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For a smooth transition, you need to "make before break". If we take away people's cars overnight, then people will be stranded with no way to buy food or earn

For a smooth transition, you need to "make before break". If we take away people's cars overnight, then people will be stranded with no way to buy food or earn income. (Raising prices on gasoline is a slower means of effecting change, but people don't have the opportunity to just throw away their home and home equity to move somewhere with public transportation. This just makes people miserable; it doesn't help them out of their miserable situation.) We can't undo 100 years of terrible urban planning with one stroke of the pen.

FpUser 5y ago
I consider cramming millions of people in tiny city apartments terrible planning as well. I want to smell the roses, not human waste. The root cause I guess that there are too many of us
roody15 5y ago
Creating conditions to force people into highly dense urban area also = miserable people. Not sure of a good answer here
- xmprt 5y ago
  > Creating conditions to force people into highly dense urban area also = miserable people. Do you have a source for this? Denser European cities seem to have much higher happiness than people living in single family residential suburbs.
  - roody15 5y ago
    Not sure about European cities or if they directly compare to US. Most major metropolitan areas in the Midwest and East coast region are seeing people leave for suburbs or even small town America. older article but still applies (I think) https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-is-the-fastest-shrinking-major-metro-area/ https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-is-the-fastest-shrin...
    - xmprt 5y ago
      It's because suburbs are subsidized in the current system. Roads, infrastructure, and other upkeep costs are paid by the entire city but since the denser regions are more productive/profitable, they end up paying for the services that suburban residents are using. If suburban residents had to pay for the real cost of their housing, then I think it would be a lot less appealing. Building suburbs is terrible city planning and it's sad that cities are continuing to endorse them.

FpUser 5y ago

I consider cramming millions of people in tiny city apartments terrible planning as well. I want to smell the roses, not human waste. The root cause I guess that there are too many of us

roody15 5y ago

Creating conditions to force people into highly dense urban area also = miserable people. Not sure of a good answer here

xmprt 5y ago
> Creating conditions to force people into highly dense urban area also = miserable people. Do you have a source for this? Denser European cities seem to have much higher happiness than people living in single family residential suburbs.
- roody15 5y ago
  Not sure about European cities or if they directly compare to US. Most major metropolitan areas in the Midwest and East coast region are seeing people leave for suburbs or even small town America. older article but still applies (I think) https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-is-the-fastest-shrinking-major-metro-area/ https://www.chicagoreporter.com/chicago-is-the-fastest-shrin...
  - xmprt 5y ago
    It's because suburbs are subsidized in the current system. Roads, infrastructure, and other upkeep costs are paid by the entire city but since the denser regions are more productive/profitable, they end up paying for the services that suburban residents are using. If suburban residents had to pay for the real cost of their housing, then I think it would be a lot less appealing. Building suburbs is terrible city planning and it's sad that cities are continuing to endorse them.