The USA is really hostile to anyone who doesn’t want to have a car or perhaps more importantly can’t have a car. Who can’t have a car? People with certain disab

The USA is really hostile to anyone who doesn’t want to have a car or perhaps more importantly can’t have a car. Who can’t have a car? People with certain disabilities for one. Not a car-centric life has its origins in keeping poor people out and redlining. Now neighborhoods might not be legally segregated (sunset towns still exist however) but if those houses are so expensive that poor people can’t afford them then it amounts to de facto segregation. You will hear counterarguments like “how can a highway be racist?” but when you look at what neighborhoods were destroyed to make room for that highway and the net effects of intergenerational wealth creation it turns out a highway can be racist. Even something like turning right on red is so hostile to cyclists and pedestrians. This was originally introduced in the OPEC oil crisis to reduce car idling but despite clear evidence that it increases danger to cyclist and pedestrians it’s still here. Why? Driver convenience trumps everything. When it comes to walkability most Americans still want their cars and will nearly always choose more space over walkability. Even when they do want walkability what they talk mean is they still want their large house on an acre lot that happens to be walkable and that just doesn’t scale. I also believe that America’s car worship contributes to the profound selfishness and lack of empathy of most Americans. It’s a bubble that allows you not to have to deal with other people.