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10 US Cities for CAR FREE Living
Sep 5, 2025
Sick and tired of driving hours and hours in traffic? Check out these 10 US cities where car free (or at least less car) life is possible. Subscribe to our channel so you don't miss any future videos! Check out the books we love and recommend in our Black Excellence Book Club: https://www.blackexcellence.com/store/ Some links are affiliate links, which means we earn a very tiny commission if you make a purchase. __________________________________________________________ Sharing interesting and noteworthy stories in Black culture. All content provided by Black Excellence Media, LLC is for entertainment purposes only. None of the information or advice provided is to replace professional advice. Website: https://blackexcellence.com
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Imagine this. You hop on a train. You go
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to work. Your groceries are a short walk
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away. Your favorite coffee shop is
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around the corner. Safe bike lanes are
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everywhere. And so are the parks and
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other public spaces. No dealing with
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traffic, no car notes, no parking
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tickets. If this sounds like a paradise
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to you, then keep watching. Across the
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United States, a handful of metros make
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the car-free lifestyle attractive places
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where mass transport, walkability,
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compact neighborhoods, and a culture of
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walking and biking mean you can get by
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and thrive without even owning a
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vehicle. For black households
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considering a car-free life, those same
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places often hold deep cultural roots
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and sizable black populations. Those
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same places hold deep cultural roots and
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sizable black populations. communities
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that shape local life, politics, and
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neighborhoods. Let's talk about 10
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metros where you can realistically
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survive and even prosper without a car.
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Hi, my name is Jared and welcome to
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Black Excellence, where we celebrate all
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the ways black people pursue excellence
1:01
in their everyday lives. If you're
1:03
searching for ways to fuel your own
1:04
journey of excellence with content on
1:06
where to live, where to travel,
1:08
lifestyle trends, and unconventional
1:10
ways to do it all, hit that subscribe
1:12
button and join this circle of
1:14
excellence. I'm actually hearing a lot
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about how Gen Z is not even learning to
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drive at an early age like us
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millennials did. And a lot of them still
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don't even have a driver's license into
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their 20s. I mean, every day I'm
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considering on how to give back the
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responsibility of driving. I mean, how
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much it costs to buy a car, how much it
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costs to have insurance, how much it
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costs for registration. Driving sucks.
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Before we get started with this list,
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hit the subscribe button if you haven't
1:41
done so already. I mean, it's free to do
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so, and it helps our channel in a big
1:45
way. You know where we're starting this
1:47
video. I hear a lot of New Yorkers don't
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even know how to drive. Little side
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story, I was working at Intercope
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Records here in Los Angeles, and a
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big-time producer came into town, and I
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had to drive him around for a week, and
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I had to go get his food. I had to go do
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everything because he didn't have a
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driver's license. And this is really
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before Uber started to even take off.
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New York's density and transit system
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make it an obvious starting point. The
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New York, New York, Jersey City
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metropolitan area is home to nearly 19.5
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million people, including about 3
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million black residents. The city's
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sheer scale creates neighborhoods that
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feel like small towns. Three meals, a
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job, and a pharmacy within 15 to 30
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minute walk or subway ride. Subways,
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buses, regional rail, fairies, and a
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culture of walking mean car ownership is
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optional for millions. New York's black
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history is long and layered. From
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Harlem's cultural apex in the early 20th
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century to the black immigrant
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neighborhoods of Brooklyn and the legacy
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communities of Jersey City and New York,
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the Walk Score ranks New York among the
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nation's most walkable cities. And the
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Metropolitan Transportation Authority
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moves millions daily, making transit an
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everyday reliable tool for city living.
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Yes, New York is expensive, but it gives
3:04
you that vibrant city life that millions
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are willing to pay a premium for. At
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least that helps a little bit that you
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don't need a freaking car like we do in
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Los Angeles. Every day I ask, "Why are
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we here? And is the weather that good?
