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The Innovative Way Ghent Removed Cars From The City

Witness the transformation of Ghent, Belgium, who instituted the Traffic Circulation Plan in April 2017, which completely changed the way nearly every resident gets around the city and has inspired unheard of mode shifts. It encourages less car use, more bicycling and more transit use by splitting the city into seven distinct zones: a mostly car-free city center core surrounded by six zones which have been cordoned off with concrete or controlled by cameras. The only way to reach them is to travel to the ring road on the city outskirts, thus making it not impossible to use a car but motivates those shorter trips to be done via human power or mass transit. Bike mode share in 2012 was 22%, now it is 35% and growing!

This swift, creative strategy of turning Ghent in to a place for people is such a phenomenal story it's a mystery as to why it has not gotten more attention worldwide. It is a city of 262,000 residents, so not a large metropolis, but not a small city either. The metamorphosis was achieved thru a sort of tactical urbanism approach by throwing concrete barriers and planters here and there (some backed by enforcement cameras) and altering the gateways into public spaces and safer places to walk and bike. (There are now 40% fewer cars on bicycle priority streets than before the plan!)

Their main inspirations were the cities of Groningen and Utrecht, both in The Netherlands. And as Vice Mayor, Filip Watteeuw explains they did not have the funds or the time to spend 10, 20 or 30 years to catch up to where they were. So they improvised with interesting tactics and treatments and The Traffic Circulation Plan. And as I have said before what happened was stunning: almost never has their been such a rapid metamorphosis occurred in such a short time. And Ghent isn't stopping there!

  • Clarence Eckerson
    Director
  • Clarence Eckerson
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Web / New Media
  • Genres:
    Transportation, Media, Documentary, bicycling
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes 50 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2020
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Belgium
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Clarence Eckerson
Director Biography - Clarence Eckerson

Essentially a one-person filmmaking juggernaut, Clarence is frequently referred to as “the hardest working man in transportation show biz” for his dedication to making difficult, wonky concepts more accessible and entertaining to the general public. He's been documenting advocacy transportation for over twenty years and produced nearly 1,000 Streetfilm shorts.

With no formal video training or education in an urban planning field, Clarence attributes much of his accumulated knowledge to never holding a driver’s license. 99% of all footage he shoots is by bike, foot, train, or bus, which gives his filmmaking a unique, see-it-as-it-happens feel. He also loves his commute.

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Director Statement

Ghent is really doing something extra-ordinary by attempting to retro-fit its city in just years rather than decades of great planning in cities like Groningen and Utrecht, two cities it looks to for inspiration.

The world will benefit from their experience and boldness in moving forward with a Traffic Circulation plan that keeps cars from criss-crossing the center of the city making lives better for those who live and visit.

As cities continue to grow there should be less room for cars and more for people, transit and bike riders. Ghent has thrown down a gauntlet to the world and largely succeeded. More cities will continue down this path for sure, and for our world to succeed 100s more need to...in the next decade.