5 ms·

This is (one of) the logical conclusions of suburban, car-enforced social alienation: if you don't know your neighbors and your neighbors don't know you, then e

This is (one of) the logical conclusions of suburban, car-enforced social alienation: if you don't know your neighbors and your neighbors don't know you, then everything that isn't immediately familiar to either party is treated with suspicion. And this holds for the entire "food chain": police who don't live in the areas they patrol, DAs and CPS employees who don't understand their communities, &c. It's civically and socially poisonous. It would of course be ridiculous to claim that these things don't happen absent of car culture: it's a broader trend than that, and there are suburban areas that buck the trend. But the urban/suburban divide here is stark: I grew up walking to school and riding public transport alone, and it's normal to see kids running around my neighborhood without any supervision. That kind of freedom works because nobody is surprised to see a 6 year old running errands; they're seen doing the same thing every day.

dionidium 4y ago
When I lived in Manhattan I didn't know any of my neighbors. It's more cultural than it is environmental.
thescriptkiddie 4y ago
+1 I don't have anything to add, this is just a really important point.
rootusrootus 4y ago
I've lived in the city, and I currently live in a suburb. I know a lot more of my neighbors here than I did in the city. And my neighbors know my kids. On top of that, the sidewalk is filled with kids going to & from school each day, and it's noisy all afternoon as they run all over the neighborhood riding bikes and playing. So I get that you want to find car culture to be the root of all evil, but I don't buy it.
- woodruffw 4y ago
  "Evil" is not the world I would (or did) use. And as I said: there are lots of places that buck the trend; I'm glad you live in one. For every place like yours, there are suburbs like the ones that most of my friends grew up in: ones where everybody drives in and out, where sidewalks exist primarily as a vessel for dogwalking, and nothing can be reached on foot (parks or basic living amenities).
screye 4y ago
Car-centric Suburbanization is the root of almost all problems faced by the US today. Of course, nothing is monocausal. But if it were, that faulty would be 'car centric suburbia'.
ben7799 4y ago
Excellent point.. in these places it is not normal to ever travel from point A to point B without getting in a car. Anyone walking is suspect. It's bizarre. Where I live the police are not insane like this but people will still be shocked if they find out you walked 1/2 mile instead of taking a car.
- leethargo 4y ago
  It's not even just about children. When I went to the US for a research visit, I didn't have a car, because my bed and breakfast was in walking distance to the lab (there was even a bus). So, naturally, I walked to a nearby restaurant in the evening, and was stopped by the police, asking me what I was up to. It didn't have any consequences, but still.
  - origin_path 4y ago
    That must be common. I remember many years ago I was walking to the Google MTV campus from a corp apartment in Mountain View itself. It's a fair walk, maybe an hour. I was doing it because it was sunny and why not. A cop car pulled over and asked if I was OK. They were friendly but the only apparent cause of this visit was that I was walking. I found that deeply strange.
malermeister 4y ago
Here's a really good video on this exact topic: https://youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw https://youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw

dionidium 4y ago

When I lived in Manhattan I didn't know any of my neighbors. It's more cultural than it is environmental.

thescriptkiddie 4y ago

+1 I don't have anything to add, this is just a really important point.

rootusrootus 4y ago

I've lived in the city, and I currently live in a suburb. I know a lot more of my neighbors here than I did in the city. And my neighbors know my kids. On top of that, the sidewalk is filled with kids going to & from school each day, and it's noisy all afternoon as they run all over the neighborhood riding bikes and playing. So I get that you want to find car culture to be the root of all evil, but I don't buy it.

woodruffw 4y ago
"Evil" is not the world I would (or did) use. And as I said: there are lots of places that buck the trend; I'm glad you live in one. For every place like yours, there are suburbs like the ones that most of my friends grew up in: ones where everybody drives in and out, where sidewalks exist primarily as a vessel for dogwalking, and nothing can be reached on foot (parks or basic living amenities).

screye 4y ago

Car-centric Suburbanization is the root of almost all problems faced by the US today. Of course, nothing is monocausal. But if it were, that faulty would be 'car centric suburbia'.

ben7799 4y ago

Excellent point.. in these places it is not normal to ever travel from point A to point B without getting in a car. Anyone walking is suspect. It's bizarre. Where I live the police are not insane like this but people will still be shocked if they find out you walked 1/2 mile instead of taking a car.

leethargo 4y ago
It's not even just about children. When I went to the US for a research visit, I didn't have a car, because my bed and breakfast was in walking distance to the lab (there was even a bus). So, naturally, I walked to a nearby restaurant in the evening, and was stopped by the police, asking me what I was up to. It didn't have any consequences, but still.
- origin_path 4y ago
  That must be common. I remember many years ago I was walking to the Google MTV campus from a corp apartment in Mountain View itself. It's a fair walk, maybe an hour. I was doing it because it was sunny and why not. A cop car pulled over and asked if I was OK. They were friendly but the only apparent cause of this visit was that I was walking. I found that deeply strange.

malermeister 4y ago

Here's a really good video on this exact topic: https://youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw https://youtu.be/oHlpmxLTxpw