Shut the M8 to traffic for a day and let us have a party!

https://www.facebook.com/CarfreeGlasgow/videos/370608413272820/

Glasgow is the only city in the UK to have a six lane motorway cutting right through its heart. Yet, less than half of our households have access to cars. For the last 45 years we have all had to put up with a continual stream of traffic roaring through our city. Enough is enough. We want the chance to breathe fresh air and to hear ourselves think. We need the time and space to come together to start to imagine a more equal and sustainable future for our city.

- Scotland has the worst health and lowest life expectancy in Europe. The physical inactivity encouraged by car use is more hazardous to health than smoking: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-18876880
- Glasgow has toxic levels of air pollution that breached World Health Organisation standards in 2016. Air pollution causes strokes, heart attacks and asthma and is responsible for over 300 deaths in our city every year: http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/air-pollution
- A quarter of our city's carbon emissions come from traffic, contributing to dangerous climate change. 2016 was the hottest year on record and the third of record-breaking heat in a row: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/14/2016-will-be-the-hottest-year-on-record-un-says

We need bold and inspiring action to begin to address the crises caused by car use. We must radically re-think our cities so that everyone can get around easily and live healthy and happy lives without need or aspiration to own a car. Like many other cities around the world, Glasgow must also start dreaming of a time in the future when the outdated motorway infrastructure of the 20th century can be re-imagined and re-used in different ways. Our annual ‘carfree day’ will be the start.

Paris (2015) - "Carfree day draws crowds to Champs-Élysées"

http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/640/cpsprodpb/10BF/production/_85778240_85777672.jpg
http://cdn.citylab.com/media/img/citylab/2016/04/champs_elysees-1/facebook.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34374125

Seoul (2005) - "City tears down an urban highway so it can breathe again"

http://innerself.com/content/images/article_photos/x460/south_korea_restoration_project.jpg
http://thewire.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Korea-Seoul-Cheonggyecheon-2008-01.jpg
http://grist.org/infrastructure/2011-04-04-seoul-korea-tears-down-an-urban-highway-life-goes-on

Seoul (2016) - "City transforms ageing overpass into skygarden"

http://www.mvrdv.nl/media/uploads/Web_07(1).jpg
http://www.mvrdv.nl/media/uploads/Web_01.jpg
http://www.mvrdv.nl/projects/seoul-skygarden

London (1996) - "Reclaim the Streets party on M41 motorway"

http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/crowd-of-protestors-reclaim-the-streets-mayday-london-uk-1997-picture-id558219803
http://digitaljournalist.eu/OnTheRoad/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/gallery-colour-reclaim-the-streets-rts/0428_10slide.jpg
http://media.gettyimages.com/photos/reclaim-the-streets-camden-1990s-london-uk-picture-id558225853
http://www.urban75.org/photos/protest/m41report.html

"Why Carfree Days Can Transport Us Towards A Brighter Future"
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/joe-irvin/why-carfree-days-can-tran_b_12099536.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-hidalgo/parisians-and-seoulites-w_b_12215902.html

"Six Freeway Removals That Changed Their Cities Forever"
http://gizmodo.com/6-freeway-removals-that-changed-their-cities-forever-1548314937
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeway_removal

Dallas (2012) - "Turning ugly overpasses into vibrant parks"

http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/18zbxmsm9ul1cjpg.jpg
http://gizmodo.com/five-cities-turning-ugly-overpasses-into-vibrant-parks-1259568561