What is Carfree Chicago?
Carfree Chicago is a community-built resource that aims to take the guesswork out of carfree living while promoting responsible transportation choices. The site is structured as a community blog — it is written by carfree Chicagoans for other carfree Chicagoans. Anyone can sign up to share information that will help improve the quality of life for the over one million Chicagoans who choose not to drive, can’t drive, or even those who drive out of necessity but prefer not to when possible. Have something to say about your experience with carfree living? Please sign up and share with us!
How Does It Work?
What neighborhoods are easy to live in without a car? How do you get away for a quiet day in the woods outside of the city? What can we do to make the city more walkable and bike-friendly? Thinking about going carfree but have reservations?
Browse the website by topic or check out the Guide to Car(e)free Living to find answers to these questions and learn about “living without” without missing out.
Do you have answers to some of the above questions? Your experience is valuable to other carfree Chicagoans. Register for free (in the left sidebar) and write your own article or contribute to the Car(e)free Guide to help promote the carfree lifestyle.
Why Is This Important?
From inequitable public funding favoring cars over public transit to local zoning laws that favor driving to streets that forget about pedestrians, the deck can at times seem stacked against those of us who can’t or choose not to drive. Despite the challenges, many people choose the carfree lifestyle because of its financial and environmental advantages and the great quality of life it allows. There are few places in our nation where we can live well without cars, so we’re lucky to be in a place like Chicago where there’s good public transportation and plenty of walkable neighborhoods. But we need to stay informed on policies that affect our lifestyle, we need to teach others about why it’s great to live carfree, and we can all learn from each other how to take full advantage of our region by foot, bike, and transit.
“About” by Lee Crandell is licensed under CC BY