Speaking calendar/World Car Free Day
September 22nd · Urban Life & Environment

World Car Free Day

An annual event that encourages motorists to give up their cars for a day and try alternative ways of travelling. It is a day to envision what our cities would look like with fewer vehicles and more space for people. Today, we debate the car culture trap, the feasibility of car-free city centres, and how urban redesign can improve our health, air quality, and social connections.

SPEAKING LESSONB1 / B2Discussion · Vocabulary · Activities
01 / LET’S TALK

Speaking Discussion

  1. How many cars do you or your family own? Could you survive for an entire month without them?
  2. In your opinion, are modern cities designed for people, or are they designed for vehicles?
  3. What are the biggest challenges to making a city car-free? Is it a lack of public transport, or just human habit?
  4. Should governments introduce congestion charges (paying to drive in the centre) to reduce traffic and pollution?
  5. How would the vibe and social life of your neighbourhood change if there were no cars parked on the streets?
  6. If you could live in any city in the world specifically because of its transport system, which one would you choose?
02 / PUT IT INTO PRACTICE

Activity 1: The city for people Redesign

The Task: You are the Lead Urban Planner for a new city. You want to ban all private cars from the centre.

How will you convince the business owners that this will actually help their shops?

Activity 2: Rapid Fire Sentences

Complete the sentence and justify it in 20 seconds.

  • "The best way to travel around a city is..."
  • "I think driving a car in a city is..."
  • "In my opinion, the future of urban transport will be..."