American city to implement a "pedestrian mall" in its downtown core.<ref name=Robertson>{{cite journal|last1=Robertson|first1=Kent|title=The Status of Pedestrian Malls in American Downtowns|journal=Urban Affairs Quarterly|date=1990|volume=26|issue=2|pages=250–273|doi=10.1177/004208169002600206|s2cid=154847964}}</ref> This became a method that some cities applied for their downtowns to compete with the growing suburban shopping malls of the time. In the 1960s and 70s, over 200 towns in the United States adopted this approach.<ref name=Robertson/> 

The [[Downtown Mall]] in [[Charlottesville, VA]] is one of the longest [[pedestrian mall]]s in the [[United States]], created in 1976 and spanning nine city blocks.<ref>{{cite web|title=City of Charlottesville Downtown Mall Schematic Design Report|url =http://s3.amazonaws.com/cville/cm%2Fmutlimedia%2F2005-wrt-downtown-mall-report.pdf|publisher=Wallace Roberts & Todd LLC|date=May 2005 |access-date=21 June 2008
}}</ref>
A number of streets and malls in [[New York City]] are now pedestrian-only, including [[Sixth and a Half Avenue|6½ Avenue]], [[Fulton Street (Brooklyn)|Fulton Street]], parts of [[Broadway (Manhattan)|Broadway]], and a block of [[25th Street (Manhattan)|25th Street]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/public-plazas.shtml |title=Public Plazas |website=NYC DOT  |access-date=28 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907063254/http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/pedestrians/public-plazas.shtml |archive-date=7 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

A portion of [[Third Street Promenade|Third Street]] in Santa Monica in [[Greater Los Angeles]] was converted into a pedestrian mall in the 1960s to become what is now the Third Street Promenade, a very popular shopping district located just a few blocks from the beach and [[Santa Monica Pier]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Lincoln Road]] in [[Miami Beach]], which had previously been a shopping street with traffic, was converted into a pedestrian only street in 1960.  The designer was Morris Lapidus.  Lincoln Road Mall is now one of the main attractions in Miami Beach.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The idea of exclusive pedestrian zones lost popularity through the 1980s and into the 1990s and results were generally disappointing, but are enjoying a renaissance with the 1989 renovation and relaunch of the [[Third Street Promenade]] in [[Santa Monica, California]],<ref name="Santa Monica's Third Street Promenade: the failure and resurgence of a downtown pedestrian mall"/>    the 1994-5 [[Fremont Street Experience]] in [[Las Vegas]] and recent pedestrianization of various streets in [[New York City]].<ref name="nlc.org"/> These pedestrian zones were more closely tied to the success of retail than in Europe, and by the 1980s, most did not succeed competing with ever more elaborate enclosed malls. Almost all of this generation of pedestrian malls built from 1959 through to the 1970s, have disappeared, or were shrunk down in the 1990s at the request of the retailers. Half of Kalamazoo's pedestrian mall{{when|date=June 2024}} has been converted into a regular street with auto traffic, though with wide sidewalks.<ref name=metro>{{cite journal |last1=Feriel |first1=Cédric |title=Pedestrians, cars and the city |journal=Metropolitics |date=29 May 2013 |issue=From opposition to cohabitation |url=https://www.metropolitiques.eu/Pedestrians-cars-and-the-city.html}}</ref>

=====Outside large cities=====
[[File:M-185 mile 0 on Mackinac Island August 2004.jpg|thumb|[[Bicycle|Cyclists]] enjoy the carfree highway ([[M-185 (Michigan highway)|M-185]]) on [[Mackinac Island]].]]

