Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

wired.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

341–345 of 345 posts

Re: People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

#341

Post by toinebeg »

bryan_w wrote: post #307
toinebeg wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well if your dependent on oil to make your car run, the people who have the power to block oil distribution have a huge leverage. I don't get your argument, we have a huge dependency on the oil distribution infrastructure. A switch in transportation system is a switch in the type of infrastructure, not a freedom vs control thing.

The difference is incentives. The oil company wants my money whereas public transit is ran on hope and well wishes. Winds shift and policy can change at any time

Well not on hope and well wishes, more on planning and political will. As the oil, If your gas station is filled it's not only a thanks you the money you give the oil company but a large infrastructure work and political and geopolitical framework that make it happen.

Re: People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

#342

Post by scotty79 »

osigurdson wrote: post #325
scotty79 wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Status symbol, larger shopping (cargo bikes weren't ever a thing due to lack of bike paths), vacation, business.

Everything other than status symbol seems legitimate

All reasons are legitimate. But with proper action all can be addressed and diminished. They weren't in Poland. So now we are drowning in traffic and parking issues just like everybody else despite superior dwelling style.

You asked why Polish people bought cars if they didn't need them.

The answer is that they started needing them. Large shopping malls popped up on the outskirts of cities not easily accessible without a car.

Trains and other mass transit didn't really improve to meet the demand for travel from richer populace. Often it deteriorated. People were forced to substitute public offering that didn't keep up with private car ownership. Public enterprises are hard and when the government fails people invest in personal facilities to get by.

People buing cars is a sign of the community dropping the ball on the mobility needs of the people.

Re: People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

#343

Post by slothtrop »

exe34 wrote: post #319
slothtrop wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's far more cumbersome outside of cities because of distance/time and unreliable alternate transportation. It might as well not even be an option, if one decides to go without then they are consciously absorbing the inconvenience because it's an important ideological issue to them.

No they're choosing to live somewhere.

Not even sure what you're trying to say here. People tend to live where they work, and that can be rural areas. If you're saying they should be faulted for that choice, it doesn't make much sense. Few people move there in the first place, mostly young people leave to go to the city.

Re: People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

#344

Post by ghusto »

sktrdie wrote: post #335
ghusto wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is likely an age thing. I suspect you're without a family? I think what he's getting at is that we cycle everywhere, except when we can't, which matches my experience.

You're seriously driving around Amsterdam in a car? But why when a bicycle is 10x faster and easier?

I generally don't drive anywhere that's under 15Km away, but there are exceptions. Taking the family to certain places just isn't feasible by bike sometimes.

Re: People hate the idea of car-free cities until they live in one

#345

Post by Djvacto »

mike_hearn wrote: post #56
tejohnso wrote: post #12

Not even sure how you'd start off hating the idea. Less noise, less pollution, shorter commute, cheaper infrastructure, more green, more walking, improved health...I mean...just off the top of my head I'm thinking of tons of advantages. I can't think of a single disadvantage. The only reason I need a car is because the city / neighbourhood is configured around the expectation that everyone has a car.

There are certainly disadvantages. I live in a very car-unfriendly city that invests heavily in public transport. Amongst other things, this implies that they don't invest in things like car parking space. Most residents don't have cars and cannot have cars because there are far fewer parking spaces in apartment blocks than the number of people living there. Problems include: 1. My wife (who runs a small service busi…

This is a very late comment, but in case anyone else is looking at this thread in the future:

A quick google search [0][1] seems to prove #5 false, specifically the bit about roads bringing in more in taxes than they cost to maintain. The first article is from 2011 and is about the US.

[0] - https://pirg.org/edfund/resources/do-roads-pay-for-themselve... [1] - https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiative...

Post reply on HN