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Cities put cars on the outer

Some cities have begun to understand the dangers of a continued obsession with cars. And they've decided to do something about it.

Most of these cities are in Europe but there are some in North America and a few in Asia.

Madrid will soon be looking to expand its car-free zone to about 3sqkm as part of a bigger plan to completely pedestrianise the city centre over the next five years.

Residents are still allowed to drive in the zone but anyone else faces a $120 fine.

Milan, in central Italy, is looking to pay to get people out of their cars.

A special box is attached to the dashboard of a car to track its location. If the car stays at home during the day, the owner is sent a voucher for a free bus or train ticket.

In Paris, cars with even-numbered plates were briefly banned from the city as part of an anti-pollution drive last year. The trial was so successful that Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo now wants to ban diesel cars completely by 2020 and ban all cars from some neighbourhoods at weekends. Car-free days have also been tested in Brussels.

Within a decade, Finland's capital city Helsinki wants to make it unnecessary to own a car. And they want to use smartphones to do it.

With the use of a special app, transcribers can specify where they want to go and then choose from various options, including shared cars, hired bikes, taxis and public transport.