[[Mackinac Island]], between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, banned [[horseless carriage]]s in 1896, making it auto-free. The original ban still stands, except for emergency vehicles.<ref>{{cite web |url-status=dead |url=http://www.mackinacisland.org/history.html |website=Mackinac Island |title=History |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090305030617/http://www.mackinacisland.org/history.html |archive-date=5 March 2009 }}</ref> Travel on the island is largely by foot, bicycle, or horse-drawn carriage. An {{convert|8|mi|adj=on}} road, [[M-185 (Michigan highway)|M-185]] rings the island, and numerous roads cover the interior. M-185 is the only highway in the United States without motorized vehicles.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}
[[Fire Island]] in [[Suffolk County, New York]] is pedestrianised east of the [[Fire Island Lighthouse]] and west of [[Smith Point County Park]] (with the exception of emergency vehicles).{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Supai, Arizona]], located within the [[Havasupai Indian Reservation]] is entirely car-free, the only community in the United States where mail is still carried out by mule. Supai is located eight miles from the nearest road, and is accessible only by foot, horse/mule, or helicopter.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Culdesac Tempe]], a 17-acre (0.069 square kilometers) car-free district in [[Tempe, Arizona]], is intended to be the nation's first market-rate rental apartment district to ban its tenants from owning cars. Bikes and emergency vehicles are allowed. It has received significant investments from executives at [[Lyft]] and [[Opendoor]].<ref name="Johnson 2020">{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Ryan|date=22 June 2020|title=Introducing Culdesac|url=https://medium.com/culdesac/introducing-culdesac-3fbfe7c4219c|access-date=12 September 2022|website=Medium|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Dougherty 2020">{{Cite news|last=Dougherty|first=Conor|date=31 October 2020|title=The Capital of Sprawl Gets a Radically Car-Free Neighborhood|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/business/culdesac-tempe-phoenix-sprawl.html|access-date=12 September 2022|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

===Latin America===
====Argentina====
[[File:Buenos Aires - Retiro - Calle Florida.jpg|thumb|[[Florida Street]], [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina]]
Argentina's big cities, [[Córdoba, Argentina|Córdoba]], [[Mendoza, Argentina|Mendoza]] and [[Rosario]], have lively pedestrianised street centers ({{langx|es|peatonales}}) combined with [[town square]]s and parks which are crowded with people walking at every hour of the day and night.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

In [[Buenos Aires]], some stretches of [[Calle Florida]] have been pedestrianised since 1913,<ref>{{in lang|es}} Calle Florida History: [http://www.buenosaires.com/historia/index.php?action=info&record_id=40 www.buenosaires.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110708103433/http://www.buenosaires.com/historia/index.php?action=info&record_id=40 |date=8 July 2011 }}</ref> which makes it one of the oldest car-free thoroughfares in the world today.  Pedestrianised Florida, [[Lavalle Street|Lavalle]] and other streets contribute to a vibrant shopping and restaurant scene where [[busking|street performer]]s and [[Tango (dance)|tango]] dancers abound, streets are crossed with vehicular traffic at [[Chamfer|chamfered corners]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Brazil====
[[File:Rua XV em Curitiba.jpg|thumb|[[Rua XV de Novembro]] in [[Curitiba]]]]
[[Paquetá Island]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]] is auto-free. The only cars allowed on the island are police and ambulance vehicles. In Rio de Janeiro, the roads beside the beaches are auto-free on Sundays and holidays.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Downtown Rio de Janeiro, Ouvidor Street, over almost its entire length, has been continually a pedestrian space since the mid-nineteenth century when not even carts or carriages were allowed. And the Saara District, also downtown, consists of some dozen or more blocks of colonial streets, off-limits to cars, and crowded with daytime shoppers. Likewise, many of the city's hillside favelas are effectively pedestrian zones as the streets are too narrow and/or steep for automobiles.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Eixo Rodoviário]], in [[Brasília]], which is 13 kilometers long and 30 meters wide and is an [[arterial road]] connecting the center of that city from both southward and northward wings of Brasília, perpendicular to the well known Eixo Monumental ([[Monumental Axis]] in English), is auto-free on Sundays and holidays.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Rua XV de Novembro]] (15 November Street) in [[Curitiba]] is one of the first major pedestrian streets in Brazil.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Chile====
Chile has many large pedestrian streets. An example is [[Paseo Ahumada]] and Paseo Estado in Santiago, Paseo Barros Arana in Concepción and Calle Valparaíso in Viña del Mar.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Colombia====
[[File:2018 Santa Marta (Colombia) - Peatonal en el Centro Histórico, Calle 19 entre carreras 4 y 5.jpg|thumb|Tumbacuatro Street in [[Santa Marta]]]]
During his 1998–2001 term, the former [[Bogotá]] mayor, U.S.-born [[Enrique Peñalosa]], created several pedestrian streets, [[plaza]]s and [[Bogotá's Bike Paths Network|bike paths]] integrated with a new [[TransMilenio|bus rapid transit system]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The historic center of [[Cartagena, Colombia|Cartagena]] closes some streets to cars during certain hours.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In downtown [[Armenia, Colombia]] there is a large pedestrian street where several boutiques are located.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

