We live in a society designed for and built around the automobile, and many people don’t seem very happy about it. A recent Arizona State University survey adds more fuel to the fire, revealing that more than half of Americans are at least willing to consider giving up their cars entirely. Specifically, 18 percent of respondents are actively interested in living car-free, while 40 percent say they are at least open to the idea.
“About 10 percent of the U.S. lives without a car now. If that demand were to be realized — which is unlikely, given the current land use situation we’re in — we’d be reaching numbers similar to Europe,” Nicole Corcoran, the paper’s lead author, told Streetsblog USA. That 10 percent mainly consists of city dwellers who have access to public transit, and lower income people who can’t afford to have a car.
However, people outside these existing demographics are now considering car-free living as well. This may have something to do with cars getting more expensive, traffic constantly getting worse, or gas prices spiking every time somebody sneezes in the Middle East. For the purposes of this survey, “car-free” means people who don’t own a car themselves, but might still use one. This can include everything from renting or borrowing a car on occasion to hiring an Uber or participating in carpools.
According to the survey, people who would at least consider giving up their cars have a few things in common:
Five key factors are associated with interest in car-free living: having prior experience living without a car, using alternative modes of transportation for at least five percent of trips, lower car dependence, riding transit regularly, and having less enjoyment of travel by private car. Further, we find that car owners interested in car-free living are a diverse group, with few significant associations between interest in car-free living and key socioeconomic or demographic variables.
Corcoran was inspired to conduct this survey by the Culdesac community in Tempe, Arizona, not far from the university in Phoenix. Its roads are big enough for cars, but only emergency vehicles are allowed to drive on them. In addition to housing, the community includes local businesses, over two miles of bike and foot paths, and over 50 public courtyards and barbecue areas. It makes it not only possible, but easy to live without a car, especially in a place where it rarely rains or snows.
Car-centric communities are a big reason why people feel lonely, and this car-free community addresses pretty much all of those concerns. Getting us out of our metal cages opens us up to interacting with each other more and getting that social contact we need for our mental health. I’ve noticed that when I’m on my motorcycle, or even in a Miata with the top down, people are far more likely to strike up a conversation with me than when I’m in an enclosed car. I do enjoy cars, and I’m not about to give them up, but if I had the option to just walk to a restaurant, corner store, or a friend’s house instead of driving half an hour, I would.