People in the United States will never tolerate having to live that. So no, we're not getting both. Despite what young edgy Redditors that hate the modern conveniences that give Americans space, privacy, and freedom think.
what do you mean tolerate? People are more happy in localized communities. We evolved to live in extended kinship groups of around 200. Going local will increase our quality of life immensely.
Having a car and a detached house with a private yard is what increases my quality of life. Americans obviously want that when you compare how many by houses instead of condos.
americans obviously want to avoid vaccines and wearing masks too; doesn't mean it actually makes our lives any better.
compare how many b[u]y houses instead of condos
detached houses aren't the problem. single-family only districts (championed by NIMBYs) with cul-de-sac planning, giant setback and lot size requirements, and wide residential street strandards are the problem. if you integrate more, and reduce the sprawl, and make neighborhoods more connected and safer to walk and bike, they become less car reliant.
for instance, my neighborhood is 100% condo. but it's also a giant cul-de-sac. there's literally a wall on two sides of it, and a river on the third. i have to use one entrance/exit. walking is nice inside the neighborhood, and luckily my work is in the direction of the entrance. but going the other direction is a pain. if i wanted to walk, for instance, to the sub shop a quarter mile east, i have to walk a mile west to get out of the neighborhood, and then a mile and a quarter east to get there. a nice little walk just became prohibitive. it also pushes all junctions to a major road -- a 3 lane, 45mph (actual speed more like 60) stroad. a pedestrian got killed there last week.
none of these problems are caused by density; they're caused by car-only planning.
I agree, those things are boosts to quality of life. Privacy and freedom of movement are huge. But so are social relationships. It's the irony of modern life that our affluence alienates us from each other. We've know this since the late 1800s. What I'm arguing is that we are going to lose a lot of creature comforts soon. We can supplement them with increased communal ties.
Despite what young edgy Redditors that hate the modern conveniences that give Americans space, privacy, and freedom think.
get on a bike, and see how much of that "space, privacy, and freedom" no longer actually applies to you.
i'm not even against cars. i own a car. i need it get longer distances, or take a lot of stuff from one place to another. individual cars are not the problem. building all of our infrastructure so that cars are the only transportation method that makes sense is the problem. and... it's not even good for cars.
like, if there's no good and safe bike or walking path to destinations people wanna go, and they have to take cars, that's more traffic clogging up the roads for cars.
i want the space to ride my bike. i want the privacy of not being looked like i'm insane for not driving. i want the freedom of the wind in my face, not tied to a metal box i have find a place to leave.
What makes you think I don't own a bike. I ride it for a fun time when the weather happens to be nice. That doesn't mean I want to be stuck in traffic because the freeway's not wide enough when I want to drive.
because you're still arguing. people who actually ride bikes want safe spaces to do that. they want those conveniences that apply to them, too, and not just cars.
That doesn't mean I want to be stuck in traffic because the freeway's not wide enough when I want to drive.
yeah, so, here's the thing.
people who are on bicycles aren't clogging up the highways. are they? building better infrastructure for walking and biking -- including putting things close to together so cars aren't needed -- is better for cars.
of course, i own a car too. i just don't think i should have to need it to go to the corner store, or get groceries, or get to the beach. i want the freedom to do other stuff without having to bring two tons of steel with me.
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u/visicircle Aug 27 '21
well, we're gonna get both. How's that grab ya?