[[Santa Marta]] also has permanent pedestrian zones in the historic center around the [[Cathedral Basílica of Santa Marta]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Mexico====
[[File:Calle Madero - Mexico City.jpg|thumb|[[Madero Street]] in the [[Historic center of Mexico City]]]]
The [[Historic center of Mexico City]] has 12 pedestrian streets including [[Madero Street]], and as of 30 June 2020, is expanding the number to 42 pedestrian streets.<ref>[https://m.imagenradio.com.mx/conoce-cuales-modificaciones-en-las-calles-peatonales-de-la-cdmx “Conoce cuales modificaciones en las calles peatonales de la CDMX” (“Here are the changes in pedestrian streets in Mexico City”), Imagen Radio News, June 30, 2020]</ref>
Génova is a busy pedestrian street in the [[Zona Rosa, Mexico City|Zona Rosa]] as is [[Plaza Garibaldi]] downtown, where mariachis play.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

The old city of [[Guanajuato (city)|Guanajuato]] is largely pedestrian. The steep and/or narrow side streets were never accessible by cars and most other streets were pedestrianized in the 1960s after through traffic was moved to a system of former flood control tunnels that was no longer necessary due to a new dam.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://la.streetsblog.org/2019/05/21/some-urban-observations-from-my-mexico-vacation |title=Some Urban Observations From My Mexico Vacation |website=Streetsblog|date=22 May 2019 }}</ref>

[[Playa del Carmen]] has a pedestrian mall, '' Quinta Avenida'', ("Fifth Avenue") that stretches {{convert|4|km|mi}} and receives 4&nbsp;million visitors annually with hundreds of shops and restaurants.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Peru====
[[File:Historic Center of Lima (13708966693).jpg|thumb|Jirón de La Union in Lima]]
Jirón de La Unión in Lima is a traditional pedestrian street located in the Historic Centre of Lima, part of the capital of Peru.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In the city of Arequipa, Mercaderes is also a considerably large pedestrian street.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tripadvisor.com.pe/Attraction_Review-g294313-d7340835-Reviews-Calle_Mercaderes-Arequipa_Arequipa_Region.html|title=Calle Mercaderes - Arequipa, Región Arequipa - Opiniones y fotos - TripAdvisor|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref> 
Also, recently three of the four streets surrounding the city's main square or "Plaza de Armas" were also made pedestrian.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://diariocorreo.pe/edicion/arequipa/arequipa-hoy-la-plaza-de-armas-es-solo-para-los-peatones-596229/|title=Arequipa: Hoy la plaza de armas es solo para los peatones|date=21 June 2015 |access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref>

===South and East Asia===
[[File:Aleppo-suq-Alp.JPG|thumb|[[Ancient City of Aleppo]], the walkway at [[al-Madina Souq]]]]

====Mainland China====
[[Nanjing Road (Shanghai)|Nanjing Road]] in Shanghai is perhaps the most well-known pedestrian zone in [[mainland China]]. [[Wangfujing]] is a famous tourist and retail oriented pedestrian zone in [[Beijing]]. [[Chunxilu]] in [[Chengdu]] is the most well known in western China. Dongmen is the busiest business zone in [[Shenzhen]]. [[Zhongyang Street]] is a historical large pedestrian street in [[Harbin]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Hong Kong====
[[File:Hksycss.jpg|thumb|[[Sai Yeung Choi Street]] in [[Hong Kong]]]]
In [[Hong Kong]], since 2000, the government has been implementing full-time or part-time pedestrian streets in a number of areas, including Causeway Bay, Central, Wan Chai, Mong Kok, and Tsim Sha Tsui.<ref>[[Hong Kong Transport Department Website]], [[Transport Department]]</ref> The most popular pedestrian street is [[Sai Yeung Choi Street]]. It was converted into a pedestrian street in 2003. From December 2008 to May 2009, there were three [[Mong Kok acid attacks|acid attacks]] during which corrosive liquids were placed in plastic bottles and thrown from the roof of apartments down onto the street.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====India====
Vehicles have been banned in the town of [[Matheran]], in [[Maharashtra]], [[India]] since the time it was discovered in 1854.<ref name="MMRDAmatheran">{{cite news|title=MMRDA questions council's new designs on Matheran |url=http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/ie/daily/19990519/ige18088.html |first=J |last=Dey |date=19 May 1999 |agency=Express News |location=Mumbai |publisher=[[The Indian Express]] |access-date=12 August 2014}}</ref>

