Next time you find yourself wincing at the gas pump, don't pine for a price break, or even a fuel-sipping hybrid or electric car. Instead, imagine a city where you didn't need to drive at all.

Skyrocketing fuel prices are compelling more and more Americans to change their lifestyles, from relatively simple steps like taking the bus, to more comprehensive overhauls like staying home from work or even moving to a new home.

In Portland last week, the Towards Carfree Cities conference made its North American debut. A group of city planners, developers, activists, transportation providers and others convened for a week to discuss the themes at the root of designing cities around the needs of people, not cars.

The conference seemed to be equal parts innovation and inspiration, kicking off last Monday with "Depaving Day," when volunteers from the conference joined activists from Depave.org in the Fargo Garden project. They transformed a city parking lot into a public park featuring native plants, places to sit, and plenty of opportunity to enjoy the greenspace.

This kickoff activity exemplified a new model of thinking: If we were to design cities without needing to devote extraordinary amounts of space to the needs of cars, what might we do with all the resources leftover?

The possibilities go far beyond adding extra parks. The week's jam-packed schedule of presentations, tours, workshops and more challenged attendees to envision what a car-free city might look like, and understand both their personal role and the community's role in taking steps toward that more livable future. Topics ranged from understanding Portland's own transportation infrastructure, to new gear like pedicabs, to software solutions from Google, to seeking examples of car-free design from around the world (NYC to Vancouver to Bogota).

You can read blogger coverage of the event from the San Francisco Bay Guardian, check out Worldchanging team member Brian Smith's coverage on the carfree USA blog, read news from Bike Portland, or check out the excellent coverage from New York's Streetsblog and Streetfilms.

Photo credits: Flickr/BikePortland, licensed by Creative Commons.