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> A lot of Americans talk as though needing a car is a law of nature I can't speak for other people (especially those who do live in really-car-first parts of the US), but for me it's definitely not a law of nature. I've been single with no car, married with no car, had a kid with no car, had a kid uptown with no car. Can it work? Sure, with some concessions it can totally work. But things like taking the newborn to the doctor using public transportation _suck_, even though I consider the public transit system _good_. > Most of the world's households do not own a car. Right, and the sort of logistics that sucked for me with just strolling one kid in downtown Toronto suck for them too, often tenfold. Where I grew up (Brazil), it's common for single moms of 4 to need to take 3-4 buses to get to their first job of the day. There's plate rotation, vehicle ownership tax, tolls, alternative forms of public transit, uber, but also high crime, floods, corruption, inequality, you name it. The cars-vs-public-transit discussion doesn't even begin to scratch the transportation problems in Sao Paulo, let alone the environmental impact. For my specific situation and my level of disposable income, a car happens to make life much easier, but I'm fully aware that cars aren't a one-glove-fit-all solution, just as I'm aware that making sweeping political commentary wrt city design isn't going to cut it as a solution to the many different types of challenges involved in optimizing transportation in a non-idealized world. > You're painting it as if the only people who could possibly disagree with you are this tiny box of single European instagramming metrosexuals Not at all! Not having a car does work for a lot of people, and in places like the Netherlands, one can even happily bike everywhere with their kids without getting almost killed by taxis. But cars can be undeniably useful for saving time and for carrying things around. People giving labor use cars to go to the hospital for a reason. People uber for a reason. People drive in much of the rural world for a reason. I'm not sure what's there to disagree with. > recognise that you do have a choice in the matter; recognise that approaches like the currently-under-discussion California SB 827 Generally speaking, the problem with social activism is that most people don't have the time, energy or interest to pour into the political game, and it's not even clear that a half decent solution would emerge even if they did (see, e.g., housing in SF). For my particular case, as I mentioned before, I'm not american and I'm about as unmotivated to be politically invested in San Francisco as I am in Sao Paulo. > A good life without a car is possible Yes, it is, but currently, as I mentioned, it unfortunately involves making a lot of concessions. If a better option came along, I'd totally be open to it. As I said, I've held the anti-car position for a long time, and I'm certainly not shy to change camps again. |