Riders on the Storm: The end of our Car Free Cities campaign

On 19th July, we ran a hybrid event for councillors, council officers, campaigners and stakeholders on delivering successful urban traffic reduction. The event, aptly named Riders on the Storm, sought to discuss how and why traffic should be cut in major towns and cities as well as the sustainable alternatives that could be implemented instead.

We were joined by several speakers speaking both on Zoom and in-person to those who could attend. They were keen to share their insights, experiences and data analysis on what a car-free city could look like, how to battle misinformation, and talk to local residents about how traffic reduction measures could benefit them. 

Our first session, titled ‘Car Wars: Delivering Change Against a Backdrop of Misinformation’ focused on our new report Sound and Fury, which analysed the impact of London councillors’ positions on LTNs on the outcome of the 2022 local elections. The key message was that change is hard, you will experience a backlash, and a lot of noise on social media, because those most opposed to change are the most vocal.

We also heard from misinformation expert Stefan Rollnick and councillor Charlie Hicks who both highlighted the importance of procedural fairness and outcome fairness, and the difference between polled public opinion and perceived public opinion.

We then had an interactive breakout session on Parklets and Parking, titled ‘Reclaiming the Streets’, with people doing pioneering work in reclaiming kerbside space for sustainable uses sharing their learnings and insights in small groups. 

For our afternoon session, Cities of the Future, we heard from different speakers on how to ensure that the shift away from car dependency increases equity and access for all our communities. 

Hirra Khan Adeogun, co-director of Possible and former head of the Car Free Cities campaign, finished off with a round-up of our resources and projects on the horizon, which includes our Hot Wheels project working with food delivery couriers and Clean Cars for Carers, campaigning for access to EV financing for carers in rural areas.

Riders on the Storm also commemorated the end of our Car Free Cities campaign, which has been working towards ambitious traffic reduction in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, and London for the past three years.

We’ve been working with local communities – particularly those who are most harmed by the effects of mass car dominance – to co-design and deliver changes to their own streets. We’ve also been working hard to encourage and inspire local decision makers to raise ambitions and accelerate change in our cities.