Finding Retreats Away from Streets

During the 2012 London Olympics cars were banned from all the roads around my home. For one glorious month I could walk around my neighborhood without the fear of death from moronic driving, without having to breath in toxic levels of air pollution and without having to listen to the incessant noise pollution of hundreds of combustion engines. Since that time I've strongly believed that banning cars in London (or just in a one mile area around my house) would improve the quality of my life beyond measure.

If I lived in Berlin I could use the Retreats Away From Berlin's Streets interactive map to find the areas which are the furthest away from road traffic. Using Hans Hack's interactive map you can view the point in every city block which is furthest away from a road used by cars. On the map circular markers are used to show the distance from a car free retreat to the nearest street. Therefore the largest circles on the map indicate the locations in Berlin which are furthest away from road traffic.

The map includes three views. If you select 'All' you can view all the car free retreats for every city block. Alternatively you can choose to just view the 'Top 30' retreats, the thirty locations in Berlin which are the furthest from car traffic. The 'Top Neighborhoods' view shows you the location in every Berlin district which is furthest away from traffic. The map also shows you the location of all Berlin's bars, cafes and restaurants which are at least 50 metres from a street used by cars.