Cars in cities, let alone designing cities around cars, is one of the greatest tragedies of modern life.
Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
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Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#32Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wonder if anyone is working on ways for breaks and tires to be less harmful, or polluting?
Regenerative braking would tend to reduce particulates from friction braking.
Most European cars already have engine braking. EV regenerative braking just maintains the behavior that folks only used to automatics forgot about. Automatics I think are still not super common in Europe.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#33it’s always shocked me how diesel reliant Europe is, smells absolutely terrible coming from the states
Diesel motors last 2-3x longer on average. It shocks me that we don't use diesel for everything.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#34Worth noting that 50-60% of passenger cars in France are diesel, but Paris have been gradually banning older higher emission diesels (Crit’air 3, 4, 5) from Paris. Banning cars outright also works, of course, but I suspect a lot of the reduction can be attributed to getting particularly bad diesel cars out vs. the limited areas where cars are entirely restricted.
Also worth noting that with modern emissions standards (and transition to EVs), over 50% of handful particulates come from tires, brakes, road surface wear, and resuspended dust: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/non-exhaust-particulate... I don't think there's any healthy level of private cars coexisting with humans in a city, without even considering the more immediate harms from crashes, etc.
I flipped through the summary of that report, and I would think there is almost surely no way this is true, unless focusing on worst case assumptions like aggressive driving styles and very poorly maintained vehicles.
Your conclusion that there is not “any healthy level of private cars coexisting” is heavy handed. There is a balance, but I suspect it’s more of a jealousy/equality issue. Heavily taxed and high quality requirements can surely lead to a healthy coexisting. Limiting trips to when they are truly worth the cost is an equation to be solved.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#35It makes sense now why they burn cars every protest (besides being fun). Pollution for a day, clean air for a lifetime
Ah yes, the joy of destroying your neighbor’s property just for fun. Is he a working-class guy, struggling to pay his bills? Too bad. Because nothing says “let’s build a better future” than a riot.
Sadly, that is mostly how it happens. Wars/riots and strikes are the only proven mechanism for effecting systemic change to power structures. It's how you got most of your freedoms.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also worth noting that with modern emissions standards (and transition to EVs), over 50% of handful particulates come from tires, brakes, road surface wear, and resuspended dust: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/non-exhaust-particulate... I don't think there's any healthy level of private cars coexisting with humans in a city, without even considering the more immediate harms from crashes, etc.
Wonder if anyone is working on ways for breaks and tires to be less harmful, or polluting?
Lighter cars, really, that's it. Make vehicles that match the transportation case in question instead of palaces on wheels that carry battery sized for solving some once in a year use case.
And/or make them go slower.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Also worth noting that with modern emissions standards (and transition to EVs), over 50% of handful particulates come from tires, brakes, road surface wear, and resuspended dust: https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/non-exhaust-particulate... I don't think there's any healthy level of private cars coexisting with humans in a city, without even considering the more immediate harms from crashes, etc.
Wonder if anyone is working on ways for breaks and tires to be less harmful, or polluting?
EU is introducing limits for this as part of the Euro 7 standard, which is spurring various tech improvements.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#38Don't have to ban cars - the UK has adopted a speed limit of 20/30 mph in cities and I'm sure it helps. Surely helps with the noise and the safety
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#39Cars in cities, let alone designing cities around cars, is one of the greatest tragedies of modern life.
It is, though the problem predates the cars. At the time cars were seen as a huge win over the vast piles of horse poop.
Cities do need to be reconsidered for more public transit and more opportunities to walk, but other issues (delivery, emergency, disability, etc) have to figure in.
Re: Air pollution fell substantially as Paris restricted car traffic
#40How much of this has to do with the policies highlighted - removing 50k parking spots, adding bike lanes and green spaces - and how much has to do with cars having better exhaust? How much less cars are on the road today vs then? The charts and title make it look like there's no cars in Paris anymore. That's not the case, at all.
This paper [0] suggests improvements in car emissions has played a big role in reducing emissions in European cities as a whole. Vehicle emissions of all kinds have fallen pretty dramatically across Europe [1], although this is total emissions for vehicles, so it includes policies to reduce driving as well as those to reduce each vehicle’s emissions. So overall trends toward more efficient cars are certainly part of the story. Given these images are between 2007, when emissions had already been falling, and 2024, I’m inclined to think the policies highlighted in the article played a significant role as well.
[0]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259016211...
[1]: https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/indicators/emissions-o...