In India, a citizens' initiative in Goa state, has made 18 June Road, Panjim's main shopping boulevard a Non-Motorised Zone<ref>[http://www.downtoearth.org.in/content/walk-way Down To Earth: Walk this way]</ref>(NoMoZo). The road is converted into a NoMoZo for half a day on one Sunday every month.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In Pune, Maharashtra, similar efforts have been made to convert M.G. Road (a.k.a. Main Street) into an open-air mall. The project in question aimed to create a so-called "Walking Plaza".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/MG-Road-walking-plaza-will-be-back/articleshow/10561058.cms|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618072959/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-11-01/pune/30345654_1_traffic-problems-and-ways-pune-cantonment-board-vehicle-free|url-status=live|archive-date=18 June 2013|work=[[The Times of India]]|title=MG Road walking plaza will be back|access-date=23 July 2016}}</ref>

In May 2019, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) made the busy Ajmal Khan Road in [[Karol Bagh]] pedestrian-only.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/after-pedestrianisation-karol-bagh-market-area-gets-park-and-ride-facility-119101001479_1.html|title=After pedestrianisation, Karol Bagh market area gets park-and-ride facility|newspaper=Business Standard India |date=10 October 2019 |access-date=8 March 2021|agency=Press Trust of India }}</ref>

[[Church Street, Bangalore|Church Street]] in Bangalore went through a pedestrianization process <ref>{{Cite web |date=April 14, 2023 |first=Y Maheswara |last=Reddy |title=Nightmare on Church Street |url=https://bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com/bangalore/cover-story/nightmare-on-church-street/articleshow/99473892.cms |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Bangalore Mirror |language=en}}</ref>

====Japan====
Pedestrian zones in [[Japan]] are called ''hokōsha tengoku'' (歩行者天国, literally "pedestrian heaven").{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} Clis Road, in [[Sendai]], Japan, is a covered pedestrian mall, as is [[Hondōri]] in [[Hiroshima]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}  Several major streets in [[Tokyo]] are closed to vehicles during weekends.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}} One particular temporary ''hokōsha tengoku'' in [[Akihabara]] was cancelled after the [[Akihabara massacre]] in which a man rammed a truck into the pedestrian traffic and subsequently stabbed more than 12 people.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====South Korea====
[[Insadong]] in [[Seoul]], [[South Korea]] has a large pedestrian zone (''Insadong-gil'') during certain hours.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Also in South Korea, in 2013, in the Haenggun-dong neighbourhood of [[Suwon]], streets were closed to cars as a month-long car-free experiment while the city hosted the [[EcoMobility]] World Festival. Instead of cars, residents used non-motorized vehicles provided by the festival organizers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Strother|first=Jason|title=Locals applaud car-free month in Korean city|url=http://www.dw.de/locals-applaud-car-free-month-in-korean-city/a-17124711|access-date=13 December 2013|newspaper=Deutsche Welle|date=30 September 2013}}</ref> The experiment was not unopposed; however, on balance it was considered a success. Following the festival, the city embarked on discussions about adopting the practice on a permanent basis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Report presents legacy of car-free neighborhood|url=http://www.ecomobilityfestival.org/news/latest-news/news-details/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=163&cHash=38b110b629bddf1219875eed8af8b5b1|work=EcoMobility world Festival 2013|publisher=ICLEI|access-date=13 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213183858/http://www.ecomobilityfestival.org/news/latest-news/news-details/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=163&cHash=38b110b629bddf1219875eed8af8b5b1|archive-date=13 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Taiwan====
[[Ximending]] in [[Taipei]], [[Taiwan]] is a neighbourhood and shopping district in the Wanhua District of Taipei, Taiwan. It was the first pedestrian zone in Taiwan.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.travel.taipei/en/pictorial/article/53989|title = Ximending: A Shopper's Heaven with a Dash of Tradition and Trendiness|website=Kaohsiung Travel|date=2023-12-11|access-date = 24 April 2024}}</ref> The district is very popular in Taiwan. In central Taiwan, [[Yizhong Street]] is one of the most popular pedestrian shopping area in [[Taichung]]. In Southern Taiwan, the most famous pedestrian shopping area is [[Shinkuchan]] in [[Kaohsiung]].

