"What a human and wonderful thing: to be able to walk down the street and feel like you're a first-class citizen."

Photo credit

Remember when the ORBP's commission was prattling about mobility solutions, and concluding that a massive road-building project was the only one worth considering?

Seeking a corrective for such autocentric foppery? Click through, and get a sense of how modernity operates.

Oslo just declared that it will become the first major city to ban cars, by Leanna Garfield (Tech Insider)

Cars are no longer welcome in downtown Oslo.

Oslo plans to ban all cars from its city center by 2019, Reuters reports.

It will also build more than 35 miles of bike lanes by 2019 and invest heavily in public transport.

The permanent ban will affect the 350,000 or so car owners in the Norwegian capital.

Oslo's car ban is the largest of its kind, says Paul Steely White, the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, an organization that supported New York City's Citi Bikes and advocates for car-free cities.

"The fact that Oslo is moving forward so rapidly is encouraging, and I think it will be inspiring if they are successful," he tells Tech Insider.

The car ban in Oslo will reduce pollution and make it a safer city for those on foot.

"We want to make it better for pedestrians, cyclists. It will be better for shops and everyone," Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, lead negotiator for the Green Party in Oslo, tells Reuters.