How to Live, Vacation, & Retire Car-Free
By Steve on Sep 11, 2008 in Steve's CARFREE JOURNEY | 0 Comments
September 2008: Sometimes, it almost seems like a contradiction. We talk about not needing a car—but find that it seems to be the only way of getting to all the places we need to go. This is especially true if you live in a suburb, rural area, or someplace else that is not in a [...]
By Steve on Sep 9, 2008 in Living Car Free | 8 Comments
Columbia, Maryland Designed as a planned community in the late 1960’s, Columbia is an unincorporated city in Howard County, located between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. It is usually considered part of the Baltimore Metropolitan Area. However, because so many residents work in Washington, D.C., Columbia is sometimes considered an outlying part of the Washington, D.C. [...]
Welcome to Car Free America’s Web Site..
Hi. I’m Steve Atlas, founder of CarFreeAmerica.org. I appreciate you visiting our web site. I hope you have viewed some of our city profiles—places with walkable neighborhoods where you can live without needing to depend on a car. If you haven’t already, look at our “gasoline price ticker” on the bottom left side of our home page. As you see the price of gas steadily increase (or temporarily decrease to under $4 a gallon), do you remember when gas cost less than $1 per gallon? Nearly every week, there is at least one newspaper article about how people are coping with the high cost of gasoline. Carpooling, selling large homes in communities far from public transportation, biking or using public transportation instead of driving—these are just a few ways people are changing the way they live. Reducing our dependency on a car doesn’t need to be a grim business—like taking an unpleasant medicine. Driving less can be fun. Walking, cycling, and using public transit can improve our health, and help us appreciate our neighborhood and community in a way that simply isn’t possible when you just drive past a neighborhood. If you take time to read some of the success stories on our web site, you will see how other people are improving their lives by driving less or not at all. Do you want to drive less, but don’t know how to get started? Write to us and we will try to provide some answers and tips? Are you looking for a new community or neighborhood where you won’t need to drive as much as you do now? Check out our city profiles for ideas. Are you planning a vacation where you can have a great time without needing to rent a car or buy gas? CarFreeAmerica.org will be developing a list of vacation ideas where driving isn’t necessary. Have you enjoyed a vacation where you didn’t need to drive? Do you live in a community or neighborhood that you would recommend to other people who don’t want to drive?. Write to me and tell me why you would recommend your neighborhood, community, or vacation location, and if we may use your name—or at least part of your name. Do you have tips or suggestions that could make it easier for others who don’t want to drive—not only where to live, but how to live (getting groceries, social life, getting to work, or anything else that is important to others who don’t want to be car dependent. Are you living now either without a car or with little or no need to drive? Tell us your success story, and what has worked for you. We may be able to include it in our success story section. You can E-mail your letters and comments to myself, Steve or to Doug my webmaster