====Thailand====
In [[Thailand]], some small streets (''soi'') in [[Bangkok]] are designed to be all-time closed to automobile traffic, the city's famous shopping streets of [[Sampheng]] Lane in [[Chinatown, Bangkok|Chinatown]] and [[Wang Lang Market]] nearby to [[Siriraj Hospital]], are the most popular for both local and tourists shopping streets.  Additionally the city has built long [[skywalk]] systems. [[Walking Street, Pattaya]] is also closed to auto traffic. [[Night market]]s are routinely closed to auto traffic.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====Vietnam====
[[Huế]] in Vietnam has made 3 roads into pedestrians-only on weekend nights.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tuoitrenews.vn/news/lifestyle/20171001/vietnams-hue-city-formally-opens-3-walking-streets/41823.html|title = Vietnam's Hue City formally opens 3 walking streets|date = October 2017}}</ref> Also, [[Hanoi]] has opened an [[:vi:Phố đi bộ Hà Nội|Old Quarter Walking Street]] on weekend nights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://silkpathhotel.com/hanoi-walking-street/| url-status = dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909001756/http://silkpathhotel.com/hanoi-walking-street| archive-date = 9 September 2017| title = Hanoi Walking Street - Silkpath}}</ref>
[[Ho Chi Minh City]] also changed Nguyễn Huệ street into pedestrian zone.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

===Middle East and North Africa===
[[North Africa]] contains some of the largest auto-free areas in the world. Fes-al-Bali, a [[medina quarter|medina]] of [[Fes]], [[Morocco]], with its population of 156,000, may be the world's largest contiguous completely carfree area, and the medinas of [[Cairo]], [[Tunis]], [[Casablanca]], [[Meknes]], [[Essaouira]], and [[Tangier]] are quite extensive.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In Israel, [[Tel Aviv]] has a pedestrian mall, near ''Nahalat Binyamin Street''.<ref>[https://www.touristisrael.com/nachalat-binyamin-market/7423/ "Nachalat Binyamin Market"]. ''Touristisrael.com''. Retrieved 6 August 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.visit-tel-aviv.com/en/nahalat-binyamin/ "Nachalat Binyamin Pedestrian Mall"]. ''Visit-tel-aviv.com''. Retrieved 6 August 2019.</ref> [[Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem)|Ben Yehuda Street]] in [[Jerusalem]] is a pedestrian mall.<ref>[http://www.gojerusalem.com/items/220/Ben-Yehuda-Street/ "Ben Yehuda Street"]. ''Gojerusalem.com''. Retrieved 10 September 2019.</ref>

===Oceania===
====Australia====
[[File:Martin Place, Sydney.jpg|thumb|[[Martin Place]], [[Sydney]], Australia]]
In [[Australia]], as in the US, these zones are commonly called pedestrian malls and in most cases comprise only one [[pedestrian street|street]]. Most pedestrian streets were created in the late 1970s and 1980s, the first being [[City Walk, Canberra|City Walk]], [[Garema Place]] in [[Canberra]] in 1971. Of 58 pedestrian streets created in Australia in the last quarter of the 20th century, 48 remain today, ten having re-introduced car access between 1990 and 2004.<ref>[http://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/documents/IRIS_Australian_malls_research_updated_August_2006.pdf Australian Outdoor Pedestrian Mall Survey] 2006</ref> All capital cities in Australia have at least one pedestrian street of which most central are: [[George Street, Sydney|George Street]], [[Pitt Street Mall]] and [[Martin Place]] in [[Sydney]], [[Bourke Street#Bourke Street Mall|Bourke Street Mall]] in [[Melbourne]], [[Queen Street Mall]] and [[Brunswick Street Mall]] in [[Brisbane]], [[Rundle Mall]] in [[Adelaide]], [[Hay Street, Perth|Hay Street]] and [[Murray Street, Perth|Murray Street]] Malls in [[Perth]], [[Elizabeth Street Mall]] in [[Hobart]], [[City Walk, Canberra|City Walk]] in Canberra, and [[Smith Street, Darwin|Smith Street]] in [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]]. Many other mid-sized and regional Australian cities also feature pedestrian malls, examples include Rooke Street [[Devonport, Tasmania|Devonport]] Langtree Avenue [[Mildura]], [[Cavill Avenue]] [[Surfers Paradise]], Bridge Street [[Ballarat]], Nicholas Street [[Ipswich, Queensland|Ipswich]], Hargreaves Street [[Bendigo]], Maude Street [[Shepparton]] and Little Mallop Street [[Geelong]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}[[File:Elizabeth Street Mall Hobart.jpg|thumb|[[Elizabeth Street Mall]], [[Hobart]], Australia]]
Empirical studies by [[Jan Gehl]] indicate an increase of pedestrian traffic as result of public domain improvements in the centres of Melbourne with 39% increase between 1994 and 2004<ref name="Gehl Melbourne">[http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=228&pg=715&st=499 Melbourne 'Places for People'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614152426/http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/info.cfm?top=228&pg=715&st=499 |date=14 June 2011 }}</ref> and Perth with 13% increase between 1993 and 2009.<ref name="Gehl Perth">[http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/web/Council/Plans-and-Projects/Current-Plans-and-Studies/ City of Perth - Public Spaces Public Life] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090919160919/http://www.cityofperth.wa.gov.au/web/Council/Plans-and-Projects/Current-Plans-and-Studies |date=19 September 2009 }}</ref>

