It’s not car-free, but I have to agree with the title of this article I found about Hammarby Sjöstad: A place that makes sense (pictures). He does mention that the “25,000 residents are… oblivious to car traffic because it’s almost nonexistent.” If only Seattle could whip out some Nordic heritage and do something similar. For the record, I don’t think this sort of integrated urban living is for everyone, but I think it would make one really attractive option for my market segment.
Update: the article is now only for subscribers, but here’s a good bit:
The place makes sense in the world, as well. Here’s the cost: the flats are relatively small, between 600 and 1,000 square feet. That’s two or three rooms plus a modest kitchen and a balcony. You can’t have endless stuff because there’s not room (everyone has storage space in the basement, and there’s a special room for bikes). So there’s way less space than we’ve come to consider normal–it’s about like living in a trailer, maybe a double-wide. But that’s OK. When the community is an extended home recreation center, you don’t need a special warren in your dwelling. What it means is a resident of Hammarby Sjostad is able to live, more or less, at a level calculated to be sustainable for all of the world’s 6 billion humans–as compared with the American lifestyle, which would require five additional earths if it were extended across all humanity.
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