German eco town goes car free

It's easy to live in a city and not bother with a car. In our case we have a Metro station at either end of the street and on the few occasions when we need to use a car we either borrow or rent one. If anything, having a car in the city is a hassle and much too costly. Friends and family who live in the suburbs or country have a much more difficult time managing without a car but this little village in Germany is going to be an interesting case study.

The village is outside of another small town and the focus is on the environment. Houses are equipped with solar panels to generate power and because of the thick, insulated walls, they even sell surplus energy back to the power grid. Getting to work or shopping is as easy as jumping on the tram or car-sharing. Could this be replicated elsewhere?

In Vauban, a suburb of the university town of Freiburg, luxuriant beds of brilliant flowers replace what would normally be parking outside its neat, middle- class homes. Instead of the roar of traffic, the residents listen to birdsong, children playing and the occasional jingle of a bicycle bell.

"If you want to have a car here, you have to pay about €20,000 for a space in one of our garages on the outskirts of the district," says Andreas Delleske one of the founders and now a promoter of the Vauban project, "but about 57 per cent of the residents sold a car to enjoy the privilege of living here." As a result, most residents travel by bike or use the ultra-efficient tram service that connects the suburb with the centre of Freiburg, 15 minutes away. If they want a car to go on holiday or to shift things, they hire one or join one of the town's car-sharing schemes.

Because it has no cars, Vauban's planners have almost completely dispensed with the idea of metalled roads. Its streets and pathways are cobbled or gritted and vehicles are allowed in only for a matter of minutes to unload essential goods. Being virtually car-free is only the start of what has been hailed as one of Europe's most successful experiments in green living and one which is viewed increasingly as a blueprint for a future and perhaps essential way of living in an age of climate change.