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Isn't this a simple function of population density? Can we just say that and be done with this stupid argument? If the US had the population density of Japan
by pragmatic 16y ago
Isn't this a simple function of population density? Can we just say that and be done with this stupid argument?
If the US had the population density of Japan or parts of Europe, yes we could all bike and have super fast broadband. That's not the case.
- roc 16y agoThe US doesn't have the population density of Japan or Europe because of our zoning laws. The barriers to even try these kinds of developments in the US are massive. The barriers to build yet-another cul-de-sac subdivision of mcmansions that are proven to increase congestion, travel-time, stress, infrastructure cost, individual waste and municipal waste are non-existent. Zoning laws dictate density. We have sprawl because our laws engineered it and we were lucky enough to have the wealth and space to allow such frivolous waste to continue for so long.
- MichaelSalib 16y agoI don't think this argument works. For starters, parts of the US are very high density: density in NYC or Boston or SFO exceeds that of many European cities. And yet we don't have super fast broadband for super low prices in those places in general, even though though the density is high enough to support it. It seems a little ridiculous that people in extremely high density environments in the US have much worse broadband options that people living in rural Sweden.
- akgerber 16y agoMost American cities and streetcar suburbs are built at a density where it is very practical to bike. Even many new suburbs are built at a bikable density, though the non-grid/non-connecting infrastructure is often such that trips are twice as long as they should be, and in high-speed traffic.