I think that the most important factor in a city in order to reduce the average carbon footprint is the efficiency of public utilities. By planning a grid type layout for all the roads we could help reduce the average fuel consumption per citizen, something that would definitely help cut overall usage by a lot. Another footprint program I would try to implement would be a large, well-funded public transport system. By making it cost effective and easy for people to no drive places there would be far less emissions produced by transportation. Another transportation solution would to be to create streets as bike friendly as possible. By biking citizens would cut down on emissions by a massive amount. In order to make the place an attractive city to live in I would plant lots of trees on the sidewalks, as well as having many small (and a few large) parks. By using pockets of nature to break the monotony of a large city I would not only increase the desire for people to live there, but I would also help cut down on the net carbon released into the atmosphere.

I agree with you. A very well planned and efficient bus system, that hits all the major pick up points could reduce carbon foot print alot. Personally, I ride the bus a fair amount and I think the routes are not as efficient as they could. It would be hard to re route, but I think overall it could help.

I agree with these suggestions, but what if we took it one step further? What if someday there were no individual drivers. What if everyone rode the bus, walked, biked, or carpooled in an electric car? I think this would reduce the carbon footprint tremendously, but would be really difficult to actually have happen. What do you think?