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> Restaurant, convenience store, grocery store, all are completely inaccessible except by car. This particular aspect of USA struck me as quite bizarre wheneve

> Restaurant, convenience store, grocery store, all are completely inaccessible except by car. This particular aspect of USA struck me as quite bizarre whenever I visited on business trips. More so as I’m from India where it’s almost a given that things that you need on a day to day basis (grocery, bakery, pharmacy, convenience store etc.,) are available within walking distance. Apart from an opportunity to get some fresh air it’s also a good way to interact with my neighborhood community. I assumed this is how it’d be in any developed country until I moved to Netherlands. It’s not too different from India at all in that respect here. So now I wonder, what factors lead to that kind of city planning in US. It was a real ordeal for me to get a meal outside in US, had to either walk for an hour or order taxi service (those were pre-Uber days).

rgblambda 6y ago
Initially U.S cities were built according to a grid plan (grids being the most efficient means of urban planning at the time). This also made public transport easier. Grids however do not work well for cars. In response to increasing car ownership, T junctions were introduced to improve flow of traffic. The car also made it possible for people to live far from their place of work, thus the popularisation of suburbs. Other countries followed suit.
- adjkant 6y ago
  > Other countries followed suit. What other countries? The US is very much an outlier. The only one I can think of is maybe Australia?
  - rgblambda 6y ago
    The UK and Republic of Ireland.
lotsofpulp 6y ago
> So now I wonder, what factors lead to that kind of city planning in US. A car requirement (and hence minimum fuel purchasing requirement) helps keep lower socioeconomic classes out of higher socioeconomic classes’ neighborhoods. This results in marked improvements in economic performance of children in school, as the public school students are determined by the area they are in, and spacing things out results in a populace with a minimum level of financial security who can afford to travel further. The original impetus may not have been exactly that, as people generally like their space anyway, but it’s affects are well known. Historically, I’m sure there was also a racial component to it, with white people moving to more expensive areas that non white people couldn’t afford.

rgblambda 6y ago

Initially U.S cities were built according to a grid plan (grids being the most efficient means of urban planning at the time). This also made public transport easier. Grids however do not work well for cars. In response to increasing car ownership, T junctions were introduced to improve flow of traffic. The car also made it possible for people to live far from their place of work, thus the popularisation of suburbs. Other countries followed suit.

adjkant 6y ago
> Other countries followed suit. What other countries? The US is very much an outlier. The only one I can think of is maybe Australia?
- rgblambda 6y ago
  The UK and Republic of Ireland.

lotsofpulp 6y ago

> So now I wonder, what factors lead to that kind of city planning in US. A car requirement (and hence minimum fuel purchasing requirement) helps keep lower socioeconomic classes out of higher socioeconomic classes’ neighborhoods. This results in marked improvements in economic performance of children in school, as the public school students are determined by the area they are in, and spacing things out results in a populace with a minimum level of financial security who can afford to travel further. The original impetus may not have been exactly that, as people generally like their space anyway, but it’s affects are well known. Historically, I’m sure there was also a racial component to it, with white people moving to more expensive areas that non white people couldn’t afford.