Pete Adeney, like most people, hates being stuck in traffic.
So when he heard about a new community where owning a car wasn’t necessary, he was intrigued.
Just 15 miles from downtown Phoenix, Arizona, Culdesac was touted as the first car-free community built “from the ground up” in the U.S. About 140 residents were expected to move in in 2023, with plans to expand to 1,000 residents by 2025, with 760 apartments built on the 17-acre site.
Currently, rents for one- and two-bedroom apartments range from $1,500 to $2,280 per month (though the community also offers renter incentives that can actually bring rents down to around $1,200 per month).
Short-term furnished rentals are also available, but there are no properties for sale yet.
But is it realistic to live without a car?
In December, Adeniyi decided to move to Culdesac and find the answers.
At the time, he was living in Denver with his teenage son and wanted to escape the area’s harsh winters and try out a more active lifestyle at Culdesac.
“My son and I moved there to get some experience together,” Adeniyi said.
The benefits of a car-free lifestyle
Pete rented a furnished two-bedroom apartment in Culdesac for four months and lived there full-time while his son split his time between Colorado and Arizona.
Initially, they were concerned about how they would get around and whether they would have everything they needed, but these fears were quickly alleviated as there were so many non-car options for transportation.
“They do a great job of providing a variety of transportation options so people can live without owning a car, with a light rail station on every corner of the neighborhood, electric bikes and even an on-site car-sharing station with a brand new Chevy Bolt electric vehicle,” Adeniyi said.
Once they moved, he and his son immediately liked not having to drive.
“I’ve always dreamed of a life where I could walk or bike rather than rely on my car,” he says. “I want to live somewhere close to work, friends, groceries, and everything else I want to do on a daily basis.”
Personal finance blogger, Mr. Money MustacheHe also points out that living without a car has many other benefits.
For one thing, residents who don’t own cars don’t have to pay for gas or insurance.
Plus, “it helps you stay in shape by reducing the need to drive,” he points out.
Adeniy’s favorite amenities at Culdesac are the lush grounds and two-story fitness center.
“The culdesac itself is really nicely landscaped, with great architecture, courtyards and gardens,” he says. “As a fitness enthusiast, I especially appreciate the on-site gym, which is the best and most comprehensive facility I’ve ever seen in an apartment complex.”
But Adeniy also noted that he never felt confined to the culdesac, given the abundance of hiking, biking and other attractions nearby.
“We loved that it was an easy bike ride to downtown Tempe and Papago Park, as well as easy access to the hikeable mountains around Phoenix,” Adeniy says.
How living car-free creates a sense of community
Nate Dicochea, Culdesac’s leasing manager, also lived there when it opened and said he was impressed with the convenience of not having to drive anywhere.
“If you’re cooking and you run out of an ingredient, instead of having to drive all the way to the store and come back, you can just pop in and buy it in three minutes,” he says.
Culdesac co-founder and CEO Rian Johnson believes living car-free offers more than just convenience.
He believes America’s car-centric culture leads to people feeling alienated from their communities.
In contrast, in culdesacs, social interaction is “built in” in the form of friendly interactions with neighbors.
“Culdesac embodies our vision of people-first living by creating vibrant connections between residents, businesses and the broader community,” Johnson says.
A friendly neighborhood atmosphere is also fostered through local social events such as movie nights and farmers markets.
“There’s always something to do and places to go,” Dicochea said.
Adeney agrees that he and his son loved strolling down Culdesac’s Main Street, which features James Beard Award-nominated restaurants and a Korean convenience store, giving it a “pretty interesting mini-downtown vibe.”
Why a car-free lifestyle is attractive to college students
Culdesacs are especially popular among college students, who often don’t own cars to begin with.
“Right now, I don’t have a car,” said Adrian Rodriguez, 19, a student at Arizona State University who has been living in the Culdesac since January 2024. The university is just a short bike ride away.
“I fully understand that living in a car-free community is not for everyone, but for me it’s perfect,” he says.
Rodriguez lives in one of the live-work units, with a one-bedroom apartment at the back and a retail store selling sustainable clothing brand Ito at the front.
“My shop space is quite separate from my living space,” he says. “The bedroom and bathroom take up half the room, and the shop space and kitchen take up the other half. I’m studying entrepreneurship and fashion design, so to be able to live so close to campus and still have a shop space is a game changer, something I probably wouldn’t have the opportunity to do for years to come.”
Since opening his shop in March, he’s learned a lot from other shop owners in the neighborhood.
“I’ve had the great pleasure of getting to know all of the retailers at Culdesac,” he says. “They’re all great people and have taught me so much about running a business. There’s a true community of residents and business owners here that I haven’t found anywhere else in Arizona.”
Will car-free living become more widespread?
Culdesac is now looking to expand into Mesa, Arizona, and Atlanta, but it remains to be seen whether such communities will be widely adopted.
“The emergence of car-free built environments will be an interesting trend to watch,” says Ralph McLaughlin, economist at Realtor.com. “Because much of the United States has been developed around the automobile, families have had few options to vote with their feet in support of car-free neighborhoods.”
“Of course, some families will be happy with these car-free spaces, but it will be interesting to see whether price appreciation in these areas outpaces traditional neighborhoods over time. As alternative transportation options become more prevalent, car-free neighborhoods may well become a more permanent design trend in U.S. cities.”
Adeniyi (who negotiated a discount on the press rental fee and blogged about the experience) said he enjoyed his four months at Culdesac so much that he’d consider returning there one day.
“We Americans get a little nervous when someone talks about alternatives to car transportation,” Adeniyi says, “but fundamentally it just means there’s something better out there, much closer to home. Who wouldn’t want that?”
