3 ms·

So I think the good news is, a lot of it can be retrofitted, if there is political/societal/voter will. It was all retrofitted here in Europe after all.

• emodendroket 5y ago
  The infrastructure can be retrofitted, but the fact that cities were designed to be sprawling under the assumption that people would drive is a bit knottier to work out.
  • rich_sasha 5y ago
    True. But if you could get 90% of non-work stuff a cycle ride away (groceries, childcare, post office etc) that’s already a big one. London, another massive sprawl, opened what’s called “cycling superhighways”. These are on disused railway tracks, covered with high quality tarmac. Wide, straight, lit, off-road, bike-only trails taking you around the city (into the centre in particular). I wouldn’t call London cycle-friendly but these really make long commutes feasible. A friend of mine, no exercise freak, happily cycles 40 mins each way on one of those.
    • justincormack 5y ago
      They are not disused rail tracks, they are on the edge if roads.
  • anthony_barker 5y ago
    Tokyo sprawls as do many chinese cities but people bike to the train
  • dncornholio 5y ago
    Exactly what happened in EU. Many EU cities in the world were designed for cars. So it can be done.
    • kashug 5y ago
      But zoning is also part of the issue. Residental areas many places in NA is often strictly residental - designed around that people can just take the car to go grocery shopping. In europe it is more common that you have things like a supermarket in walkable distance (or atleast short trip on a bike).