Most intensive pedestrian traffic flows on a summer weekday have been recorded in Bourke Street Mall Melbourne with 81,000 pedestrians (2004),<ref name="Gehl Melbourne"/> Rundle Mall Adelaide with 61,360 pedestrians (2002), Pitt Street Mall Sydney with 58,140 (2007) and Murray Street Mall Perth with 48,350 pedestrians (2009).<ref name="Gehl Perth"/>

[[Rottnest Island]] off Perth is car-free, only allowing vehicles for essential services. Bicycles are the main form of transport on the island; they can be hired or brought over on the ferry.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In Melbourne's north-eastern suburbs, there have been many proposals to make the [[Doncaster Hill]] development area a pedestrian zone. If the proposals are passed, the zone could be one of the largest in the world, by area.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

====New Zealand====
[[File:Cashel St, Christchurch, New Zealand 02.jpg|thumb|Cashel Street, 2019]]
[[Wellington]]'s [[Cuba Street, Wellington|Cuba Street]] became the first pedestrian-only street in New Zealand when in 1965 the [[Wellington tramway system|Wellington tramway]] lines were removed and the street was closed off to auto traffic, and after public pressure to keep it closed to automobiles, part of the street was pedestrianised in 1969 and reopened as Cuba Mall.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Streets, avenues and pedestrian spaces |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/city-public-spaces/page-4 |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=[[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=16 September 2020 |title=Cuba Street has time on its side |url=https://wellington.govt.nz/wellington-city/about-wellington-city/history/throwbackthursday/cuba-street |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=[[Wellington City Council]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

New Zealand's second-largest city, [[Christchurch]], made its main shopping streets (Cashel & High Street) pedestrian-only in 1982 and created [[City Mall, Christchurch|City Mall]], also commonly known as Cashel Mall. The concept was first proposed in 1965, around the same time Wellington proposed Cuba Street's pedestrianisation. After the success of Cuba Mall in Wellington, Christchurch decided to continue with the plans. In 1976 the [[Bridge of Remembrance]] was pedestrianised, and eventually in August 1982 the entire City Mall was pedestrianised and fully opened to the public.<ref name=":0" /> The area was repaved in the late 2000s and again after the [[2010 Canterbury earthquake|Christchurch Earthquakes]] in [[2010 Canterbury earthquake|2010]] & [[2011 Christchurch earthquake|2011]].<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Martin |last1=Moore |first2=Ben |last2=Heather |date=29 October 2011 |title=Christchurch's City Mall re-opens |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/5875869/Christchurchs-City-Mall-re-opens |access-date=24 January 2023 |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |language=en}}</ref>

