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Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

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Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#431

Post by marci »

nightski wrote: post #418
april_22 wrote: post #388

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would say bikeability is the best. If you live in any quiter regions of most mid- to large sized cities in western europe and scandinavia you will have access to a huge variety of possibilites, restaurants, bars etc. and can access everything relaviely quick, while living in a quiet area. Biking is also fun imo.

I bike thousands of miles a year. I love it. I also don't want to bike to grocery stores and restaurants. Sweaty in the summer, and we get -30F in the winter and our city tends to be very windy with wind chills down to -60F.

A walkable city means groceries stores at a walkable distance, which means while walking home from wherever you were, you just buy a couple of things missing for tonight's diner. You're at home, no more sugar for a cake? just a 5 min round trip.

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#432

Post by soledades »

soledades wrote: post #427
nightski wrote: post #414

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand there are a few places in America you can live where there are a lot more restaurants densely packed. These also are the highest cost of living places in the world to live. It's not practical to think everyone could live like that. They also are miserable with homeless people, drug addicts, and crime. It also relies on a huge network of people commuting to those jobs to support that area. You can't have…

> 30 restaurants within a few square miles that would be a low number for a middling town in the pre-car era.

also car-oriented planning is a primary driver of high cost of living in the first place, due to its abysmal space-efficiency.

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#433

Post by [deleted] »

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #416
tmh88j wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I lived in New York City my entire life and I am now wanting a house. I am tired of living in an apartment building. This idea that people live together communally within buildings or neighborhoods is very overrated. I feel the same way. I grew up in an urban environment, moved to rural areas, now back in an urban environment. I can't wait to get out of here. Too many people, too much noise and too much energy spen…

There is a middle ground. Walkable suburbs were commonplace in the pre-war era.

[deleted]

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#434

Post by Zee2 »

barnabee wrote: post #339
criddell wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of anti-car people underestimate how much people like their cars. People spend way more on their car than they need to. It's another thing they can customize and personalize. I'm in central Texas and cars are somewhat necessary because of weather. Not enough businesses have employee showers, so biking or walking is often not a realistic option. I also think if real self-driving cars are developed, it's…

I’m anti-car and I love my car! I drive no more than once or twice a month, to get to the coast or the mountains (or all of Europe via ferry/tunnel) or to move heavy stuff around. It didn’t cost me much but it’s reasonably fast and a joy to drive on country roads. I can’t think of anything worse than having to drive every or even most days, to work or the shops or to see friends. I walk almost everywhere, cycle most…

I feel like I'm in a similar boat. You could characterize me as a car enthusiast; I love driving them, looking at them, talking about them, and a weekend drive across the state to sightsee and go camping is just about as good as it gets.

However, I also don't really want to use my car every single day to commute, or do basic chores. I see my car as an exploration/recreation/hobby, and I love it! But do wish that it wasn't necessary for the more boring parts of life, too.

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#435

Post by quantumwannabe »

ryanj20021 wrote: post #398

Check out what we’re doing at Culdesac. We build cities for people, not cars. We’re building a 1000 resident car free neighborhood in Tempe, AZ. It is under construction now. Over 25 buildings are vertical and the first residents move in later this year.

No, you're building an off-campus college dorm for ASU. Calling that development a city is a joke. You have fewer amenities within walking distance than the apartments closer to the campus, which have parking.

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#436

Post by novantadue »

dont__panic wrote: post #142
AlwaysRock wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of the hardest parts about buying a home, apart from all the stuff that isnt fun about buying a home, is finding somewhere that is walkable to... anything. I've rented my whole life and spent my entire adult life in cities. The idea of having to get in the car to get milk or something from the corner store, or have to drive to ANY restaurant, or not have some type of walking/running path within a few blocks of my…

Any success filtering for walkability in the US when buying a home? As far as I can tell, "walkability" scores are borderline useless -- the small town I currently live in has extremely low "walkability," despite being able to walk or bike to everything I need, whereas the large city I just left has extremely high "walkability" -- despite the fact that walking around town was not pleasant due to high volumes of car t…

walkscore.com has heatmaps, theyre very accurate for MN

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#437

Post by scruple »

bbradley406 wrote: post #412
scruple wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've spent quite a bit of time looking at Vermont, specifically Burlington and Montpelier. I have a very good friend from who was born in Burlington and who moved back there to raise his kids. Those two cities are at the top of our list, but I'd also like to explore/research more of New Hampshire, Maine, and western Massachusetts. We spent some time in Maine, on the coast during the early fall, and really enjoyed it.

Having grown up in western MA I'd highly recommend it. There are lots of small towns with back roads for biking. There's also loads of state forest land and great hiking, as the Appalachian Trail passes through the region. The ski mountains are smaller than those to the north, but they're fine for kids and the bigger ones are a short drive away. It's a bit less rugged and outdoorsy than ME, NH or VT but the schools a…

> but the schools are the best out of the lot if that's a concern for you.

That is how I became aware of western Mass, actually. FWIW education is a major driver for us since we have 3 young kids. My thinking waffles a bit because there's a list of criteria in my head, like being walkable, bikeable, having a downtown area, in addition to the more major concerns we have as a family around education, local economy, and affordability. I appreciate the reply!

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#438

Post by atwood22 »

frenchy wrote: post #314
atwood22 wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Why are cars and phones giant these days? Is it because nobody wants smaller ones, or because perverse market incentives have distorted offerings in a chase for product growth? Do you have kids? If you did, you’d know that many people want bigger cars. I drive one of the smallest cars you can buy in the U.S. Now that I have a kid, I’m going to buy a big SUV. Kids require a lot of stuff. Taking them on public transp…

We must have very different kinds of kids. My kids hate the car, it's basically like jail to them, whereas on the bus we can talk and play together. We don't use the bus, but that's because bus service in our area isn't very good.

The kids may not like the car, but I’m sure they like the lifestyle it affords them.

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#439

Post by [deleted] »

aprdm wrote: post #424
nightski wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hot take - walkability is super overrated. I don't want to go to the same 5 resturaunts I can walk to. I like variety. I work from home and don't commute, but when I do go out I want to explore . Another hot take - Being in the middle of a city doesn't make one more social. Actually it can be more lonely ironically. You are surrounded by strangers. In my current suburb I am good friend with all of my neighbors. We sh…

> walkability is super overrated. I don't want to go to the same 5 resturaunts I can walk to. I like variety. I work from home and don't commute, but when I do go out I want to explore. 5? Depends where you live of course, I have 100+ within 20 min walk, easily! > Being in the middle of a city doesn't make one more social. Actually it can be more lonely ironically. You are surrounded by strangers. Depends. If you go…

[deleted]

Re: Too many Americans live in places built for cars – not for human connection

#440

Post by pandaman »

frenchy wrote: post #230
TylerE wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m having a hard time imagining traveling into a area where car-jacking is a credible threat - and yet feeling safe on public transit.

Not in the US, but I grew up in large city in a developing nation. Someone fooling with your car wasn't common, but it wouldn't be a huge surprise either. I regularly took public transit: it was cheap, plentiful, and well used. Obviously you wouldn't do anything silly like stuff a giant money-almost-falling-out wallet in your back pocket, but otherwise I felt perfectly safe.

"Carjacking" is a violent crime involving threatening/assaulting car's owner, I suspect you are thinking of car theft judging by your phrasing.
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