Car-Free Avenue revitalises city centre of Tartu, Estonia

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Car-Free Avenue revitalises city centre of Tartu, Estonia, and brings its citizens together

The city of Tartu (Estonia) has focused on creating public spaces that bring together citizens to define mutual values, build a sustainable society and improve the quality of life in Tartu. To achieve this, the city closed one of its main streets for car traffic and opened it for its citizens during the whole month of July: a ‘Car-Free Avenue’ was created. This took place for the first time in July 2020.

The curious spatial displacement introduced to the Car-Free Avenue was a new context for various planned and spontaneous activities. It became a hot spot for open air events like dance courses, morning yoga, national radio broadcast pop-ups, concerts and more. Most importantly, it initiated public discussions all over Estonia about climate change, excessive car ownership and different methods for tackling the issues faced when building a sustainable future.

Connecting areas and generations
The Car-Free Avenue is located in between the classical old town and the river Emajõgi that flows through the city. There was a long-standing debate on how to revitalize the Emajõgi riverside and create a connection between this area and the old town. The Car-Free Avenue improved the connection between the prominent areas and even became a meeting point for different generations. With its affordable activities for both children and the elderly, the initiative benefited young families with children, low-income citizens and elderly people.

Impact in and beyond Tartu
Themes of sustainability, waste reduction, social separation, as well as mental and social well-being were addressed during the period of the Car-Free Avenue. Interestingly, the initiative’s impact was not limited to one particular street: it inspired other events in the city centre, as well as in other European cities. Three weeks after the start of Car-Free Avenue in Tartu a similar action was taken in the capital of Latvia (Riga) where one street in the city centre was closed for car traffic.

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