How to Avoid Cars in Cities

If you've ever explored your local air pollution map then you already know that the major cause of air pollution in most towns and cities is the automobile. Which means that if you want to avoid air pollution then the first thing you should do is avoid roads. Unfortunately that is often less easy than it sounds.

If you live in Brussels you can use Hans Hack's new Retreats from Streets interactive map. This interactive map uses circular markers to show the point in every neighborhood which is furthest from a road. The larger the circle on the map then the furthest its center is from any road traffic. Therefore the largest circles on the map show the areas which are furthest from any road traffic.

You can learn more about how the furthest points from roads was calculated and how to make your own Retreat from Streets map on GitHub.


Berlin is the second city that Hans Hack has mapped. His original Retreats Away From Berlin's Streets interactive map visualizes the areas which are the furthest away from road traffic in the German capital. Using this map you can view the point in every Berlin city block which is furthest away from a road used by cars.

The Berlin 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.