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How a Startup is Challenging Car Centric Cities

By: Ava H.


Because cars seem to define American society, it may seem like cars are a loophole when it comes to developing a sustainable future, but does this really have to be the case?


Culdesac is one of the leaders amongst this question. They are a real estate company embarking on a $170 million project to create the first neighborhood without cars in the US, located in an empty lot in Tempe, Arizona. After looking into decades of urban planning philosophies, the neighborhood will be completed in July 2022.


Photo from: Culdesac


Ironically, it is located near Phoenix, which has a book written about how it’s the least sustainable city on the planet. So how was this the ideal location for a startup that originated in San Francisco?


Even though it is a common ideology that the most successful cities tend to be located on coasts and near large water sources, cities in Texas, Arizona, and other southern and western regions are the fastest growing places in the country despite contrary belief. Perhaps it is due to the spike and persistence of remote work, or the fact that most of the populous cities are increasingly expensive, but this could suggest why it may be more economically feasible for Culdesac to begin in Arizona rather than a prestigious coastal city that can easily make it an elitist neighborhood with drastically high rent prices, whereas Culdesac is starting at $1,090 per month for a studio apartment, similar to the other prices nearby in Arizona. In fact, the city I live in, Chicago, once being the second most populated city in the country, is now experiencing population decline, while cities beyond California’s borders are higher in demand for middle class citizens.


Will this idea work? While urban individuals are certainly optimistic and genuinely excited, suburban developers do not express having faith for this development. Maybe it is due to the car centric society we live in that makes this idea seem impossible, but residents can start moving into Culdesac’s apartments starting in July 2022.


Beyond implementing societies that ban cars, people in general need to live in communities where long car trips are not the norm.


Tackling the environmental issue of cars proves to be one that cannot be mitigated by encouraging individuals to drive less, as cars are systemically intertwined within society. Rather, it is about creating a culture that does not rely on cars in the first place. Perhaps Culdesac is the start of making this ideology increasingly mainstream.


Discussion Questions:

  • If you had the opportunity to live here, would you take it? Why or why not?

  • Do you think walkable neighborhoods can become more popular within cities?


Work Cited:


Bliss, L. (2021, September 8). Developers Offer Mobility Services to Lure Car-Free Renters. Bloomberg.com. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-08/paying-rent-will-get-you-wheels-in-new-car-free-complex.

Bureau, U. S. C. (2020, May 21). Southern and western Regions experienced rapid growth this decade. The United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2020/south-west-fastest-growing.html.

Dougherty, C. (2020, October 31). The capital of SPRAWL gets a Radically Car-Free Neighborhood. The New York Times. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/31/business/culdesac-tempe-phoenix-sprawl.html?searchResultPosition=1.

Experience someplace better. Culdesac. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://culdesac.com/.

Kane, J. (2020, January 6). Banning cars won't solve AMERICA'S BIGGER transportation problem: Long trips. Brookings. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/the-avenue/2020/01/06/banning-cars-wont-solve-americas-bigger-transportation-problem-long-trips/.

Ross, A. (n.d.). Bird on fire. Oxford Scholarship Online. Retrieved September 19, 2021, from https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780199828265.001.0001/isbn-9780199828265.






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