‘People feel scared about walking’: the cost of car culture in Birmingham

Birmingham faces an uphill task to get people off the road. Photograph: Fabio De Paola/The Guardian

It was once proudly known as motor city, the UK’s home of the kind of postwar construction labelled “carchitecture” for embracing the booming automobile market that fuelled the city’s economy.

But now Birmingham is waging a battle against an ingrained car culture that is causing a nuisance on the streets and has left pedestrians fearing for their safety.