Humans are abstractly selfless but functionally selfish. In the abstract, trains and bikes and walking are wonderful forms of transportation. And creating citie

Humans are abstractly selfless but functionally selfish. In the abstract, trains and bikes and walking are wonderful forms of transportation. And creating cities where cars are not needed is a wonderful goal. Except, cars exist. We can go from here to there in absolute comfort, listening to the music we want, stopping exactly where we want. Any solution needs to be faster, cheaper, or easier. Probably all three. It is insanely easy to say that some abstract “they” should just change their lifestyle for the good of humanity. But the trouble is turning the abstract “they” into the specific “me”. Even if we had the pipe-dream of one mile cities, what if my mile has great sushi, but I want pho? Get on a bus to that mile and then walk? Or just drive to it? Lastly, we have self-driving cars. They are called taxis. And for most people, the price of a car payment + gas + maintenance + insurance is less than one would spend on a taxi per month. But we still prefer cars. Because they are faster, more comfortable etc. You either need to force people into your worldview or make the alternative better. The former is a losing strategy, so do the latter.