How can cities become more pleasant places to live | DW Documentary

How can cities become more pleasant places to live - with clean air and adequate space for residents? Questions like these are being pondered by politicians and urban planners worldwide, as the need for green transport becomes more urgent. Towns and cities are being remodeled at a frenetic pace. In Paris, mayor Anne Hidalgo has closed the right bank of the river Seine to traffic, turning it into a promenade. At the same time, there are plans to introduce air taxis and double the metro network’s coverage to make it easier for people to get around without cars. The future vision is that inhabitants should be able to live, work and shop in their neighborhood. No journey should take over 15 minutes. The Barcelona city government, led by Ada Colau, is barring traffic from entire districts in a bid to reduce air pollution. Copenhagen is building expressways for cyclists that will soon link cities with one another across the country. In Berlin, a model city is under construction on the former Tegel Airport site. The design is climate-friendly, with sharing stations aimed at making private car ownership a thing of the past. The aim: More space for cyclists and pedestrians. But these visions do encounter some resistance along the way. Modification work often takes much longer than planned. This documentary showcases pioneering approaches for a successful move to green transport in a variety of cities - Barcelona, Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen and Singapore.