Edinburgh, Scotland
 

One of the first cities in the UK to turn to sustainable transport objectives was Edinburgh. They realized that creating a high-capacity inner-city road network would threaten the historic center of town. Thus, they wanted to find other ways to reduce traffic. Carfree housing was one of those ways....

Slateford Green Car Free Sustainable Housing Development, Edinburgh
(image from the Canmore Housing Association, the site's developer)

• At Gorgie Goods Yard, the site of a former railway goods yard
• Near mixed development of houses and workspaces
• Older neighborhood for younger people, singles and families with small children
• 3 kilometers west of the CBD
• Site chosen for its limited road access
• Two prioritized and high-frequency bus routes within a few minute’s walking distance
• Orbital freight rail-way line which could serve as a future passenger rail link
• Skirted by a pedestrian street and a bicycle route

Design of the Development
• Design derived from traditional Edinburgh tenement block, with sheltering courtyard form
• 2-4 story perimeter block
• 120 flats, including several disabled flats
• Multipurpose Community hall
• No vehicle access in courtyard
• Many outdoor amenities, including recreation space, gardens and landscaping
• Managed water system, gray domestic water and other ecological considerations


Parking at Slateford

• Minimal parking for disabled and essential visitors but none for able-bodied residents
• No legal deterant to car-ownership
• Occupants have to sign an agreement that they will not park a car on the premises
• No need for a permit to park on the streets nearby
• Agreement that if parking does become an issue, the city will instate an on-street marking management or pricing program.


City Car Club

• Significant savings over the road tax, insurance, repairs and gas costs of private ownership.
• Membership £99/year and £4.50/hour for the first hour, £2.00 for each additional hour
• 9p/mile for first 10 miles, then 22p/mile
• Two trips/week, 1 hour traveling 10 miles costs £650, or $1035, per year

 

 
 
 


The site while under construction  (courtesy Jan Scheurer)
 
 


The layout of Slateford Housing Development (from Tim Beatley, Green Urbanism, Island Press, 2000)

Sources:

• Jan Scheurer, Car-Free Housing in European Cities
• Tim Beatley, Green Urbanism, Island Press, 2000
• CityCarClub




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