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> Those parking minimums and car centric developments continue to be policy because people continue choosing it This is unambiguously true, but at the same tim

> Those parking minimums and car centric developments continue to be policy because people continue choosing it This is unambiguously true, but at the same time it's not an answer. There's a deeper problem here that I don't think you can dismiss with "well, people vote for it". Yeah. And people voted for redlining, and people voted for school segregation. It is very hard not to see (growing up in such places and visiting occasionally still) a deep-seated kind of racism driving a whole lot of that separation, much more than "I want cars". You see elsewhere in the thread the predictable dog-whistles of "crime"--but rural crime is prevalent, too! It's just crime perpetuated by...well...people who look like those worried about crime. You see right-wing influencers on YouTube getting strapped to go to cities or even to Subway restaurants and it's not because of actual incidents--one's more likely to commit suicide with a firearm than to have to "defend oneself". It's just saying the quiet part loud. At some point we're going to need a societal unfucking, and this is symptomatic (but not causative) of why we need it.

vel0city 3y ago
Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be dismissive as a "well, people vote for it" kind of way. I'm just trying to point out its not just that these things appeared or happened without the majority's consent which is what people seem to continue to suggest over and over. These policies exist because they're popular at least with those who actually get out and vote in local elections, that's all I'm trying to say. And we won't successfully get rid of these policies in a lot of the country until we change the culture, which is challenging. I definitely agree that there's strong overlaps with those demanding far flung remote suburbs, car-centric infrastructure, gun culture, and right-wing ideology. These people want their castles and their tanks to drive around. I do agree this is probably an overall unhealthy culture for our society and do vote against it. In those town halls people argue against densification because "the wrong people" will come into their town, that adding busses will only lead to increased crime rates, etc. I continue to proselytize to those around me about better transit, traffic soothing, right-sizing vehicle choices with realistic needs, pushing for sensible densification, better mixing of zoning, etc. and continue voting for policies to move the needle.

vel0city 3y ago

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be dismissive as a "well, people vote for it" kind of way. I'm just trying to point out its not just that these things appeared or happened without the majority's consent which is what people seem to continue to suggest over and over. These policies exist because they're popular at least with those who actually get out and vote in local elections, that's all I'm trying to say. And we won't successfully get rid of these policies in a lot of the country until we change the culture, which is challenging. I definitely agree that there's strong overlaps with those demanding far flung remote suburbs, car-centric infrastructure, gun culture, and right-wing ideology. These people want their castles and their tanks to drive around. I do agree this is probably an overall unhealthy culture for our society and do vote against it. In those town halls people argue against densification because "the wrong people" will come into their town, that adding busses will only lead to increased crime rates, etc. I continue to proselytize to those around me about better transit, traffic soothing, right-sizing vehicle choices with realistic needs, pushing for sensible densification, better mixing of zoning, etc. and continue voting for policies to move the needle.