Who Needs

a Car?

Background Information

In our car oriented society, we often overlook the fact that many people go through life without one.

In this activity, students will explore how people in our society cope without a car, examine other societies that are intentionally non-car focused, and consider how they would manage their lives without a car.

Who Needs a Car?

Student Activities

1. Locate people who live without a car.

• Interview them to find out what they do when they cannot drive.

2. Read about other societies in which people drive less or not at all, for example:

• Amish
• Curtiba, Brazil

3. Focus Groups:

a. Discuss questions such as:

• When are other people willing to go places without a car?
• When would teens be willing to go places without a car?

b. Share findings of focus groups.

c. Prepare a plan for living in your town without a car.

• Determine your audience (fellow students, family, the general public).
• Decide how you will inform them (posters, public service announcements on radio and TV, a newspaper article or letter to the editor, an assembly, etc.).
• Present the plan to a selected audience.

Who Needs a Car?

Teachers Notes

Students may need help in locating people who live without a car. The module, "Interviews" (located in the alternate modules section), could provide some leads.

Interdisciplinary Approach: Environmental Studies, and Social Studies (human/environmental interaction).