Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
1–10 of 576 posts
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#2the article calls out how “spontaneous encounters” are limited due to the urban planning and issues with American suburbia. Funny how just this morning, and throughout the return to office campaign, the key benefit for coming back to work has repeatedly been stated as the very same potential for “spontaneous encounters,” but with colleagues.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#3the article calls out how “spontaneous encounters” are limited due to the urban planning and issues with American suburbia. Funny how just this morning, and throughout the return to office campaign , the key benefit for coming back to work has repeatedly been stated as the very same potential for “spontaneous encounters,” but with colleagues.
This doesn’t help people who work at small companies. They still get screwed by car focused society without proper work socializing.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#4the article calls out how “spontaneous encounters” are limited due to the urban planning and issues with American suburbia. Funny how just this morning, and throughout the return to office campaign , the key benefit for coming back to work has repeatedly been stated as the very same potential for “spontaneous encounters,” but with colleagues.
This doesn’t help people who work at small companies. They still get screwed by car focused society without proper work socializing.
Ha, so my friend recently accepted a "remote" job. Shortly after he started, they nixed that and started requiring everyone to come to the office most of the time.
The best part is that no one from his team is in the office in his city. So now he has to commute 1.5h a day just to work remotely from the "office."
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#5the article calls out how “spontaneous encounters” are limited due to the urban planning and issues with American suburbia. Funny how just this morning, and throughout the return to office campaign , the key benefit for coming back to work has repeatedly been stated as the very same potential for “spontaneous encounters,” but with colleagues.
“Spontaneous encounters” in a work context are just rebranded interruptions.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#6Most Americans want it to be that way, and that’s why it is that way.
Zoning laws didn’t push people into a car lifestyle. Americans created those zoning laws because they like the car lifestyle and want to perpetuate it. The same is true for suburban zoning in general. People have not been tricked into this: this is what they want.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#7Most Americans want it to be that way, and that’s why it is that way. Zoning laws didn’t push people into a car lifestyle. Americans created those zoning laws because they like the car lifestyle and want to perpetuate it. The same is true for suburban zoning in general. People have not been tricked into this: this is what they want.
I too would like the car lifestyle ... from 1950.
Sadly, we have created a monster. I suspect many Americans now don't even know what a community without cars would look like, that it could even work at all.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#8Most Americans want it to be that way, and that’s why it is that way. Zoning laws didn’t push people into a car lifestyle. Americans created those zoning laws because they like the car lifestyle and want to perpetuate it. The same is true for suburban zoning in general. People have not been tricked into this: this is what they want.
Most people don't influence zoning policy or understand it at all.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#9The car has done so much damage to our world and most people are completely blind to it. Obesity, climate change, isolation/loneliness, excess deaths/injuries from collisions, out of control housing costs, can all be tied back in a major way to car centric society. And yet people will defend their car and the "convenience" of it like their life depends on it, and force it down the throats of everyone around them. Boggles the mind.
Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection
#10Most Americans want it to be that way, and that’s why it is that way. Zoning laws didn’t push people into a car lifestyle. Americans created those zoning laws because they like the car lifestyle and want to perpetuate it. The same is true for suburban zoning in general. People have not been tricked into this: this is what they want.
I too would like the car lifestyle ... from 1950. Sadly, we have created a monster. I suspect many Americans now don't even know what a community without cars would look like, that it could even work at all.
The average American likely doesn't want a life without cars. That seems to be an HN obsession seemingly (my perception) fueled by people who have lived and stayed in very dense urban areas.
Creating larger spaces that aren't made for cars is great, but people will still need long-range individual transportation.