the Free street manifesto

For over 70 years private cars have dominated public space in German cities. We - a creative-academic Alliance - have now published a Manifesto to dismantle this dogma. In seven theses the Free Street Manifesto presents a future full of opportunities for liveable and sustainable cities, when we reimagine urban space beyond cars. We call on anyone to become a pioneer and help kick-start this much needed change. 

‍Virtually every street in every German city is clogged with cars, parking and standing idle for more than 23 hours a day on average. This highly inefficient use of scarce urban space triggered our cooperation as the Free Street Alliance, uniting think-and-do-tank paper planes e.V., the mobility researchers of the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB), and the participation experts of the Technische Universität (TU) Berlin. 

We argue for ecologically sustainable modes of transport like bikes or shared mobility options, including public transit and shared vehicles, to become the new normal. Private cars will then only be used by people who really need them. We estimate the benefits for neighbourhoods, public health as well as climate change mitigation and adaptation to be enormous.

The local economy in many respects has much to gain from the gradual implementation of the Manifesto as well. Free streets provide space for pavilions as remote workplaces, workshops, and production facilities, as well as for infrastructure supply. This not only saves much time-consuming commuting, but also allows German cities to become more independent from global crises. 

The Manifesto does not stop at the proposal for a more sustainable city of the future but offers concrete recommendations for action regarding political will and agency, as well as citizen participation and empowerment. 

We call on everyone to sign the Manifesto. In addition, we invite anyone interested in the project to visit our Experience Lab at Forster Straße 52, 10999 Berlin Kreuzberg. Here we set up an exhibition over the summer of 2022, where visitors can see, smell and hear the free street. Afterwards visitors can experience the free street on a small scale on the forsTerrasse, a temporary terrace for the neighbourhood, which was built on former car parks.