“en ville sans ma voiture” [in town without my car]
In a commendable attempt to improve the quality of urban life, the City of Montreal, and for the second year in a row, declares tomorrow Friday, September 22, 2006, a day where urbanites are encouraged to leave cars at home, and use public transit. The project had its birth in France, 1998. The French government decided to cancel it this year, after the number of participants dropped dramatically in the past years. In Montreal however, according to “Descarie et Complices”, a Montreal statistics firm, 40% of those who drive everyday in the city, chose to use the metro (subway), the bus, the bike, and even walk, on that special, environmental, urban friendly day.
Tomorrow, roads will be closed; crowds, cafes and boutiques will take over streets as well as sidewalks. On September 22, 2006, Metropolis will offer us an unrehearsed theatrical display of silhouettes, in a magnificent spectacle.
If you want to be part of the oceanic crowd tomorrow, get out to the streets, use public transport and give back to urbanity and the environment. Better yet, walk and meander throughout the city like Baudelaire’s Flâneur, and discover Guy Debord’s Society of Spectacle.
Here’s to good urban design, and excellent urban life!
Here’s to Montreal.
In a related story, weather forecast for Friday and Saturday: RAIN!
One city cannot have it all.
Read more about "en ville sans ma voiture" here. (in french)
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Update:
1500 cities all over the world are joining in to this wonderful envrionmental phenomena.
posted by _z. @ 7:05 PM
5 Comments:
In Italy, every few months or so, they have the so-called "fermo traffico", where cars are simply not allowed in city centres. Unlike what Montreal is doing, in Italy it is not merely encouraged, it is enforced in an attempt to reduce high levels of pollution.
I have had to fortune to witness such a day in Milan and Rome, and it was awesome! Pedestrians and bicycles reclaim the streets and it's wonderfully small town-ish.
Hope you're enjoying being out and about in Montreal today!
god you made me so homesick!
that's one of the reasons why i LOVE that place.
ps. did they really close cinema du parc (my main pasttime)?? whats up with that?
It was nice Red. thank God we had a nice weather. Lunch on the terrasse and looking at passers by was amazing.
a relaxing day!
Laila, no I don't think they closed it. I was there no too long ago... when did you hear it was closed?
on their website www.cinemaduparc.com
yii I didn't know! too bad!
It is close to my work, I used to go there often.
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