People Hate the Idea of Car-Free Cities—Until They Live in One
People Hate the Idea of Car-Free Cities—Until They Live in One
Removing cars from urban areas means lower carbon emissions, less air pollution, and fewer road traffic accidents. So why are residents so resistant?
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Meh, I've spent time in walkable cities. Months of renting small apartments in the EU on a work trip.I still prefer cars.
I didn't think you're going to convince these people.
We don't have to convince them to give up their own cars; we just have to stop catering to them by providing so much subsidized road and parking space.
Which means voting and convincing people.
You can convince someone to not like cars in many ways, such as the inconvienece or waking up to slashed tires a few times per year
...especially the very, very expensive cars and SUVs
Just don't be surprised when you get fucked up 🤷♂️
You think an insurance claim is going to change anything? Delusional stuff.
The purpose is the inconvenience. Its the same reason people block traffic. Our infrastructure should he designed to make car travel the least convient mode of transportation.
We should use many tactics to achieve this, both urban planning and direct action.
Lololol I LOVE dropping my Porsche off at the dealership. I get free food and take home a boxer convertible for the day.
You ain't doing shit other than putting yourself into danger and making someone think you're an asshole.
Go ahead tough guy one day you'll run into violence or a dash cam 🤣. I'll be sitting in my boxer rental.
Yeah you're right, who likes no pollution, no noise, strong communities and third places to bond with people, kids having public spaces to play in their neighborhoods, green, sustainability, healthy, active people that don't sit in front of a wheel all day long... Who likes all that seriously?
I get privacy, AC, and I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day, and I still live in a small neighborhood with a lovely park within walking distance.
I'm fucking crazy right?!!!!!
Privacy... in a car.... in 2024...........
I was going to only comment that but seriously,
shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day
that just means you'll only have fresh produce for a week at most, any bread you buy will be unusable after 4 days and if something you need is not in stock you have to wait another two weeks.
We're GF. The vast majority of veggies are just fine for 2 weeks with little care. The only freshness issues we run into are potatoes and lettuce type greens. If we have to we always have the ability to make a second trip.
What is important to you may not be to others. I don't understand how the folks in here don't get this. You've already converted people who want to be converted. It's an uphill battle. You are sitting here trying to prove my preference is wrong. I've experienced both and make a choice to live semi rural and it suits every single one of my preferences.
Your preferences are asinine to a sustainable society. Which part of that can you not understand?
Again, I've done more than you unless you've gotten mostly off the electric and gas grid as I have. As pointed out elsewhere I have done quite a bit to reduce my footprint. Good luck convincing the other folks with comments line that 🤣. Y'all just have resorted to personal attacks.
What is important to you may not be to others.
Honestly, genuinely, being able to get fresh produce daily and good bread - gluten free or not (there's gluten free bread???) - and being able to be spontaneous and take a quick 5 minute walk to the store because I've unexpectedly run out of eggs in the middle of baking or whatever aren't things that are at all important to me, they are just facts of life. What's important to me is not being inconvenienced by people who think it's their god-given right to own a car and make it everyone's problem.
My issue here is that you're saying
I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day
like everyone should obviously agree that only going once every two weeks is the better experience and just stopping by on the way to or from work or in your lunch break is somehow an inferior experience.
You are sitting here trying to prove my preference is wrong.
I don't care about you, I care about other people possibly reading this and want to make sure - since they're interested in the conversation already - why we think living car-free is better. The top level comment on this chain is you stating your opinion that cars are better, with no explanation at all as to why. I know that people like you are a lost cause.
Yes, you are. Also a liar.
privacy
How is that important in a commute?
AC
Busses and trains also have AC. If you're walking or cycling, the wind will be more than enough to keep you cool.
I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day
You can do the same in walkable neighborhoods, only the sane thing to do is to buy less more often. As a bonus, you'll be healthier and your food will be fresher.
I use trains and carry a loaded gun with me everywhere. Public transports I carry a 44 magnum concealed.
Yes, you are. Also a liar.
Okay? I guess I'm a liar? What are you referencing if I might ask? I'm not sure where I'm lying here.
privacy
I didn't have to hear you. I don't have to touch you. I can blast tswift quite loudly and sing with my daughter as much as I want. I can also enjoy the quietness.
Busses and trains also have AC. If you're walking or cycling, the wind will be more than enough to keep you cool.
🙄👌👍 I love it when the zealots start telling me how much I sweat. It's giving insane deranged shit lol.
I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day
You can do the same in walkable neighborhoods, only the sane thing to do is to buy less more often. As a bonus, you'll be healthier and your food will be fresher.
You most certainly do not walk with a family sized trip. I fill a literal full size us grocery cart. Not a chance you are doing that walking without some insane system.
You need to use ">" to quote someone.
🙄👌👍 I love it when the zealots start telling me how much I sweat. It’s giving insane deranged shit lol.
I suffer from severe hyperhidrosis, meaning I literally can't stop sweating and sweat way more than the average person at any given temperature. Public transportation does just fine for me.
