Engineering and scale MOB-02

Almost no private cars

Geneva in 2061

In 2061, very few people in Geneva own a car. For the occasional longer trip, residents use shared, self-driving cars parked on the outskirts, much like today’s red Mobility car-sharing cars. The streets, once lined with parked cars, now have trees, cycle lanes, café terraces in summer and playgrounds. Without private cars, the city is quieter, safer and more beautiful.

She asked a woman on the street where all the cars were, and she replied that besides the delivery vehicles, the only cars were automatic rental cars parked on the outskirts of the city and used by people who wanted to drive further afield.Grooters, Book 1, Part 16 “2061”

Geneva today

In Geneva’s dense areas, every parking space removed from the street must by law be replaced

Under the cantonal road traffic law, parking spaces removed from public streets in dense areas must be compensated by an equivalent number of spaces, if necessary in an underground car park. In 2018, the Geneva government itself reported that projects for public transport, cycling and safety were being delayed by these compensation rules.

Source: Council of State of Geneva, bill PL 12417 amending the cantonal road traffic law (December 2018)

In the city of Geneva, each car of the Mobility car-sharing cooperative replaces 21 private cars, according to a survey of its members: about 2,800 cars in total, whose parking spaces would cover almost half the Plaine de Plainpalais (Mobility, 2025).
In 2018, nearly a third of the jobs in Geneva were held by people living outside the canton, and only 12.5% of French residents working in Geneva commuted by public transport, for lack of suitable services (Council of State, 2018).

Where it is already done

Amsterdam (Netherlands) launched a plan in 2019 to make its streets car-lite and has since removed more than 10,000 on-street parking spaces, replacing them with bike paths, parks, green spaces and other places for people. It now aims to remove another 10,000 by 2030.
Mobility (Switzerland) the car-sharing cooperative behind the red cars, offers more than 3,000 cars at 1,600 locations across the country. In the cities studied, households without car sharing own at least twice as many cars per 1,000 people as households with a Mobility subscription.

A Pattern Language

Related patterns from the book A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander and colleagues (1977), a classic of architecture and town planning.

22 Nine Per Cent Parking: Alexander and his colleagues warned that when parking takes up more than about 9% of a neighbourhood’s land, the environment is destroyed for people, and proposed this as a strict upper limit. Geneva 2061 goes further: almost no parked cars in the streets at all.

How far along

Engineering and scale The principle works, but it needs investment, time or better technology.

The path to 2061

Milestones proposed for discussion.

2027Geneva relaxes the rule requiring every removed parking space to be replaced, at least where car sharing and public transport are good.
2031A shared car is available within a few minutes’ walk of most homes.
2041Most on-street parking in the city has been replaced by trees, cycle lanes, terraces or playgrounds. Hubs on the outskirts host shared cars for longer trips.
2051Very few residents own a private car; shared self-driving cars cover the remaining needs.
2061As the woman tells Verity, the only cars are delivery vans and self-driving rental cars parked on the outskirts.

What moves it

LawTechnologyInvestmentCulture

Human needs it serves

EasePeaceFreedomAutonomyAirPhysical well-beingSpaceAutonomy

Open questions

How can people with reduced mobility, tradespeople and families with young children be sure of easy access to a car when they really need one?
What should replace the revenue from parking fees and fines, which today help fund the city?
When will shared self-driving cars be safe and reliable enough to replace most private cars?

Sources

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