Would you buy a home in a subdivision that didn't allow cars?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

May 12, 2009

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

VAUBAN, Germany — Residents of this upscale community are suburban pioneers, going where few soccer moms or commuting executives have ever gone before: they have given up their cars.

Street parking, driveways and home garages are generally forbidden in this experimental new district on the outskirts of Freiburg, near the Swiss border. Vauban’s streets are completely “car-free” — except the main thoroughfare, where the tram to downtown Freiburg runs, and a few streets on one edge of the community. Car ownership is allowed, but there are only two places to park — large garages at the edge of the development, where a car-owner buys a space, for $40,000, along with a home.

As a result, 70 percent of Vauban’s families do not own cars, and 57 percent sold a car to move here. “When I had a car I was always tense. I’m much happier this way,” said Heidrun Walter, a media trainer and mother of two, as she walked verdant streets where the swish of bicycles and the chatter of wandering children drown out the occasional distant motor.

...

In California, the Hayward Area Planning Association is developing a Vauban-like community called Quarry Village on the outskirts of Oakland, accessible without a car to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system and to the California State University’s campus in Hayward.

...

But the current system is still stacked against the project ... mortgage lenders worry about resale value of half-million-dollar homes that have no place for cars, and most zoning laws in the United States still require two parking spaces per residential unit.

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In 2000, Great Britain began a comprehensive effort to reform planning, to discourage car use by requiring that new development be accessible by public transit.

“Development comprising jobs, shopping, leisure and services should not be designed and located on the assumption that the car will represent the only realistic means of access for the vast majority of people,” said PPG 13, the British government’s revolutionary 2001 planning document.

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For trips to stores like IKEA or the ski slopes, families buy cars together or use communal cars rented out by Vauban’s car-sharing club.

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By nature, people who buy homes in Vauban are inclined to be green guinea pigs — indeed, more than half vote for the German Green Party. Still, many say it is the quality of life that keeps them here.

Henk Schulz, a scientist who on one afternoon last month was watching his three young children wander around Vauban, remembers his excitement at buying his first car. Now, he said, he is glad to be raising his children away from cars; he does not worry much about their safety in the street.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/...h/12suburb.html

[justucia 0]

would you buy a home in a subdivision that didn't allow cars?

if i were to ever buy a home in a subdivision- yes i would consider living in a car-less neighborhood

i appreciate the idea of communal car sharing clubs

question- how do they get their groceries to their houses? burleys behind bikes? wagons?

i live on an island that has had a ban on "horseless carriages" since 1896- the ban is still in effect

only bikes and horses are allowed- no cars, golfcarts, segways, electric bicycles etc

i love it, except when its pouring rain and i have to go to work

[Nagishkaw 510]

No.

[baron555 934]

i live on an island that has had a ban on "horseless carriages"

Where do you live? Mackinac?

[NickD 203]

Ha, subdivisions, new rules. Love those ones that don't allow kids, talking about the good old USA here, made that rule to keep property taxes down. Daughter purchased a nice home, but moved out when she learned she couldn't even build a small fence around her patio door so her kids wouldn't wander out in the street. Drove into one with my motorhome, you can move in, but your motorhome has to go.

Our town will fine you 50 bucks if you don't clear the publicly owned sidewalk in front of your home within 24 hours of a snow storm, even though no one ever uses those sidewalks.

Know what you are getting into before signing the dotted line.

[Niels Bohr 72]

The only problem with this is traveling. It is a big hassle to travel outside of the community. TAXI business will thrive in this environment.

[rebeccajo 14]

Not in a subdivision in the US, no I wouldn't.

In Europe you could probably get away with it. You definitely don't need to personally own a car if you live in a town.

Americans are prisoners of their automobiles, IMO.

[rebeccajo 14]

The only problem with this is traveling. It is a big hassle to travel outside of the community. TAXI business will thrive in this environment.

My husband and I recently did a 200 mile round-trip to two different cities in Northern Ireland traveling strictly on the buses, all for about 40 GBP. It was easy-peasy once we had the timetables figured out. No worrying about whether or not you had enough fuel in the tank or air in your tires, driving in the darkness, how tired you were, or how much liquor you had consumed.

Edited May 12, 2009 by rebeccajo

[Saddle Bronc 124]

...

question- how do they get their groceries to their houses? burleys behind bikes? wagons?

Shop each time for 1-2 days needs only (not uncommon in countries such as India, ...)

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

FWIW I wouldn't. I love driving.

[Nagishkaw 510]

FWIW I wouldn't. I love driving.

Yes, me too!

[natty bumppo 297]

The only problem with this is traveling. It is a big hassle to travel outside of the community. TAXI business will thrive in this environment.

My husband and I recently did a 200 mile round-trip to two different cities in Northern Ireland traveling strictly on the buses, all for about 40 GBP. It was easy-peasy once we had the timetables figured out. No worrying about whether or not you had enough fuel in the tank or air in your tires, driving in the darkness, how tired you were, or how much liquor you had consumed.

so what really happens in the back of the buss gonna share the pics?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

Someone's been spending way too much time on bangbus dot com

[natty bumppo 297]

Someone's been spending way too much time on bangbus dot com

there is a website called this?

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]