Do you mean utopian medieval societies like the Netherlands or Venice? Car Free cities would not be the solution but clearly part of the solution. Part of getting there is having people realize how truly pleasant daily life can be without the damned automobile and its noise and pollution in your damn face all the time. Those who have pedestrian malls, like Boulder, Colorado, can experience this every day, 24/7, all of the year. And the Pearl Street mall in Boulder does indeed provide a plethora of paychecks, food, and products. It is a thriving commercial district and fun place for families to enjoy themselves, the outdoors, and their children. This is not utopia. This is the way large swaths of European cities are right now.

Best hopes for more street parties in the streets without cars.

I used to live in Frankfurt, Germany. The quietest and most vibrant part of the city was downtown in the grand pedestrian spaces away from the automobile.

That video is all very nice, but having street parties won't provide any paychecks, food or products. Why is this touted as some kind of solution? Looks like utopianism at its best.

My only reservations are that there is an element of cosmeticism about such ventures -- the underlying idea being that if everybody did their little bit, we would all go a long way towards making the world a better place. I'm not so sure. True, at these events people enjoy themselves and feel good about themselves, sometimes to such a degree that one feels that they feel that they deserve a medal for their moral probity. No doubt some of the pleasure also derives from the fact that they are inconviencing the tubs of lard and fat Freddies who would drive 200 yards down the road to fetch their cigarettes rather than walk. But it is all just a drop in the ocean.

My preference would be for dedicated 24/7 cycle paths with cyclist priority at all intersections. Forget the partying. Most of us want to cycle weekdays, chiefly to commute to work -- not to piddle about in some lukewarm communitarian pond, especially when we have to run the gauntlet of ghastly, untalented street artists on unemployment benefits.

All this is good fun, but I'm just a loner cyclist who can't travel to work because the traffic is lethal. I don't want no community singalongs. I want a cycle path for myself, my bike, and my iPod. Seven days a week, and not just Sunday morning.