The founders of a new housing development called Culdesac certainly think so.
Culdesac, which calls itself the “first car-free neighborhood from scratch in the United States,” plans to open its doors in Tempe, Arizona, in fall 2020. And they say people are clamoring to live in their $140m experiment.
The 1k-person neighborhood will feature restaurants, a grocery store, a gym, a light rail stop, and even a dog park. But if you want to be a resident, you have to ditch your wheels.
Sure, people will have access to car shares, Ubers, and Lyfts…
But the point is to build a city where people can get to work, get what they need, and reasonably entertain themselves without having to own a car.
Transportation emissions in the US continue to rise, even though it’s now clearer than ever that we need to drastically reduce our emissions in order to (maybe) fend off the most horrific impacts of climate change. Building housing near public transit is a good way to get cars off the road.
Research points to the health benefits of green space…
And Culdesac emphasizes that they’re pulling out parking to make room for just that. Their website doesn’t have much content; instead, there are cartoons of people wearing hip clothing — one walking a dog, another biking.
It’s pretty clear they’re marketing to millennials, who may be interested in a simpler, more sustainable lifestyle.