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Is it that good?" And then you go
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somewhere else and you're like, "Dang,
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the weather actually was that good." And
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number two, we have San Francisco,
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Oakland, and Fremont. Bay Area urban
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life centers around dense neighborhoods
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and transit options that reward living
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without a car. The San Francisco metro
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black population is smaller than in
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other East Coast metros, but the
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region's history from the great
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migration and World War II era shipyard
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communities in the East Bay to later
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waves of black middle class settlement
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remain visible in neighborhoods and
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institutions. What makes the Bay Area
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especially friendly to car-free living
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is its compact urban form, plus rail
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systems and ferry services that knit
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together jobs and housing across water
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and hills. San Francisco's city core
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post very high walk scores and excellent
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transit scores. And places like Oakland
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and Berkeley have strong bus and rail
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connections that support commuting
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without a car. For black families and
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single professionals who value proximity
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to work, culture, and regional transit,
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Bay Area metros make vehicle-free life
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doable. Number three, we have Boston or
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Cambridge. Boston's urban footprint is
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stitched together by old neighborhoods
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where streets were designed for foot
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traffic long before cars existed. The
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Boston metro's black population has deep
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roots in neighborhoods like Roxberry and
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Dorchester. These communities are
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centers of civic life and small business
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activity. The MBTA subway and commuter
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rail system make a surprising number of
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commutes possible without driving. And
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Boston's dense job centers and plentiful
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services mean that grocery stores,
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clinics, and schools are often within
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walking distance. The walk score
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consistently ranks Boston among the US
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cities with the highest walkability, and
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the presence of major universities and
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hospitals, concentrates amenities in
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walkable clusters. For those that prefer
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short commutes, predictable transit, and
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neighborhoods with local life on the
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street, Boston remains one of the most
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convening, car-free American cities. At
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number four, we have a place I would
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live if it wasn't so cold, and that is
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the Washington, Arlington, Alexandria
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area. The Washington DC metro supports a
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rich variety of car-free lifestyles from
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dense walkable neighborhoods within the
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district to transit connected suburbs in
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Maryland and Virginia. The metro counts
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roughly 1.5 million black residents.
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Black communities are central to the
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region's cultural institutions,
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churches, and civic life. DC's Metro
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Rail and extensive bus networks. Plus,
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growing investments in bike
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infrastructure and protected lanes make
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it possible to live, work, and socialize
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without a car. I wonder in these areas,
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is it okay to pick up your date on a
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bike? And what happens if I pull up on a
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bike? Is that cool? Let me know in the
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comments if I pull up on a bike to a
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date in these areas. Is that looked at
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as okay or am I looked at as just cheap
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or I don't have a car? Because I can
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tell you in LA it probably wouldn't go
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over so well. The walk score data
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consistently show the district itself as
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a walker's paradise while transit access
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into Northern Virginia and Maryland
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keeps a wider region feasible for the
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carless commuter. Next up, we have
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another one of my favorite cities,
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Chicago. Chicago's grid and its elevated
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and subway lines provide a transit
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backbone that supports car-free living
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across the city and into inner suburbs.
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The Chicago metro has a large black
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population and a long history from
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Bronzeville's cultural institutions to
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the south and westside neighborhoods
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that have been engines of community life
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for generations. Chicago's density
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combined with an excellent transit
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rating in many neighborhoods means that
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for millions, owning a car is a
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convenience rather than a necessity.
