4 ms·

The reason for a car dependent lifestyle in the U.S is that people don't want to live around or take public transit with the riffraff. This does not make sense

The reason for a car dependent lifestyle in the U.S is that people don't want to live around or take public transit with the riffraff. This does not make sense to anyone who lives in Europe. Anyone who lives in a high crime city in the U.S who actually takes public transit knows what I'm talking about. Whether it's morally right or wrong, that's the reason America is set up the way it is.

acabal 5y ago
The reason for our car dependent lifestyle is that America was specifically and purposefully engineered that way during and after WW2. Pre-war, Americans had a rich urban and small town life much like Europe had and still has to an extent. The only reason we lost it was due to misguided urban planning, encouraged by lobbying from the auto industry.
- r00fus 5y ago
  Who Framed Roger Rabbit essentially narrates this story of the demise of the trolley.
ketzo 5y ago
I mean, that's a chicken-and-egg thing. The more people who use public transit, the more resources get devoted to it, and the less it feels "trashy" or like a place for "riffraff". Conversely, the fewer people who use transit, the more grim it feels for those who do use it. The existence of public transit does not necessitate crime.
null_object 5y ago
> The reason for a car dependent lifestyle in the U.S is that people don't want to live around or take public transit with the riffraff. This does not make sense to anyone who lives in Europe. This sort of US vs Europe stuff I read on HN regarding car use just isn’t binary at all: some countries in Europe are very car-dependent, others less so. Not all of us are like The Netherlands or Denmark, unfortunately.
Johnythree 5y ago
Imagine if Americans spent the same on public transport as they do on cars and roads. There would be luxurious trains, buses, etc running everywhere you wanted to go. And they would all be sparkling clean and gold plated.

acabal 5y ago

The reason for our car dependent lifestyle is that America was specifically and purposefully engineered that way during and after WW2. Pre-war, Americans had a rich urban and small town life much like Europe had and still has to an extent. The only reason we lost it was due to misguided urban planning, encouraged by lobbying from the auto industry.

r00fus 5y ago
Who Framed Roger Rabbit essentially narrates this story of the demise of the trolley.

ketzo 5y ago

I mean, that's a chicken-and-egg thing. The more people who use public transit, the more resources get devoted to it, and the less it feels "trashy" or like a place for "riffraff". Conversely, the fewer people who use transit, the more grim it feels for those who do use it. The existence of public transit does not necessitate crime.

null_object 5y ago

> The reason for a car dependent lifestyle in the U.S is that people don't want to live around or take public transit with the riffraff. This does not make sense to anyone who lives in Europe. This sort of US vs Europe stuff I read on HN regarding car use just isn’t binary at all: some countries in Europe are very car-dependent, others less so. Not all of us are like The Netherlands or Denmark, unfortunately.

Johnythree 5y ago

Imagine if Americans spent the same on public transport as they do on cars and roads. There would be luxurious trains, buses, etc running everywhere you wanted to go. And they would all be sparkling clean and gold plated.