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How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

citylab.com

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Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#41

Post by rootsudo »

yosito wrote: post #4

Anecdotally, I always loved having a car and the sense of independence and freedom that came with it. Then at the age of 25, I moved out of the country to a small, walkable town in Latin America where I either walked, drove my scooter, or took motorcycle taxis everywhere. After two years of living there, I moved back to the US, bought a Jeep, and was super excited to have the autonomy and ability to travel between ci…

My story, but replace it with South East Asia and Jeep for WRX/Miata.

I'm just in the middle, I went back to SEA.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#42

Post by nimbius »

speaking as an engine mechanic for a small chain of auto repair shops, it feels like americans have grown outright apathetic to the commute offered by cars --any car-- in this age.

How do i figure? Maintenance. My most common customer comes in complaining about a noise or a smell and stares at her shoes when asked when the last major service was, what the mileage is, or when the last oil change was. Its almost like drivers have learned to internalize their hatred of the commute into the car itself. Like they just dont want to think about any of it.

Bare brake pads, scored rotors, and boiled oil are all so common it hurts. I once had to spend two weeks rebuilding most of a partially seized engine because a customer couldnt understand why his two year old car idled so rough. a $40 oil change could have prevented what ended up being $8000 in parts and service.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#43

Post by ryanhuff »

eysquared wrote: post #34
couchand wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a parent to a one-and-a-half year old in New York City, and I grew up in a mid-sized midwestern city. I'm obviously biased, but I think we've got it much better off here. A block and a half away is one of the best playgrounds in the city, and three blocks the other direction is another fine playground. Both of them are packed with kids at all hours of the day. When we go visit family in the midwest, we make a poi…

I live in Seattle with a 2 year old and one more on the way. I can't believe I ever considered leaving the city to have kids. I can walk to a coffee shop 3 blocks away without taking 15 minutes to strap my kid in a car seat and the amount of parks we have access to in a short walk in incredible. We take the bus to the zoo and aquarium and my son loves seeing all the people and looking out the window. Being out and ab…

I suspect when your kids become older, your life will become more dictated by your kids activities that you don’t control as much. Sports practices and games, school, etc. These will be unlikely be centered around walking distance from home. And, then, I will welcome you back to the fold of parent indenturedness. :)

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#44

Post by mc32 »

asveikau wrote: post #16
roymurdock wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What happens if/when you have kids. I’ve seen many people biking around Amsterdam with their kids in protective bike high seats. But this is unheard of in many US cities. Minivans are the usual solution. Would you teach them to take public transport or try to live within walking distance of everything? Obvs doesn’t apply if u don’t plan on it, but curious if anyone has found a solution in US cities.

I live in San Francisco and have kids. We walk a lot and my older one is a big fan of muni. I really dislike taking the car out.

With MUNI and BART you always have to make sure you and whoever is with you wash their hands after you get off. They are constantly filthy and you never know who sat in the seat you're in before you, but knowing the kinds of people who hop on, you know the potential for pathogens is considerable.

Of course, hygiene is important any place, but specially the city. Now, on the other hand, maybe it does strengthen your immunity... but it's also not fun getting sick cuz you forgot about washing after MUNI.

Kids are prone to go from dirty surface to face without thinking.

At least in Japan, while vomit in the late evenings is an issue, you know those systems get washed --not so for MUNI.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#45

Post by BRAlNlAC »

antt wrote: post #36

One thing I have always found odd is how no one talks about treating cars like guns. Both have reasonable use cases. Both are fun to tinker with. Both are the main ways people kill other people. And you shouldn't need to use either daily in a civilized society. That's not even talking about the rest of the problems mass car ownership creates, from climate change to destroying neighborhoods to the health crisis sittin…

>And you shouldn't need to use either daily in a civilized society.

This is either some next-level elitism or a false argument. Does the recluse have no place in society? What about the logger, or the Tractor operator? What about the surgeon who is on call, do you want them to bike to the hospital at 2 AM? I sure as hell don't.

