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> Humanity has collectively decided cars have more utility than bikes. Humanity has not "collectively" decided to prefer cars over other modes of transit. Oth

> Humanity has collectively decided cars have more utility than bikes. Humanity has not "collectively" decided to prefer cars over other modes of transit. Other countries, most notably the Netherlands, do in fact prefer a much more multi-modal transportation system over a car-centric one like in the United States. Moreover, your comment ignores the contentious history about this decision in the United States, which was very much imposed on many communities without their consent and to the advantage of a select few who benefited from private automobiles over public transport and other modes of transportation like bicycles. I suggest reading historian Peter Nolan's book "Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City" if you are curious.

Retric 3y ago
The Netherlands is unusual in instructive ways here. If everywhere were an extremely flat high population density area we would already have noticeably different infrastructure globally. I suspect E-Bikes will do quite a lot to increase bike infrastructure over time, but that’s the future not how things are today. As to the decision making process, it’s very true that humanity doesn’t hand out power equally. But, while we can strongly disagree with the system that doesn’t actually change what currently exists without action.
- CalRobert 3y ago
  The Netherlands also had a lot of pissed off moms who were furious that drivers kept slaughtering their children. It didn't come easy, there were fistfights over it. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic... But a lot of kids are alive who would be dead without their efforts.
  - Retric 3y ago
    Moms in the Netherlands aren’t that different from moms around the world, and it’s rather insulting to suggest they are. EX: MADD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving The difference is how much kids where biking, which has a lot to do with the utility of biking in a flat high density country. Utility -> Use -> Risk -> Deaths -> Change
    - CalRobert 3y ago
      Yet the US also had high rates of walking and biking among kids in the past. https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Walking-to-school-research-1.pdf https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/... """ In 1969, 48 percent of students in grades K through eight (ages 5 through 14) walked or bicycled to school.1  In 2009, only 13 percent of students in grades K through eight walked or bicycled to school.1  In 1969, 89 percent of students in grades K through eight who lived within one mile of school usually walked or bicycled to school.2  In 2009, only 35 percent students in grades K through eight students who lived within a mile of school usually walked or bicycled to school even once a week. """
      - Retric 3y ago
        Getting to and from school was safer than walking around normally due to crossing guards. This is a global phenomenon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_guard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_guard From an American perspective the temptation is to bring up suburbs etc, but being bike unfriendly is a global thing. It’s really about the physical effort to travel X distance and therefore the reasonableness of biking such distances to see a friend.

Retric 3y ago

The Netherlands is unusual in instructive ways here. If everywhere were an extremely flat high population density area we would already have noticeably different infrastructure globally. I suspect E-Bikes will do quite a lot to increase bike infrastructure over time, but that’s the future not how things are today. As to the decision making process, it’s very true that humanity doesn’t hand out power equally. But, while we can strongly disagree with the system that doesn’t actually change what currently exists without action.

CalRobert 3y ago
The Netherlands also had a lot of pissed off moms who were furious that drivers kept slaughtering their children. It didn't come easy, there were fistfights over it. https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bicycle-capital-world-transport-cycling-kindermoord https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/may/05/amsterdam-bic... But a lot of kids are alive who would be dead without their efforts.
- Retric 3y ago
  Moms in the Netherlands aren’t that different from moms around the world, and it’s rather insulting to suggest they are. EX: MADD https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_Against_Drunk_Driving The difference is how much kids where biking, which has a lot to do with the utility of biking in a flat high density country. Utility -> Use -> Risk -> Deaths -> Change
  - CalRobert 3y ago
    Yet the US also had high rates of walking and biking among kids in the past. https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Walking-to-school-research-1.pdf https://www.walkbiketoschool.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/... """ In 1969, 48 percent of students in grades K through eight (ages 5 through 14) walked or bicycled to school.1  In 2009, only 13 percent of students in grades K through eight walked or bicycled to school.1  In 1969, 89 percent of students in grades K through eight who lived within one mile of school usually walked or bicycled to school.2  In 2009, only 35 percent students in grades K through eight students who lived within a mile of school usually walked or bicycled to school even once a week. """
    - Retric 3y ago
      Getting to and from school was safer than walking around normally due to crossing guards. This is a global phenomenon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_guard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossing_guard From an American perspective the temptation is to bring up suburbs etc, but being bike unfriendly is a global thing. It’s really about the physical effort to travel X distance and therefore the reasonableness of biking such distances to see a friend.