[[Queenstown, New Zealand|Queenstown]] has made most of its town centre a pedestrian zone with the lower part of Ballarat Street converted in the 1970s and turned into [[Queenstown Mall]]. Most recently, Lower Beach Street has been partially pedestrianised with now only one-way traffic for cars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cars to give way to bikes, pedestrians as Lower Beach opens for Xmas |url=https://crux.org.nz/crux-news/cars-to-give-way-to-bikes-and-pedestrians-lower-beach-st-opens-for-xmas/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=Crux |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Roxburgh |first=Tracey |date=23 August 2016 |title=Street may be pedestrian mall permanently |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/street-may-be-pedestrian-mall-permanently |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[Otago Daily Times]] |language=en}}</ref>
[[File:Downtown Queenstown, New Zealand - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Queenstown Mall]]
[[Auckland]]'s [[Queen Street, Auckland|Lower Queen Street]] was pedestrianised in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Jacobson |first=Adam |date=4 October 2017 |title=Pedestrian-dominated space revealed for lower Queen St |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/97463504/pedestriandominated-space-revealed-for-lower-queen-st |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lower Queen Street pedestrian mall |url=https://at.govt.nz/projects-roadworks/lower-queen-street-pedestrian-mall/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=Auckland Transport |language=en-nz}}</ref> 

Town Centre–style pedestrian malls rose in popularity in the 1970 & 1980s, springing up around New Zealand after the success of Cuba Mall. Many, however, have since fallen into disrepair and abandonment and are now classified as [[Dead mall]]s, including [[Bishopdale Village Mall]], [[Ōtara|Otara Town Centre]], and [[New Brighton, New Zealand|New Brighton Mall]]. Pedestrian malls are still being built, however much more scarcely and now are usually called Town Centres and have parking on the outskirts, including [[Rolleston Fields]], The Sands Town Centre, and [[Wigram|The Landing Wigram]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 January 2022 |title=Rolleston Fields forever |url=https://metropol.co.nz/rolleston-fields-forever/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=Metropol |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Auckland's small town of Drury to get a brand new town centre |url=https://www.summithomes.co.nz/inspiration-item/aucklands-small-town-of-drury-to-get-a-brand-new-town-centre |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=Summit Homes |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Four times the size of Bayfair': Plans for $1b Pāpāmoa East town centre revealed |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/revealed-1-billion-town-centre-planned-for-papamoa-east-will-be-four-times-the-size-of-bayfair/2J6WXESPJZGPWR4GOSK2AQQMEQ/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

A proposal has been made for a pedestrian priority community near [[Papakura]] in [[Auckland]]. The community would be called [[Sunfield, New Zealand|Sunfield]] and cost $4 Billion NZD to build. It is designed to have 4,400 homes and is projected to decrease normal car usage by 90% compared to typical suburbs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fonseka |first=Dileepa |date=31 December 2022 |title=Winton's $4b Sunfield development: Why efforts to remove red tape are proving so difficult |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/130782498/wintons-4b-sunfield-development-why-efforts-to-remove-red-tape-are-proving-so-difficult |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[Stuff (website)|Stuff]] |language=en}}</ref> It has run into challenges after the project being rejected by [[Kāinga Ora]] for fast-tracking following Covid-19; construction authorities took [[Kāinga Ora]] to court over the matter.<ref>{{Cite web |title=5000-home development rejected by Housing Minister for fast-track treatment |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/minister-rejects-winton-land-plea-for-5000-home-sunfield-to-go-under-fast-tracking-law/KU6PELR7FZZCTKY5ZG5QQRQL3M/ |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |language=en-NZ}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=19 December 2022 |title=Kāinga Ora hits back over anti-competition claims |url=https://www.newsroom.co.nz/page/kainga-ora-hits-back-over-anti-competitive-behaviour-claims |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=Newsroom |language=en-AU}}</ref>
==See also==
{{Wiktionary|pedestrianization}}
{{Commons}}
* [[Carfree city]]
* [[Car-free days]]
* [[Car-free movement]]
* [[Footpath]]
* [[Jan Gehl]]
* [[List of car-free islands|List of car-free places]]
* [[Mobility transition]]
* {{Annotated link|Living street}}
* {{Annotated link|Pedestrian village}}
* ''[[Principles of intelligent urbanism]]''
*{{Annotated link|Street hierarchy}}
*{{Annotated link|Street reclamation}}
*{{Annotated link|Transit mall}}
* [[Urban vitality]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{Cite journal |last=Melia |first=Steve |date=2010 |title=Carfree, low-car – What's the Difference? |url=http://www.eco-logica.co.uk/pdf/wtpp16.2.pdf |journal=World Transport Policy & Practice 16 |publisher=Eco-Logica Ltd. |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=24–32 |doi= |access-date=16 December 2022}}

{{Road}}
{{Walking}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedestrian Zone}}
[[Category:Car-free zones| ]]
[[Category:Pedestrian safety]]
[[Category:Traffic calming]]