By Dom Nozzi, AICP Many cities admirably seek to promote a
reduction in car use. Often, this entails a voluntary program
such as “Bike to Work” Day or “Leave Your Car at Home” Day or
“Car Free [name of city]” Day. While such programs are a needed
community acknowledgement of the desire to reduce car travel, I
would be even more impressed if they used effective strategies
rather than voluntary techniques. After all, studies have shown
for decades that voluntary programs (with the possible exception
of such simple actions such as curbside recycling) are almost
entirely inadequate in achieving desired changes in undesirable
behaviors. Indeed, use of voluntary programs is a good sign that
the community is not serious about correcting a problem. That
there is insufficient leadership in the community to enact
effective correctives. Certainly we have learned that rigid
“command economy” or other forms of authoritarian government
edicts can be spectacular failures, and severely restrict human
freedom and choice, as w