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Even in the USA with it's massive sprawl, most (80%+) of the population is urbanized [0]. The ideal mobility framework is one of interconnected small towns/cit
by el_nahual 5y ago
Even in the USA with it's massive sprawl, most (80%+) of the population is urbanized [0].
The ideal mobility framework is one of interconnected small towns/cities (ideally via rail) with non-vehicle traffic for intra town movements.
People that live out in a farm can drive in (although to be honest even distances of 10 miles can be very conveniently travelled in an ebike).
There's four things that prevent this sort of network from taking hold:
1. At least in the US, the inter-town rail networks have been disbanded or neuterd to a useless extent.
2. No investment for inter-town bus service. You can get to the big city by bus, but not between towns.
3. In most of the small towns in the USA, "main" street is actually a state highway routinely seeing traffic speeds of 50+mph. In other words, the town is divided right down the middle by a highway, with most commerce clustered around this area. This means that even for intra-small-town traffic biking (and sometimes even walking due to a lack of sidewalks!) is dangerous.
[0]: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/geo-areas/urban-rural/ua-facts.html https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/geography/guidance/g...