I hail from Lititz, a town in Lancaster County in Southeastern Pennsylvania. In the center of town, it is extremely pedestrian-oriented. It is similar to the example of Beacon Hill in Boston, where many different shops, places of work, and sources of entertainment are within walking distance. In the areas surrounding the center, there are many automobile suburbs, where most of the residents live, including myself. Due to this, the automobile suburbs enjoy low urban density, with plenty of room for children to play and dogs to run around in yards. This is also a mixed-use area, where people do not necessarily need to go far to find residential areas, shops, or places of work. According to the 2013 census, Lititz has 9,388 residents. I love living in Lititz. It is a great place to start a family or retire. Besides all of the friendly people, there are great places to eat, get a drink, or just walk around the town. We have a great park and great places to enjoy on sunny days.

Copenhagen, Denmark is a shining example of a city that attempts to be extremely sustainable. Copenhagen instituted a policy they refer to as traffic calming. In an effort to deter cars from interfering with people, they have car-free streets and slow speed zones. This leads to many more people choosing to walk or ride bikes, which is a much more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable method of transportation than driving cars. In my town of Lititz, these methods could easily be applied. It would be relatively simple because Main Street is always packed with people, and it is hard to drive on it anyway, so it could easily become a car-free street or slow speed zone. The town would just need more bike racks, which would cut down on the need for parking, allowing more room for trees and grass that residents could enjoy. It could also cut down on gas usage, especially if gas-friendly foods are provided more in our town.

Bogota, Columbia is another great example of attempting to be sustainable by cutting down on driving in their city. Every Sunday and holiday is a Ciclovia, in which cars are forbidden or significantly restricted. Lititz could definitely benefit from having Ciclovias on specific days throughout the years. In the center of Lititz, everything is within walking or biking distance, so a few days a year without cars on the road, while not incredibly significant environmentally, is still more environmentally sustainable than allowing cars to drive downtown every day and a viable option to stimulate the downtown economy and celebrate everyone coming together to do something for the environment as a community. Again, this would require more bike racks and road blocks, but this cost could easily be covered by the stimulated economy of our town. Also, if gas-friendly foods are provided on these days, the gas being saved by walking, biking, or skating could be maximized.