Traveling is made easy through the use of cars and other modes of transportation. But vehicles are almost non-existent in this particular small society. As the only town in Italy with no cars, it’s a community accessible by foot, bicycles, and sometimes tractors.

Chamois is a collection of seven small villages connected by trails and streets at an elevation of 1,815 meters in the Aosta Valley. Because of its location on steep slopes, the town was protected from roadways and traffic some time ago. During Italy’s 1960s economic boom, the villagers had a debate whether they wanted to accept the automobile age. But they didn’t. 95% of the residents opposed the road construction that would connect them to the valley below. Instead, they requested a more practical solution: a cableway. Sliding from one point to another only takes a few minutes compared to vehicles that may take hours. Chamois would have its first simple yet convenient connection to the rest of the roads in Italy—without cars or pollution. Although its population shrunk from 350 to 100, the people have stayed committed to using their humble home experimenting with sustainability technologies such as renewable energy systems.

Chamois has turned its back on typical transportation methods, but this allowed the town to exercise modernism in its unique way. Lesson learned: never underestimate the potential of small-scale communities.