Streetcar Suburbs - Old World

Old World

In the Old World, many residential neighbourhoods were developed in the early days of industrial urbanization before electric streetcars/trams were invented. However, in much of Europe tram systems eventually came to play a much larger role in public transportation than in most of the New World. Here, therefore, the term "streetcar suburb" is not needed as distinct concept as most neighbourhoods in many European cities are tram-oriented, especially in those countries which still had a lower rate of private automobile ownership in the 20th century, such as in the ex-communist East.

An example is the city of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Prague has built many new suburban roads since the fall of communism and also has an extensive metro and bus system, but because its central core is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city authorities do not allow buses into the historic areas and they limit new road construction there. Instead the tram system is the backbone of the transportation system, with many pre-communist and communist-era neighbourhoods featuring brick and plaster walk-up apartment buildings lining roads that are served by several tram routes which run into the centre of the city. This is broadly similar to many mid-sized European cities.