L.A. may be the city of the car, but it doesn’t have to be.
Whether you’re looking to cut back on your emissions, or want to connect with your neighborhood on a deeper level — or your soul simply can’t handle another rush hour on the 405 — there are a LOT of reasons to ditch the ol’ automobile.
Cities built for carless travel are safer, greener, and make transportation more efficient. They make getting around cheaper, too.
But the automobile is hardwired into L.A.’s DNA. Our city is literally built around cars — neighborhoods were leveled to make way for freeways, historic buildings were demolished to build surface parking lots.
Stimson Building, on South Spring Street and West 3rd Street, before and after it was demolished and turned into a parking lot in 1963.
Left: Arnold Hylen. Right: Google Street View
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And it’s not just city infrastructure. We drive to school, we drive to work. We drive to the gym, to the beach, to grandma’s house, the grocery store. How do you part with something that’s so embedded in your daily routine?
How I gave up my car
Before we get into the tips and tricks, I’ll share a bit of my own car-free journey. I wasn’t born with a love for public transit — far from it.
I’m a born-and-raised Angeleno who started driving when I was 17. My first regular commute was a 45-minute slog across three freeways to get from home to high…
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