The Cars That Ate Paris (and Sydney, London, Tokyo...)

A novel approach to traffic safety: a rudimentary (and pre-emptive) airbag?

Sometimes it can feel like cars are taking over the world. For those of us that choose not to drive a car it can sometimes make for uncomfortable viewing. Yesterday's announcement of a three-pence reduction in fuel duty has been greeted in some quarters like the second coming. No surprise given that cars dominate all aspects of modern life, from the very look and feel of our cities to the way we define our selves as modern, consumerist societies.

The overriding message seems clear enough - driving a car is a right, not a luxury. We are constantly enticed to spend our hard-earned fortunes on these disposable gadgets, sold to us like bloated iPhones on wheels. But all that chrome and rubber comes at a great cost - even discounting the enormous resources it takes to manufacture these gleaming machines, there is still the small matter of the miles of tarmac (and steel and concrete) on which they ride, not to mention the ever diminishing fossil fuels on which they survive.

Cars can still make attractive additions to our environment - it's just better when they are stationary

But my dislike of cars is founded on something much simpler. On a recent trip to Paris I was struck by how much they detract from a pedestrian's enjoyment of the city. Crossing even the most minor of roads in Paris on foot (let alone the grand boulevards) is like negotiating the trenches of the Western front. In every way the city has lowered itself to accommodate the car - surely it should be the contrary?

The story is one that has been repeated across the world (with the notable exception of cities like Amsterdam) - the very fabric of the city at the 'human scale' has been sacrificed to the car. Many of us now live on urban islands surrounded by endless rivers of traffic. Call me a Luddite, but doesn't that seem like a high price to pay?