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In Copenhagen Without My Car

		On September 22nd 2004 we had almost one whole day without cars in the center of Copenhagen as you can see on the map. It is the oldest part of the city, and the area is only about one square kilometer. The streets are very small and narrow, and normally they are filled up with numerous cars which produce a vast amount of noise and smoke pollution. So it is obvious to close off this part of the city for private cars as it was never build to accommodate this kind of personal transport. When The Day Without Cars arrived, I took my digital camera (Canon Power Shot G5) and went there to take some photos of the old buildings and the streets without cars, because they would dominate the photos on a normal day, and who wants to see more cars than nec- cessary? When I was there I enjoyed not only the absence of driving cars but also the peacefulness in the streets and on the squares, where people began to speak to each other! This was a unique opportunity to discover the city and enjoy being a part of it. You wanted to stay there and not to get out and away as usual.
	Town Without My Car and European Mobility Week is a campaign to encourage the use of alternative forms of trans- port and travel other than cars, and it is an opportunity for all the participating towns to show how much environmental issues concern them. In the urban environment the cars are responsible for over 40% of discharges of particles into the atmosphere, and they produce an unbearable noiselevel, which can reach 90 decibels. 65 decibels is the threshold at which a high level of discomfort appears!! And do not forget that the children are the ones, that are the most exposed to all the discomforts caused by cars. You can read much more about this campaign HERE