Tempe offers 'car-free' rental neighborhood: 'Happier and healthier, and even wealthier'

A new development in Tempe, Arizona, seems to have taken quite seriously the "you will own nothing and be happy" concept seemingly embraced by the World Economic Forum. It offers renters various urban lifestyle amenities within a walkable or bikeable distance so that they have no use for most personal assets — including a car.

Culdesac is a 17-acre, "Mediterranean-style" rental complex located just a few miles east of the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, offering apartments with up to three bedrooms, as well as studios, for a starting lease price of $1,300 per month. However, there are no parking lots or garages, so residents either walk or bike almost anywhere they need to go.

They needn't go far. The Culdesac neighborhood is complete with grocery stores, retail shops, restaurants, a gym, a yoga studio, and a med spa, as well as outdoor gathering spaces to encourage community interaction. For longer travels, each resident has a free light-rail pass to use at will as well as discounted Lyft rates. The first 200 residents were even given a free ebike.

The thought of living in an area without unsightly parking lots and almost no auto-related traffic likely sounds appealing, especially to many young people interested in the easy access and fun nightlife of urban living without the hefty price tag. "We look back nostalgically at college, because it’s the only time most people have lived in a walkable neighborhood," claimed Culdesac co-founder Ryan Johnson. "People are happier and healthier, and even wealthier when they’re living in a walkable neighborhood."

However, Culdesac and car-free developments like it have significant drawbacks. For one thing, all Culdesac residents seem to rent, not own, their living space. Its website makes no mention of condo living or lease-to-buy opportunities.

Car-less living can also restrict people's freedom to travel at times and to destinations of their own choosing. They must move about according to light-rail schedules and the practical limitations of ebike and rideshare options.

NBC News notes that the environment might also become a problem for some as well. In the greater-Phoenix area, summer temperatures regularly soar above 100 degrees, and the arid climate means there is almost no cloud or tree cover for respite from the baking sunshine.

For the time being, though, Culdesac has had some success. Its first residents moved in about six months ago, and its owners hope to have 1,000 residents by next year.

Vanessa Fox, a 32-year-old Culdesac resident, currently seems happy with her living arrangements. "For some, cars equal freedom, but for me, it’s a restriction," she said. "Freedom is being able to just simply walk out and access places."

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