If your argument is that no individual should have to own a car, we already live in that America. If your argument is that no one should have to own in a car, get real.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#46

Post by claydavisss »

didibus wrote: post #35
claydavisss wrote: post #14

Americans want to be "apart"! Most people in America see high-density living as a negative. Most want a yard and a garage. The country is huge - you can fit three UKs into the state of Texas alone. We have the space, we have the roads, we like our yards. I have moved our family into progressively rural environments and will continue to do so until the distance to basic necessities is intolerable. In most rural enviro…

Have you lived the alternative? It's obvious people are raised to want large houses and large yards, its cultural, but given we'd know the true experience of both would we still feel that way? I've lived the big city, high density European lifestyle, I lived it in America too, and in Canada, and I've lived the American and Canadian small town life. They're both nice. The small town life is great if the community is h…

Yes, lived in urban environments. When I was young and single I didn't mind density and the resulting loss of personal space. Now that I am older I want as much space between me and my neighbors as possible. Short of a trip to the hospital, I have no plans on sharing a wall with a stranger ever again.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#47

Post by vkareh »

roymurdock wrote: post #12
yosito wrote: post #4

Anecdotally, I always loved having a car and the sense of independence and freedom that came with it. Then at the age of 25, I moved out of the country to a small, walkable town in Latin America where I either walked, drove my scooter, or took motorcycle taxis everywhere. After two years of living there, I moved back to the US, bought a Jeep, and was super excited to have the autonomy and ability to travel between ci…

What happens if/when you have kids. I’ve seen many people biking around Amsterdam with their kids in protective bike high seats. But this is unheard of in many US cities. Minivans are the usual solution. Would you teach them to take public transport or try to live within walking distance of everything? Obvs doesn’t apply if u don’t plan on it, but curious if anyone has found a solution in US cities.

I live in the Midwest and have 3 young kids. We do have a minivan, but more and more we refuse to drive when we can almost as easily walk to parks, farmers market, library, museums, etc. Our oldest can easily walk for a few miles, and we have a stroller for the younger ones. After getting our weekly farmers market loot into the stroller, one of the younger ones walks part of the way, and the other one gets worn in a carrier.

We do this year round: snow, rain, or sunshine.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#48

Post by fastball »

claydavisss wrote: post #14

Americans want to be "apart"! Most people in America see high-density living as a negative. Most want a yard and a garage. The country is huge - you can fit three UKs into the state of Texas alone. We have the space, we have the roads, we like our yards. I have moved our family into progressively rural environments and will continue to do so until the distance to basic necessities is intolerable. In most rural enviro…

Did you RTFA?

It's mostly about driving in cities / commuting to work, not driving across America and living in the rural countryside.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#49

Post by claydavisss »

couchand wrote: post #31
colechristensen wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"America" doesn't consist of LA, NYC, and SF. There are a lot of people even in those places that don't want density but choose the environment because there are jobs, and there are jobs because so few people are willing to leave. (catch 22)

It's true that America isn't only New York City, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, but those three areas do make up over 10% of the population, which is nothing to sneeze at.

LA is almost entirely car-focused.

SF only has a population of one million.

Basically the US has NYC and parts of Chicago as emblems of urban density.

Re: How the Car Keeps Americans Apart

#50

Post by analog31 »

nimbius wrote: post #42

speaking as an engine mechanic for a small chain of auto repair shops, it feels like americans have grown outright apathetic to the commute offered by cars --any car-- in this age. How do i figure? Maintenance. My most common customer comes in complaining about a noise or a smell and stares at her shoes when asked when the last major service was, what the mileage is, or when the last oil change was. Its almost like d…

I'm glad for the light on the dash that blinks when my car needs an oil change. And I'm lucky to have an honest mechanic who keeps me up to date on issues without gouging me.

I've become apathetic about driving too. It's become mostly unpleasant due to congestion. What you say cuts pretty close for me: A car is an appliance.

But also, cars have gotten so reliable that it's easy to stop thinking about what's going on under the hood.

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