reference book "Ökologisches bauen"

Chapter Mobility:

During the planning of a sustainable open space, the most disturbing factor becomes apparent: public and private motorised traffic and parked cars. Traffic requires more than 30% of the total area and produces noise and exhaust gases. Traffic dominates the planning process and results in land consumption and considerable costs. Streets are only functional to a certain degree as the freedom of movement for children and older people is limited. For taking a walk it is better to go to the nearest park and only shops and restaurants of lower quality are found in the main streets. Increasing land consumption, growing distances and escalating traffic are reasons for the endless spiral of land consumption. Thus, there is an increasing demand for car-free cities. But is a total ban on cars necessary and realistic? There are many examples of city centres with limited traffic, both pedestrian areas and densely built-up inner-city areas of Asia, cities of Japan, India, or China.