Story perspectives

Hidalgo: Car Ban Cleans Seine; Foster Shows Pedestrian Wins

4/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Anne Hidalgo, former Paris mayor, told mayors at a Bloomberg CityLab forum in Madrid that removing cars helped clean the Seine.
She urged city leaders to build broad alliances and make visible changes to foster pride in livable cities.
Norman Foster highlighted pedestrian-only projects in Marseille, Nîmes and London as examples of car-free urban design.
His institute provides data-visualization apps that help city officials assess and implement such initiatives.

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Story summary

Anne Hidalgo, former Paris mayor, told mayors at a Bloomberg CityLab forum in Madrid that removing cars helped clean the Seine.
She urged city leaders to build broad alliances and make visible changes to foster pride in livable cities.
Norman Foster highlighted pedestrian-only projects in Marseille, Nîmes and London as examples of car-free urban design.
His institute provides data-visualization apps that help city officials assess and implement such initiatives.