When I heard of Lyon putting park-and-rides at the perimeter of the city to encourage people to leave their cars and use other modes in the core, it reminded me of an old town I visited in Italy when I was studying abroad in college.
We were living in Florence and for 90 percent of our trips, we walked. The few times we were in a hurry we used the bus and occasionally we would rent bikes. One weekend we decided to rent a car to travel out into Tuscany with no plan in mind.
One of the towns we stumbled upon was built into a hill, similar to Pueblo cliff dwellings. It was towering in the distance and we had to check it out.
As we drove up to it, the street came to an end with a parking lot at the edge of the town. There was a street that continued through the city, but there were chains blocking it to traffic. We parked and spent the day walking and exploring. The one street went straight to the other end of the town where there was another parking lot. The remaining maze throughout the tiny town was cobblestone streets barely wide enough for one car, and other areas that were just wide enough for one person to walk through. Not a single car anywhere to be seen. It was surreal.
The view was amazing and there was nothing as far as the eye could see except fields and pastures. I’m not sure where they went if they needed specialized medical treatment, or wanted to go to a sporting event or see an opera. There wasn’t much beyond the church and tiny trattoria.
A lot of cities are being redesigned to encourage cars as unnecessary in the core. I might have thought that impractical, maybe impossible. But the people living in that small Italian town couldn’t imagine things being any other way. Our Italian was as limited as their English, but we were able to decipher from those we talked to that yes, they have been to bigger cities and yes, they choose to live in their small, quiet, car-free town. Some had cars to go out to bigger cities when they chose to, but found it rarely necessary.
That experience was one of the most valuable from the study abroad program. It wasn’t part of the curriculum but seeing a different way of living firsthand offers a completely different perspective; things don’t have to be the way you’ve always known them to be. In fact, it may be something you've never even imagined. We hope some of the diverse stories we share offer a glimpse of what’s being done around the globe.
