What does a Car Free Sunday do in the 21st century?
In any case, we cannot say that we have stood still in terms of sustainable mobility (no pun intended). Perhaps all those car-free days have achieved their goal by now, and - dare we say it? - had their best day. Time to take a look at the 'track record' of car-free and Car-Free Sundays and assess whether we will continue to need them in the future.
From economic necessity to social signal
In the 40s, 50s and 70s, car-free Sundays were prompted by oil shortages and crises. They hardly compare to the voluntary car-free Sundays we have had since 1999. The function of the car-free Sunday has shifted from pure economic necessity (save fuel in times of crisis) to a plea for more environmental awareness and livability in the city. The pragmatic has given way to an ideological interpretation. A Car-Free Sunday lets people dream how their street, neighbourhood, city could be without cars.
Trump 1: Dreaming about different
If we can get a lot of people to dream or even just dwell on their transport habits, we can eventually change things. The strength of Car Free Sunday lies in the fact that it really reaches everyone, so not just committed neighbourhood committees and street groups and not just motivated businesses and employers or commuters. The message goes to all residents, visitors, traders and casual passers-by. Moreover, the street is one of the only places that literally everyone uses every day. Because it is precisely the street that takes centre stage on car-free days, the potential to build a strong campaign around it is so great.
No awareness-raising campaign on sustainable mobility succeeds in reaching such a broad target group as that of Car Free Sunday. No wonder that in many European countries, the week between 16 and 22 September is dedicated to sustainable mobility. The registrations of cities and municipalities setting up a car-free day have clearly been on the rise in recent years. Once they have sampled a car-free day, they often have a taste for it. In 2023, 48 Flemish cities and municipalities organised a Car-Free Sunday. By doing so, they make it clear that they have an appointment on the third Sunday of September that they do not want to miss out on.
Trump 2: Healthier is better
In times when traffic circulation and healthy air are high on the policy agenda, a Car Free Sunday is the ideal opportunity to test and evaluate the effect, albeit briefly, of a new traffic measure, a traffic filter, a diversion loop or a low-emission zone. Cities or municipalities can conveniently experiment with stretches of streets or mix districts or even entire closed city centres on a Car-Free Sunday. They tackle it as big or as small as they like. In addition to the spatial relief provided by the freed-up space, the day of car rest is also a literal relief. Studies during IRCEL 's Car Free Sunday in Brussels show in black and white that the measured air quality during this day is significantly better than on an average (sunny) day.
Trump 3: Power to the people
Being able to experience the city without traffic noise for once is something that even the biggest diesel eater gets a little warmed up about. It also just does good to leave the initiative to residents and associations to fill in the freed-up space creatively and to their hearts' content. A Car-Free Sunday is a blank canvas and has been a successful formula for years. Or how about rollatortreffens, colour runs, pop-up table tennis tables, photo quests, sports demonstrations, neighbourhood quizzes, children's races, neighbourhood parties, concerts, dance initiations and much more?
Yes, such a Car-Free Sunday gets a lot of people moving (differently). Today, we definitely still need it to show that you don't always need a car to get somewhere. But at the same time, we also silently hope that the day will come when we won't need it anymore. When sustainable mobility is so ingrained and embedded in our travel behaviour that we no longer think about it. Until that day comes, Car Free Sunday will still give rise to occasional fretting. But in the meantime, a light will go on in the minds of those who fret: that the car is certainly not the ideal mode of transport for all journeys. Nothing like a day 'cold turkey' to discover how many alternative means of transport exist. To see how much space there is in a city when the car is not there. To see how many initiatives bubble up spontaneously from residents to use that space. To see that dreams are not always deceptive.
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