00:00Visitors to Rome spend most of their time taking in the city's stunning architecture.
00:05But if you're a local driving around the historic center, you're on the lookout for just three letters, ZTL.
00:12La zona traffico limitato, or limited traffic zone, covers much of the historic center of the Italian capital.
00:20But there are some loopholes.
00:22The key issue is that a lot of people live there.
00:25And so even if, of course, it's forbidden to enter for people living outside,
00:31still many have the right to enter with their own car, even if there is a problem of parking.
00:41To try to encourage residents to trade in their petrol or diesel cars, the ZTL does not apply to electric vehicles.
00:48Surrounding the ZTL, there's also the fascia verde, or green band, with restrictions for older, more polluting vehicles.
00:56The mayor of Rome, Roberto Guazieri, has been trying to tighten the rules for the fascia verde,
01:02which would have impacted an estimated 350,000 cars.
01:06However, the regional authorities have now bowed to public pressure and cancelled the new restrictions,
01:12which were due to kick in at the start of November.
01:15The existing rules have already had an impact on Rome's air quality, which has been steadily improving over the past decade,
01:22although the city is still a long way from meeting World Health Organization guidelines on clean air.
01:28Meanwhile, as the European Union has toughened its own air quality standards,
01:33more and more cities across the bloc have introduced low emission zones.
01:37Clean air campaigners hope that mayors can learn from their predecessors,
01:42for example, in how to actually implement a new zone.
01:46When we look at the low emission zone in Milan, that also started with referendum.
01:52That's the first example, if I'm not mistaken, that is actually a bottom-up approach.
01:58So, through a bottom-up approach, a low emission zone was implemented in Milan.
02:03So, this is also what social acceptability, but bringing actors into the process, is about.
02:09The big challenge for Rome's government is providing viable alternatives to cars
02:14for residents who feel the public transport network is unsafe and unreliable.
02:19Metro lines are being extended and new bike lanes are being built,
02:23but it seems many Rome residents are not quite ready to give up their personal cars just yet.
02:30Giles Gibson for CGTN, Rome.
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