4 ms·

I think that says more about the sad state of the living situation we Americans have engineered ourselves into over a few generations, with suburban sprawl and

by acabal 9y ago

I think that says more about the sad state of the living situation we Americans have engineered ourselves into over a few generations, with suburban sprawl and car culture, more than anything. If we think about it even just a tiny bit, it seems absurd that the majority of our society has little choice but to live in a situation where most of our material needs aren't a 15 minute walking distance away.

majormajor 9y ago
Replace "engineered ourselves into" with "chosen to" and you will realize the actual problem facing anyone who dislikes cars. If you want to get rid of personal point-to-point tranportation tech, you have to provide something more convenient or get more coercive than most of the country has the political will for. Walking in winter cold or summer heat simply isn't that for most people. People enjoy privacy, people enjoy personal space, people enjoy their own music and conversation, etc. It's similar to how you won't roll back the clock on iPhones and Facebook simply by posting nostalgic articles for the way things used to be. You have to address the added utility that has caused the adoption.
- ItsDeathball 9y ago
  iPhones and Facebook, for all their issues, were adopted by the masses by competing in an open market. Mass motorization and suburbanization were driven by government policy and still are. For every consumer dollar spent on driving, the government spends ten (wish I could cite this, but I can't find it at the moment). I'm not saying cars aren't appealing, or that they don't have utility, just that the situation most Americans find themselves in, where the built environment favors cars to the exclusion of all other modes of transportation, is the result of public policy interacting with (or distorting) markets rather than a pure expression of individual preference.
  - DougN7 9y ago
    I totally disagree. I personally don’t like cities, congestion and apartments. I would pay more to stay in my home with a yard. Most home owners aren’t in homes because of lower costs - this meets our living style priorities best.
ghaff 9y ago
I look at my Amazon orders and the last 9 things I ordered, I would be very surprised if they were available within a 15 walk in any city in the world, including Manhattan. A very specific model of travel duffel, a Belkin adapter (maybe), a couple pieces of non-common audio gear (yes, if I lived a 15 minute walk from B&H in New York), a specific Chromebook power adapter (who knows, I'd still be looking), etc. Sure, in a dense enough area--which I don't live in; I'm basically rural--things like basic grocery shopping are a short walk away. But lots of the things I order from Amazon would probably take some serious looking around even in Manhattan.

by acabal 9y ago

majormajor 9y ago

Replace "engineered ourselves into" with "chosen to" and you will realize the actual problem facing anyone who dislikes cars. If you want to get rid of personal point-to-point tranportation tech, you have to provide something more convenient or get more coercive than most of the country has the political will for. Walking in winter cold or summer heat simply isn't that for most people. People enjoy privacy, people enjoy personal space, people enjoy their own music and conversation, etc. It's similar to how you won't roll back the clock on iPhones and Facebook simply by posting nostalgic articles for the way things used to be. You have to address the added utility that has caused the adoption.

ItsDeathball 9y ago
iPhones and Facebook, for all their issues, were adopted by the masses by competing in an open market. Mass motorization and suburbanization were driven by government policy and still are. For every consumer dollar spent on driving, the government spends ten (wish I could cite this, but I can't find it at the moment). I'm not saying cars aren't appealing, or that they don't have utility, just that the situation most Americans find themselves in, where the built environment favors cars to the exclusion of all other modes of transportation, is the result of public policy interacting with (or distorting) markets rather than a pure expression of individual preference.
- DougN7 9y ago
  I totally disagree. I personally don’t like cities, congestion and apartments. I would pay more to stay in my home with a yard. Most home owners aren’t in homes because of lower costs - this meets our living style priorities best.

ghaff 9y ago

I look at my Amazon orders and the last 9 things I ordered, I would be very surprised if they were available within a 15 walk in any city in the world, including Manhattan. A very specific model of travel duffel, a Belkin adapter (maybe), a couple pieces of non-common audio gear (yes, if I lived a 15 minute walk from B&H in New York), a specific Chromebook power adapter (who knows, I'd still be looking), etc. Sure, in a dense enough area--which I don't live in; I'm basically rural--things like basic grocery shopping are a short walk away. But lots of the things I order from Amazon would probably take some serious looking around even in Manhattan.