[mumblemumble]

Parent here. I would love better public transit in more places. Herding the family around on buses and trains is relatively easy, and the kids enjoy it. It's visiting grandparents out in the suburbs that sucks. Cars are expensive enough as it is, and cars big enough to accommodate a family of more than four can be a real financial hit.

Back when I lived in a town that had a car-free street, it seemed like the people at the retirement home on that mall had it fairly good. Even the folks with limited mobility were still out on the sidewalk, living in the world and interacting with the wider community. Compare to my grandmother who's living in an area with no sidewalks. She basically never goes outside - can't go outside - except for brief moments when going to and from the car. It's a life without much sunlight. It's bleak.

My suspicion is that a lot of the fewer cars whataboutism comes from having never known anything different, and therefore being stuck imagining that a world with fewer cars would be the kind of environment they're used to, minus the cars, and not much else. It can be so much more than that, though. It's amazing how much great stuff a community has to forego in order to make room for all the cars. They take up so much space. Physically, but also financially and psychologically.