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Commuter rail extends reach into
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suburbs, while buses and rapid transit
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knit together neighborhoods offering a
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choice to bike, walk, or ride. For black
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households tied to local community hubs,
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jobs near the loop or universities and
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hospitals within the city, Chicago's
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transit-rich neighborhoods make car-free
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living realistic. At number six, we have
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Philadelphia. Philadelphia's building
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forum, compact row houses, and mixeduse
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streets is one reason the city always
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feels walkable. The Philadelphia Metro
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is home to around 1.2 million black
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residents. The network of subways,
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trolleys, and regional rail combined
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with dense neighborhood scale retail
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lets many families run daily life
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without a car. Groceries, schools,
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barber shops, and even churches are
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often reachable on foot. The walkable
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score ranks many Philadelphia
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neighborhoods as very walkable, and the
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city's lower housing costs relative to
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other northeastern metros make it
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feasible for more people to live near
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transit. For people who prize street
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level life, community connection, and
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short commutes, Philadelphia is a strong
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car-free candidate. At number seven, we
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have Portland. Over in the West Coast,
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Portland's reputation as America's
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biking and micro neighborhood city is
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well-earned. The Portland metro's black
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population is smaller than in older
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eastern metros, but African-American
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history and civic life, especially in
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neighborhoods like Albia, are meaningful
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anchors for those communities. What
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makes Portland stand out for car-free
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living is a cityscale commitment to bike
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infrastructure, reliable bus lines, and
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a walkable urban core with neighborhood
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main streets. Frequent transit on major
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corridors, plus a culture that prizes
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biking, means that short errands and
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commutes are often more pleasant by bike
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than by car. For households that favor
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active transport and local neighborhood
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life, Portland's planning choices and
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infrastructure investment make living
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without a car not merely possible but
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pleasurable. At number eight, we have
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Seattle. Seattle's central
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neighborhoods, where the Pike Place
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marketplace, downtown offices, and dense
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residential buildings sit close
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together, go together like a city
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designed for walking. The Seattle
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Metro's black population is significant
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and has long ties to neighborhoods such
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as the central district. Black
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institutions have shaped the city's
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civic culture and art scene. Transit
9:25
investments in light rail, robust bus
9:28
corridors, and commuter fairies have
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brought in options for people who want
9:32
to rely on transit rather than a car.
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for daily life. The city's combination
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of neighborhood retail, transit access,
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and growing bike infrastructure allows
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many households to reduce or eliminate
9:44
the need for a car. At number nine, we
9:46
have Minneapolis. The Twin Cities blend
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lakeside neighborhoods, compact
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downtowns, and a growing transit
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backbone that includes light rail and
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expanding bus rapid transit corridors.
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The Minneapolis St. Paul Metro is home
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to approximately 3.7 million people and
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a significant black population
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concentrated in specific urban
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neighborhoods. The metro's black
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communities have forged institutions and
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political representation that shape the
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city's public life. Minneapolis's
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planning favors access to parks,
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neighborhood, stores, and services
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within short distance. And the light
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rail lines link key employment corridors
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to dense neighborhoods. The Twin Cities
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provide all the ingredients for car-free
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life. Decent transit, walkable
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neighborhoods, and a cityscale
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commitment to making everyday errands
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easy without a car. And for the last
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one, we have Baltimore. So, we're headed
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back over to the East Coast. Baltimore
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often surprises newcomers with its
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walkable historic neighborhoods, places
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where row houses, corner stores, and
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transit stops that create a life that
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doesn't hinge on a car. The Baltimore
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Metro's black population is large and
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historically central to the city's
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identity. Churches, fraternal
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organizations, blackowned businesses,
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and cultural institutions are interwoven
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into neighborhoods like West Baltimore
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and East Baltimore. Mark and light rail,
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plus robust bus services, provide
11:14
commuter and local options, and many
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city neighborhoods score well on
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walkability. For black households who
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prize neighborhood life and the ability
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to walk to their daily needs,
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Baltimore's historic cores and transit
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corridors make car-free living a real
11:29
choice. Across these 10 metros, we see
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common features that make car-free life
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feasible. a meaningful transit spine,
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aka subways, light rail, commuter rail,
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or robust bus networks, bike
11:43
infrastructure, and local retail that
11:45
supports everyday life within a short
11:47
walk. But living without a car still
11:50
depends on choices. Within a metro,
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where you live matters hugely. Many of
11:55
these regions have sprawling suburbs
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where a car is still required. The
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walkable, transit-rich neighborhoods are
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often the more expensive ones, and
12:04
rising housing costs push longtime
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residents out of buried districts that
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make car-free life easy. I really wish
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that all of these were even an option
12:13
where I live in Southern California that
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is known to have horrible public
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transport system. But let me know how
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things are where you live and if you're
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tired of driving everywhere in hours and
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hours and hours of traffic every week
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like I am. That's all I have for you
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today and I'll catch you on the next
#Urban Transit