Surrendering Our Cities to Cars Would Be a Historic Blunder

Amid the devastation caused by the pandemic, an urban awakening occurred. It would have been international news on its own, had the health crisis not overshadowed it. As businesses and offices closed their doors, cities opened their streets for residents and restaurants hungry for space and socially distant outdoor activity—a radical transformation of asphalt into active places at an astonishing scale and pace. The revival of street life revealed how much of their own vitality cities had conceded to cars. But this sudden flowering is now in peril as traffic returns.

In April 2020, rush-hour traffic in the United States dropped by . began in hundreds of cities around the globe, supported by new temporary lanes and pedestrian-priority street redesigns in places such, , and . City officials converted hundreds of streets and individual vehicular lanes and thousands of parking spaces in , , , , and , for better uses. Local residents dusted off patio and camping chairs and set them out in the street . People strolled and spoke with neighbors, at mid-block yoga sessions, played pickleball, danced, or just watched the world go by on roadbeds previously reserved for cars.