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The US issue is deeper than an app. It's the extreme car dependency.
by a1371 5y ago
The US issue is deeper than an app. It's the extreme car dependency.
- mike_d 5y ago> It's the extreme car dependency. Europe has 3.5x the population density of the US. Over 40% of the US population lives outside of cities. People need access to basic services and goods and cars are how they get that. Your comment implies that, for example, people living the Artic should feel bad for being extremely dependent on artificial heat.
- a1371 5y agoThere is no heavenly mandate for the US to have this population density. The reason Americans live like this is not that it's the most effective use of land or energy. When we talk about car dependency, it doesn't mean go ride a bus in your suburb, that doesn't work. It means let's abolish out of date and discriminatory zoning laws. Let's introduce density to the city and bypass interstate traffic.
- rp1 5y agoTrue, but the app is inducing demand for cars, so it’s both a symptom and a cause.
- a1371 5y agoMaps tools actually work extraordinarily well in denser cities. They find you the best bus and transit times. They allow you to use mixed mode transportation like bicycles in between while your enjoy the city. Arguably this is a richer experience than a route only accessible with car, for which a paper map would have been just fine. The maps business also thrives where businesses are accessible to people, not where cars are whooshing past them. So I don't think they're enthusiastic about cars either.