On Wednesday, ABC’s Good Morning America celebrated Earth Day — created by a person who murdered then composted his girlfriend — by touting a Tempe, Arizona neighborhood that one way or the other, someway banned automobiles and providing it for example for the remainder of the nation to emulate.
“Celebrating Earth Day with a go to to 1 car-free group counting on strolling and biking. The advantages from saving cash on fuel to saving the planet, and the way different suburbs can take inspiration,” gushed co-host and former Clinton official George Stephanopoulos in a tease.
Chief meteorologist Ginger Zee visited Culdasac (all one phrase) and invited viewers to “think about dwelling that life, however while you go there, it’s the silence, the most important distinction, that quiet calm that comes from a group that’s car-free.”
ABC’s ‘Good Morning America’ marks Earth Day by touting a Tempe, Arizona neighborhood the place automobiles are *banned* and expresses hope extra locations in America comply with go well with pic.twitter.com/C8xzzaktfc
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) April 22, 2026
Zee added “[i]t’s type of onerous to think about, particularly with that loud residence of visitors that seemingly awaits you in your metropolis or city this morning, however it’s doable to have life with out automobiles” though the nation has “a automobile tradition…from our cities to our suburban and rural neighborhoods.”
She spoke with two residents who, in fact, like it. One of many interviewees has a selected stake in banning automobiles as she’s blind (click on “increase”):
RESIDENT JACOB STEINKAMP: I’m beginning to notice that being car-free doesn’t essentially imply you’ll be able to’t use automobiles. [SCREEN WIPE] It simply implies that you’re not proudly owning one, it’s not being saved 90 p.c of the time in a parking spot. I might say there’s extra choices than you notice on the market.
ZEE: Culdesac not solely encourages strolling and biking, it’s constructed round it. The whole lot is supposed to be walkable, boutiques, a restaurant, farmer’s markets, even a plant store all near the place individuals stay.
RESIDENT ELECTRA HUG: I really like this print on the black. [SCREEN WIPE] I don’t suppose we want a automobile as a lot as we expect. Truthfully, it’s so enjoyable to only be capable to stroll to an area espresso store or go to our neighbor’s home.
ZEE: It saves cash on fuel, insurance coverage, automobile funds, and is, in fact, higher for the planet.
STEINKAMP: I might say that going car-free for my spouse and I’ve saved us cash.
ZEE: For Jacob Steinkamp, utilizing a motorcycle or electrical scooter somewhat than driving affords different advantages.
STEINKAMP: I do the identical route each day and also you begin to acknowledge acquainted faces, and it’s a little bit bit extra pleasant than a automobile. Should you wage somebody in a automobile, they’re like, “what’s that man doing?” However on a motorcycle or strolling, it’s simply extra pure.
(….)
ZEE: For 26-year-old Electra Hug, there’s yet another profit. She’s been blind since she was 16, so spending most of her time away from visitors is an actual sport changer.
Together with the comfort and incapacity angles, Zee needed to introduce the local weather change argument: “In 2022, transportation was chargeable for a whopping 28 p.c of greenhouse fuel emissions, and a majority of that comes from our automobiles and vans.”
She additionally foresaw viewers being skeptical about this in Arizona, one of many hottest states within the nation: “Tempe has one of the crucial excessive climates within the nation, with temperatures usually reaching 100-plus levels. They are saying this group was designed to maintain issues cooler.”
After all, she additionally spoke to the group’s CEO and co-founder, who set her as much as lament such communities are “really unlawful” in elements of America. After which, again stay, she gushed that residents even have a free bus and lightweight rail cross (click on “increase”):
CEO & CO-FOUNDER RYAN JOHNSON: Now we have 55 p.c panorama house, and it feels 15 levels cooler than the undertaking throughout the road, and that’s as a result of there’s not a drop of asphalt. There’s numerous timber and shade, and likewise the white displays warmth.
ZEE: However communities like Culdesac aren’t doable in every single place since, in some areas, they’re really unlawful.
JOHNSON: By means of zoning and parking minimums and different guidelines, we’ve successfully made it so that you just’re not allowed to construct walkable neighborhoods.And consequently, there’s fewer than 10 p.c of People that get to stay in a walkable neighborhood.
ROBERTS: Mmmm!
ZEE: One other perk for individuals who stay in Culdesac? They get a free, limitless mild rail and bus cross —
ROBERTS: Okay!
ZEE: — they usually stay proper on a practice route, so that you don’t must stay in Culdesac to have all of this stuff.
“You’ll be able to think about purchasing native in the present day or each day. Every time doable, stroll or bike, simply get within the and out of the automobile everytime you probably can,” she mentioned to the approval of the co-hosts.
When she mentioned “we hope to see extra like Culdesac,” Roberts agreed and admitted “I’m simply stunned that in some locations it’s not really authorized.”
“Due to allowing and guidelines which were set in place for a really lengthy,” Zee replied, to which Stephanopoulos mentioned “that’s gotta change.”
To see the related ABC transcript from April 22, click on right here.
