4 ms·

> Honestly, having had lived in mixed-income neighborhoods, the wealthy are missing out. I cannot understand why cities in the US are built the way they are.

> Honestly, having had lived in mixed-income neighborhoods, the wealthy are missing out. I cannot understand why cities in the US are built the way they are. I live in a relatively big city in Germany in a somewhat dense neighborhood (most buildings have 3-5 stories). I have two grocery stores within five minutes of walking, a great Italian restaurant around the corner. If I want to go to the city center it is a ten minute train ride, going to the lake is a 12 minute ride. I can quickly get around the city center by using the subway and all of this for a fraction of the cost of owning a car. I grew up in a more rural area and personally, living in a denser cities feels more "luxurious" than living in a town where I can't get anywhere if I don't drive. The cities are still far from perfect, but this is mostly because they desperately try to accomodate the car obsessed public (but not as desperately as American cities)

aidenn0 4y ago
Some of it is just how pervasive car ownership is in the US, how young of an age you can get licensed, and the degree to which parents are expected to drive children under the age of 16. I did an exchange to a rural village in Germany, and anything other than going to a party at someone's house in the village involved convincing (or bribing) one of the 18 year olds they knew from two years previous at the Realschule, so the most common evening event was drinking beer (or Diesel which was half beer, half cola) with friends. This place was not even remotely rural by USA standards, being maybe 20 kilometers from the state capital, and even closer to another city.
- moooo99 4y ago
  > anything other than going to a party at someone's house in the village involved convincing (or bribing) one of the 18 year olds they knew from two years previous at the Realschule, so the most common evening event was drinking beer (or Diesel which was half beer, half cola) with friends. This has been my experience growing up as well with the only difference that we had a somewhat decent train connection to the next bigger town (30 min train ride, but last train departured at 10 PM). Anything that was out of the (small) village required either an expensive (and unreliable) Taxi ride or someone who loosed out and became the dedicated driver.
gr1zzlybe4r 4y ago
The car dependence in America is so strong, that I think 99% of the population doesn't realize what is possible even with slightly reduced (not eliminated) car dependence. I grew up in the suburbs and felt *trapped* until I was able to drive. Legitimately didn't feel like I could be independent. This is most people's experience, whether they realize it or not. I only became aware of what car-less life could be like when I lived in Chicago (the city, not the burbs). Even then it took me a year to realize how convenient everything was because I could mostly walk or bike to what I wanted. IMO - the resistance to developing density in the US is because people associate independence with the automobile; and it's a very, very deep association. I don't think people understand that density can actually make you more independent because they haven't really experienced it. And to be clear I don't want to ban cars. More so, just want to see our country have more options for actual cities other than NYC and Chicago.
- moooo99 4y ago
  > And to be clear I don't want to ban cars. More so, just want to see our country have more options for actual cities other than NYC and Chicago. I don't think banning cars would even solve the issue. Cars are legitimately a good option for many people. But governments many governments want to pretend cars are a good option for anyone, which is just not true. Transportation modes should be treated equal, depending on the starting position this would necessitate taking back space dedicated to cars.

aidenn0 4y ago

Some of it is just how pervasive car ownership is in the US, how young of an age you can get licensed, and the degree to which parents are expected to drive children under the age of 16. I did an exchange to a rural village in Germany, and anything other than going to a party at someone's house in the village involved convincing (or bribing) one of the 18 year olds they knew from two years previous at the Realschule, so the most common evening event was drinking beer (or Diesel which was half beer, half cola) with friends. This place was not even remotely rural by USA standards, being maybe 20 kilometers from the state capital, and even closer to another city.

moooo99 4y ago
> anything other than going to a party at someone's house in the village involved convincing (or bribing) one of the 18 year olds they knew from two years previous at the Realschule, so the most common evening event was drinking beer (or Diesel which was half beer, half cola) with friends. This has been my experience growing up as well with the only difference that we had a somewhat decent train connection to the next bigger town (30 min train ride, but last train departured at 10 PM). Anything that was out of the (small) village required either an expensive (and unreliable) Taxi ride or someone who loosed out and became the dedicated driver.

gr1zzlybe4r 4y ago

The car dependence in America is so strong, that I think 99% of the population doesn't realize what is possible even with slightly reduced (not eliminated) car dependence. I grew up in the suburbs and felt *trapped* until I was able to drive. Legitimately didn't feel like I could be independent. This is most people's experience, whether they realize it or not. I only became aware of what car-less life could be like when I lived in Chicago (the city, not the burbs). Even then it took me a year to realize how convenient everything was because I could mostly walk or bike to what I wanted. IMO - the resistance to developing density in the US is because people associate independence with the automobile; and it's a very, very deep association. I don't think people understand that density can actually make you more independent because they haven't really experienced it. And to be clear I don't want to ban cars. More so, just want to see our country have more options for actual cities other than NYC and Chicago.

moooo99 4y ago
> And to be clear I don't want to ban cars. More so, just want to see our country have more options for actual cities other than NYC and Chicago. I don't think banning cars would even solve the issue. Cars are legitimately a good option for many people. But governments many governments want to pretend cars are a good option for anyone, which is just not true. Transportation modes should be treated equal, depending on the starting position this would necessitate taking back space dedicated to cars.