Towards a car-free future

1. You are going to watch a video about car-free cities. Look at the sentences
below and guess if the ideas are true or false.
a) The more populated a city is, the more negatively car-banning policies might
affect it.
b) The fewer cars there are in the area, the worse it is for businesses.
c) The more cars we get rid of, the more cycling accidents we have.
d) The sooner we start reducing the number of cars, the more quickly cities can
become carbon-neutral.
e) The more pedestrian districts there are in a city, the harder it is to
accommodate cars.
f) The less we use cars, the better other forms of transportation become.

2. Watch the first part of the video [https://youtu.be/g9-9CxCxrVE] (to 02:54)

and check your answers to ex. 1.

3. Watch the second part of the video (from 02:55 to 06:43) and make more
detailed notes about how the cities are implementing a car-free approach.
You will use your notes in the class.
Oslo
parking spaces
gradual approach

Barcelona
superblocks
speed limit

Kalasatama (Helsinki)
network of pneumatic tubes
robot delivery

Houten
ring road/figure of eight
bike paths

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 Towards a car-free future

4. Look at the information in the box and make sentences using the structure.
Use the examples in ex. 1 to help you.
DOUBLE COMPARATIVES
USE to express cause and effect
STRUCTURE ‘the’ + comparative (comparative adjective/comparative
adverb, e.g. ‘more’/‘less’/‘fewer’… + noun/clause),
+
‘the’ + comparative (comparative adjective/comparative
adverb, e.g. ‘more’/‘less’/‘fewer’… + noun/clause).

EXAMPLE: cars + polluted – The more cars we have, the more polluted the
air is.

a) eco-friendly transport + emissions

…………………………………………………………………………………………..
b) walk + healthy
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
c) pedestrians + businesses
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
d) speed limit + traffic
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
e) green area + families with children
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
f) bike lanes + easily
…………………………………………………………………………………………..

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 Towards a car-free future

5. Look at the sentences and complete them with as many ideas as possible.
a) The more cars there are,…
b) The fewer cars there are,…

6. Share what you learnt from the video about the cities mentioned. Say which
solution(s) you like most. Use structures with double comparatives to
explain your answers.

7. Discuss the questions.

• Does living in a car-free city sound appealing
to you? Why/Why not?
• Can you get by easily without a car where you
live? If not, what do you need a car for?
• Which of these two reasons to get rid of cars
is more important to you: cutting emissions or
preserving historic places?
• What do you think about this idea from the video?: In the future, cars will be
seen as a failed experiment that increased pollution, made walking dangerous,
and disrupted historic centres.
• Do you know what the term ‘15-minute city’ means? What might it be about?

8. Read a short text and say what you think about the concept of 15-minute
city.

15-minute city is the concept of urban planning that focuses on having all
necessary amenities within a short walk or bike ride. According to the
concept, all the housing, restaurants, offices, hospitals and cultural
venues should require minimal travel between one another. It means no
traffic congestion, lower emissions and generally happier and healthier
residents.

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 Towards a car-free future

9. Think of a 15-minute city project that would be ideal for you. Consider the
amenities you would like to have, modes of transport, and some solutions
for making it car-free.

Copyrights by ESL Brains