Stockholm is banning cars to promote green energy in Sweden

Stockholm is scrapping its cars. At least, for a day. The Swedish capital plans to block the use of motorized vehicles in the city center for one day on Sept. 19, as a way to help citizens envision life in the city with fewer cars, and more alternate means of transport.

Traffic will be banned from the streets of Gamla Stan, the partially pedestrian “old city” of Stockholm, to the popular Sergel’s Square, including the roads around the city’s central station and some of the city’s surrounding bridges.

The initiative is part of the European Mobility Week, a project from the European Commission that seeks to promote sustainable transport. More than 200 cities will participate this year, touting various green initiatives. Among those, three national capitals—Budapest, Lisbon and Stockholm—will experiment with a car-free day.

Stockholm has a history of pushing the envelope on civic sustainability, especially relating to transportation. In 2010, it won the first European Green Capital award, in part for its low transport emissions, clean water standards, and innovative waste management. A large proportion of its city buses and trains run on renewable fuels, making its share of clean vehicles among the highest in Europe.