3 ms·

I think the main problem is how American cities are built: they are not intended to be walkable (the same is true for some modern European suburbs). Compare thi

by geff82 3y ago

I think the main problem is how American cities are built: they are not intended to be walkable (the same is true for some modern European suburbs). Compare this with European city centers: having a car there is not a benefit, but a liability. You can get around mega cities such as Paris without having a car (taking a taxi for the 2 occasions a months where you'd need one). I recently visited Milan: we parked the car and then did not need it again once - despite having little kids. Why? Classic European cities are dense. They were built in a time where "walking" was the main means of transportation. And now that policies and opinions change, this older style of building gets fashionable again.

bombcar 3y ago
To be fair to the Europeans who own cars (In Europe, for example, the median national share of car owners was 79 percent [1]) life as a tourist is easy; the entire city is doing everything to make your car-free life work. And every time I've touristed in Europe it's been great wandering around without a car (the times I've driven the backcountry with a car have been fun, too). But all the people I've worked with when in Europe have a car (sure, it might be small) and drive when it makes sense, which is often. [1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/a-pew-survey-charts-global-car-motorcycle-and-bike-ownership https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-17/a-pew-sur...