You most certainly do not walk with a family sized trip. I fill a literal full size us grocery cart. Not a chance you are doing that walking without some insane system.
I literally do. Maybe all that sitting around in a car has caused your muscles to atrophy.
23 minute 5k. Try again bae 😘
So you are a liar :)
👌👍🤣
are you realising how petty and mean you've become in this comment section? is this the person you want to be? is this the person your daughter would be proud of calling her parent? exercise is proven to be good for mental health, maybe you should take a trip to that park you've mentioned and leave the internet be for the day.
Can I attack your kids in this forum claiming how salty you’re getting with losing an argument you don’t agree with? You’re disagreeing and taking it personal. Grow up and likely you don’t have any kids.
Have you seen the comments directed at me? Can you tell me who started calling names? Seems like 6 or 7 of the are the instigators 🤷♂️. I voiced my opinion and was attacked.
Happy to start calling names to Internet warriors. Not calling you that, but please go ahead and check the thread. I called those folks assholes after the fact.
You could have walked away and not replied to me, shut off your phone or computer and spent your time with more productive or enjoyable activities than arguing with strangers on the internet. You're not 5 years old, it doesn't matter who "started it" (I don't care), you've come into this comment section and posted an unpopular opinion and let yourself be consumed by anger.
I feel obliged to point out (for the people that might be quietly reading this, you can ignore this) that living in a dense neighborhood and being forced to interact with real human beings on a regular basis is good for my mental health. Reminds me that most people are actually okay and not like "keyboard warriors" on the internet.
👌👍
Food is fresher….so you like making unnecessary trips all the time regardless of how you get there. I do grocery trips once every three weeks. I also go on tons of camping and back packing trips and walk tons of miles. In short your argument is you rely on being in a neighborhood. How about folks who who grew up in smaller areas and want to be near family whom live there? Want them to pack up and leave and live in a tiny apartment?
There's AC in public transport.
Your privacy is of no concern to us, like you could claim you want more privacy, which you can achieve by commuting with a jet(people can stare at you through the car window) - that doesn't mean the world has to cater to your unreasonable demands.
The fact that there is a park in your neighborhood doesn't mean anything, since the public spaces are simply not enough. We don't have more green instead of this sea of tar, because some people like you don't care about either the environment or the alienation of the communities or the health implications of car centric cities.
The opposite of one trip every two weeks isn't everyday, it's once a week on a bike, I'm sure you can make this sacrifice since...yk I specifically explained how our world and lives are ruined from car centric cities. And if you are not willing to make this insurmountable sacrifice, you are just a lost cause and an enemy to green walkable vibrant cities and therefore to us.
You are not fucking crazy, you are fucking toxic to comment in this place to begin with.
It's awesome you didn't provide a single example about why you prefer unwalkable cities
I didn't find it easier. I didn't like summer commutes and being hot. I didn't like dealing with other people on public transportation. I prefer my 10 minute drive to my local store in AC with my music in my quite car.
In other words, you're antisocial and quite possibly narcisistic. Yeah, I don't think you're the kind of person cities should cater to.
Nope. I have a loving family, am married, have a kid who is in soccer, dance, etc. we have some other parent friends. Just had a nice DnD night and hit up the recent local adventures league.
I've also spent nearly 90k converting my roof to solar, buying a PHEV, installing a heat pump and fully offloading my net usage. I ripped up my grass put in clover, planted wildflower, and spend hundreds of hours and dollars beekeeping. You can fuck right off with your little narrow judgments. I've likely done more than you'll ever do to reduce my consumption. Outside of giving up a car.
You have invented an entire persona and story because I have stated how a large population feels about vehicles and living more rural. You have invented some evil character on a paragraph. It's insane and counterproductive.
If you enjoy rurality so much, simply fuck off to nowhere - emptyville. Why are you even taking part in a discussion about cities?
More suburban light, but yeah I did.
As for why I'm here, 🤷♂️ I thought this place was about conversation. I stated a common preference and prefer a small city and driving. You all lost your mind at the audacity of me expressing that option. Being .ml a ban is probably next 🤷♂️.
It's insane you are attacking me, someone who uses less resources than most of the people in US or EU, and you are screaming at me to fuck off because I have a preference for a vehicle. It's this insane all of nothing attitude that is 100% incompatible with democratic systems. Jesus Christ my man, you are screaming at a guy you 75% agree with.
If you order food Uber eats, take an Uber to get items. Also request fixing of your dwelling and access to get your groceries. You’re still just as depended. Work as an engineer for city electric company. 90% of thee comments about being car free. Yet people still use them to get them services.
"I'm rich and killing people poorer then me, and I dont care"
Blah blah blah, I'll ignore this guy using less resources than me and pretend I'm not some ass arguing on the Internet.
Nice response and showing your maturity. How about folks who grew up small town or rural and that’s what they know? How about people who grew up in small towns with not much access to updated structure? You’re being selfish and comparing someone who only stated they preferred smaller areas. You respond back claiming narcissism and anti-social. Stop being a raging dick about losing your ass on a conversation. Every response is you taking it personal like you’re “God” himself.