Car-Free Days are becoming a powerful tool for cities to promote healthier and active lifestyles. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), regular physical activity, such as walking and cycling, plays a key role in improving cardiovascular health, reducing stress, and enhancing overall well-being. Moreover, walking and cycling have many environmental benefits, like reducing noise, air pollution and carbon emissions. Recognizing these benefits, Kampala has joined this global movement by opening its streets to people at least once a year transforming its streets from car corridors into vibrant spaces for physical activity and community connection.
Experiences from around the world have shown the powerful impact of reclaiming streets for people. In Rwanda, Sunday Car-Free Days have led to a 30% reduction in harmful air pollutants. In Bogota, the Ciclovía with more than more than 1.3 million participants per week 127 kilometers of open streets, is known for promoting the social, mental and physical well-being of citizens and also for improving the city’s environmental conditions and boosting the economy for local businesses. These examples show how recognising our streets for what they truly are, our most extensive public spaces, can foster more inclusive and people-centered mobility systems.
Led by the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), Kampala Car-Free Day encourages residents to reclaim the streets for cycling, walking, and social interaction. The annual event launched in 2011, recognised as the first Car-Free Day in Africa, was relaunched in 2023. Last year, It was held again on 7 September, bringing together over 10,000 participants to experience safe and sustainable mobility.
Transforming streets for physical activity
The 2024 edition of Kampala’s Car-Free Day was supported by CityMove, along with key partners including Uganda Police, World Resources Institute (WRI), eBee Uganda, and Fun Cycling Uganda. The objective was to promote safe and lively streets for all, encouraging walking and cycling as sustainable modes of transport and as a strategy to reduce air pollution from the transport sector.
The Car-free day route of 700 metres from Nile Avenue to Buganda Road was closed to motor vehicles, allowing people of all ages to take part in community-led activities such as aerobics, yoga, bicycle races, wheelchair sports, and art exhibitions.
To assess the impact of the event, the CityMove research team at Makerere University School of Public Health conducted a study based on pre- and post-event questionnaires and in-depth interviews with participants. These are the main findings:
1. Enhancing safety on the streets
93.6% of participants felt safe during Car-Free Day, a notable increase compared to 75.3% on the Saturday before the event, due to the absence of motor vehicles, and the increased visibility of security and signaling personnel.
2. Promoting active lifestyles
The mean number of hours participants engaged in physical activity increased from 2.09 the week before the event to 2.76 on Car-Free Day. Time spent walking also increased from 1.39 to 2.10 hours. Walking was the most popular activity, reported by 63% of participants, followed by cycling with 37.5% and aerobics with 26.6%.
3. Insights into air quality
During the event, 86.9% of participants perceived better air quality, compared to 74.8% beforehand. Although air quality monitors registered a slight increase in PM2.5 levels (tiny airborne particles that can pose serious health risks) this rise may be attributed to traffic congestion caused by road closures. Notably, pollution levels dropped the day after the event, suggesting that more frequent or larger-scale Car-Free Days could lead to lasting improvements in air quality.
4. Social connections and satisfaction
Nearly half of the participants said they made new friends during the event, highlighting its role in building social connections, and 80.7% of the participants had a positive experience (18.3% rated it as very good and 62.4% as good).
5. Addressing barriers
The evaluation also highlighted areas for improvement. Publicity was a major challenge, with 39% of attendees relying entirely on word-of-mouth to learn about the event.
Nearly one third (28.2%) of participants requested monthly Car-Free Days to make walking and cycling daily habits.
Scaling Local Impact
This analysis, conducted by the Kampala CityMove team, aims to generate evidence on scalable models for promoting healthier lifestyles, particularly in low- and middle-income contexts. Kampala’s experience has positioned the city as a model for other municipalities.
This action also contributes to the local implementation of the Global Action Plan for Physical Activity 2018-2030 by creating active environments (safe spaces and places where communities can engage in physical activity) and active societies (promoting a paradigm shift). The next step is to publish the results from the study, providing evidence to support planning of physical activity actions in Uganda.
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