4 ms·

Cars make cities worse for everyone, whereas public transport makes cities better for everyone, even people using cars because there is less traffic. I enjoy b

Cars make cities worse for everyone, whereas public transport makes cities better for everyone, even people using cars because there is less traffic. I enjoy biking, public transport and the density to support a nice shopping/bar/party street within walking distance, but what do I know, living in the second most livable city.

bergenty 4y ago
I enjoy biking and hiking in the woods (not city streets), driving cars and living 20 minutes away from a major city so I can go to shops/bars/parties when I feel like it. I also like gardening and farming, wood and metal working and generally doing all kinds of projects involving metal casting, glass blowing, pottery making etc. I would never be able to do comfortably living in a city. The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix.
- Gordonjcp 4y ago
  > The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix. They won't fix it, because we still need to make cars. If you get an older car that you can repair yourself and keep going long past its point of planned obsolescence, and convert it to run on a cleaner fuel like propane, then your ecological impact will be a lot less.
- usrbinbash 4y ago
  > The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix. How are they supposed to fix it? In many countries we still burn gas & coal for electricty. The cars need to be produced, which is alot more resource intensive than building better public transports, since a train transports hundreds of individuals at once, and can serve the transportation needs of thousands over the course of a day, the amount of material and energy for fabrication per-passenger is far lower. And thats's not even taking into account total service-time and cost of recycling. The cars need parking spots when not in use, which requires space that could otherwise be used for housing/parks/recreation/businesses. Public Transport systems have far fewer downtimes (even when I dont ride the train, someone else does). Plus, they are more space efficient to begin with. And of course cars need roads. Lots of them, and no matter how many are built, there still seem to be traffic jams.
  - bergenty 4y ago
    Yes over time. Electric cars and renewable energy in a nutshell.
    - usrbinbash 4y ago
      Even if we had infinite renewable energy, or something like Fusion Power; there are still the problems of having to manufacture all these individual vehicles, gathering the resources to do so, maintaining them, storing them, and providing them with roads.
- LeonidasXIV 4y ago
  I always wonder how driving to bars and parties works like, because you have to either not drink or have to take some kind of other means of transport, like a taxi or well... public transport. But yes, I think your concern is more about that you wouldn't enjoy living in a city to begin with. Which is fair enough, most of these things you enjoy aren't great if you don't have a workshop and/or plenty of space (though I have to note that amount of pottery workshops in my city is quite high which is nice because it makes it more accessible to people who can't own all the equipment).
- sascha_sl 4y ago
  > I enjoy biking and hiking in the woods (not city streets) That really is a problem with the city streets. In the Netherlands, bikes are considered such an essential mode of transport that they often have priority over cars. You'd think that'd result in dutch cities being hell for drivers, but they're really not. Because you're not competing for space with all the people that can choose another mode of transport. Unlike most places in the US where everyone is forced to use a car because good alternatives are nonexistent. You're not going to drive fast in a dutch city, but you'll also not get "stuck in traffic".

bergenty 4y ago

I enjoy biking and hiking in the woods (not city streets), driving cars and living 20 minutes away from a major city so I can go to shops/bars/parties when I feel like it. I also like gardening and farming, wood and metal working and generally doing all kinds of projects involving metal casting, glass blowing, pottery making etc. I would never be able to do comfortably living in a city. The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix.

Gordonjcp 4y ago
> The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix. They won't fix it, because we still need to make cars. If you get an older car that you can repair yourself and keep going long past its point of planned obsolescence, and convert it to run on a cleaner fuel like propane, then your ecological impact will be a lot less.
usrbinbash 4y ago
> The only downside to car culture is environmental concerns that I really hope electric cars fix. How are they supposed to fix it? In many countries we still burn gas & coal for electricty. The cars need to be produced, which is alot more resource intensive than building better public transports, since a train transports hundreds of individuals at once, and can serve the transportation needs of thousands over the course of a day, the amount of material and energy for fabrication per-passenger is far lower. And thats's not even taking into account total service-time and cost of recycling. The cars need parking spots when not in use, which requires space that could otherwise be used for housing/parks/recreation/businesses. Public Transport systems have far fewer downtimes (even when I dont ride the train, someone else does). Plus, they are more space efficient to begin with. And of course cars need roads. Lots of them, and no matter how many are built, there still seem to be traffic jams.
- bergenty 4y ago
  Yes over time. Electric cars and renewable energy in a nutshell.
  - usrbinbash 4y ago
    Even if we had infinite renewable energy, or something like Fusion Power; there are still the problems of having to manufacture all these individual vehicles, gathering the resources to do so, maintaining them, storing them, and providing them with roads.
LeonidasXIV 4y ago
I always wonder how driving to bars and parties works like, because you have to either not drink or have to take some kind of other means of transport, like a taxi or well... public transport. But yes, I think your concern is more about that you wouldn't enjoy living in a city to begin with. Which is fair enough, most of these things you enjoy aren't great if you don't have a workshop and/or plenty of space (though I have to note that amount of pottery workshops in my city is quite high which is nice because it makes it more accessible to people who can't own all the equipment).
sascha_sl 4y ago
> I enjoy biking and hiking in the woods (not city streets) That really is a problem with the city streets. In the Netherlands, bikes are considered such an essential mode of transport that they often have priority over cars. You'd think that'd result in dutch cities being hell for drivers, but they're really not. Because you're not competing for space with all the people that can choose another mode of transport. Unlike most places in the US where everyone is forced to use a car because good alternatives are nonexistent. You're not going to drive fast in a dutch city, but you'll also not get "stuck in traffic".