Why a car-free Stockholm?
Most of Stockholm's inner-city streets are given over to car traffic: lanes, parking, on- and off-ramps. What's left for people to actually spend time on, sidewalks, bike lanes, outdoor seating and greenery, is squeezed into the margins.
Why is this needed?
It's easy to think that car traffic simply is the way it is. That it can't be changed. But across Europe, city after city has shown that it can, and that the result is better for everyone.
Paris turned its entire Seine riverbank from a highway into a park. Barcelona is expanding its "superblocks," where local traffic takes priority over through traffic. Oslo removed almost all parking spaces in the center. Ghent divided its inner city into sectors so that through traffic simply can't drive straight across.
Stockholm is moving in the right direction. Hornsgatan got wider sidewalks. Götgatan has become partly car-free. But it's going too slowly, and there's no clear vision for what the inner city should look like in 10 or 20 years.
What do we gain?
Less car traffic in the inner city means:
Cleaner air
Stockholm's busiest streets have NO₂ levels that exceed the WHO's recommendations. Children, the elderly and everyone who lives along these streets is affected.
Neighborhoods without traffic noise
We don't want a silent city. We want a city full of human sounds: laughter, music, conversation, shouting, splashing. The only sound that needs to go is the constant noise of cars.
Safer streets
Fewer cars means fewer traffic accidents. It means children can walk to school on their own and the elderly dare to cross the street.
More life
Streets freed from through traffic fill up with outdoor cafés, markets, play and company. It's not a utopia, it's what happens every time it's tried.
More greenery
Every parking space removed can become a tree, a planting or a bench. Stockholm has the potential to become one of Europe's greenest capitals.
It's not about being against cars
Let's be clear: this is not about banning cars. It's about prioritizing. Today car traffic is prioritized at the expense of everything else. We think it should be the other way around, that walking, cycling, public transit and street life should come first, and that car traffic adapts.
There's nothing ideological about this. It's not a left- or right-wing issue. Everyone breathes the same air, everyone is affected by noise, and everyone's children deserve safe routes to school. The right to a city that works for people should be something we can all agree on.
What are we doing?
Right now we're building a platform and a community. We launched Gatuligan, a data-driven ranking of Stockholm's inner-city streets based on air quality, traffic, noise, street life and greenery. It shows in black and white which streets are the best and worst to spend time on.
We gather on r/BilfrittStockholm to discuss, share ideas and build support.
And we're looking for more people who want to take part. Whether you live on Stockholm's noisiest street or its quietest alley, your voice is needed.
How can you contribute?
- Join the discussion on r/BilfrittStockholm.
- Check your street in Gatuligan and share the result.
- Talk about it, with neighbors, with colleagues, with your local politician.
- Get involved in your party. Whatever your affiliation, you can push the issue from within.
Stockholm can become a better city. It starts with us speaking up.