The key to a great car free day, one that is going to help the host city take a giant step toward creating its own sustainable transport system, is a combination of meticulous planning, unrelenting inclusiveness, openness to new ideas, energetic leadership and, ultimately and most important, a very broad base of public support and involvement. The goal: to build a consensus for change and some solid ideas of how to move toward it.

Like any other transport investigation, a well planned car free day uses a lot of consultants -- but in this case the input comes not visiting experts in suits, but from the people who know most about what is going on and what is needed: the people of your city who are out there on the street every day trying to make their way to work, school and play, and deserving far better than they are presently getting. The theory behind this kind of initiative is that people are smart and observant and deserve a chance to begin to influence the design of their own movement system. A car free day reveals to them, at least briefly, a city different from the one they have to cope with each day, and gives an opportunity to see and think about another kind of city and another organization of this important part of their daily lives.

The philosophy of this cooperative cross-frontier effort is to encourage diversity and facilitate communication, exchange, and mutual support via electronic and other means. We hope to do what we can to encourage many different types of car free day approaches in many places at many times -- with careful study and widest sharing of results, so that others all over the world can benefit from these precious and necessary experiences.