Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by adrianN 5474 days ago
"overcrowded urban area that's big enough to need to drive everywhere anyway (or take a cab). All those people have to go somewhere."

I don't think that conclusion is true. First of all there doesn't have to be a reason to drive to the other side of the city, if urban planning was done properly and everything you need for your daily life is within walking distance. Secondly, high population density makes public transport highly efficient, so instead of taking a taxi, you can take a train or a bus.
1 comments
jarrodtaylor 5474 days ago
Most of our cities (maybe all?) haven't been planned that way though. They usually start out as a small town, then they get a large influx of people and businesses who all want different things, and the city ends up growing by leaps and bounds with very little planning. Then it happens again and again, in waves of growth. Even if the expansion was somehow planned well, the existing part of the city won't be prepared.

Also, there are plenty of reasons to travel around town that don't involve what you need in your daily life. What about when your friends want to meet at a bar on the other side of town? If that's 5 blocks, no big deal. If that's 15 miles it becomes a problem.

High population density doesn't make public transportation efficient, good planning does. If the public transportation system is designed for a city of 2 million, and the city grows to 7 million, the public transportation system won't be effifcient, or pleasant to use, at all. The unpleasantness and eneffieciency is one of the reasons so many people have cars to begin with. Private transportation takes you where you want to go, when you want to go there, in an environment of your choosing. As is mentioned in other comments here, walking when the weather is bad (cold north, too humid south) is very unpleasant no matter what.

link
jarek 5473 days ago
"As is mentioned in other comments here, walking when the weather is bad (cold north, too humid south) is very unpleasant no matter what."

Sure, but the alternatives can be more unpleasant still. Last winter I had a walking commute of 12 minutes in Toronto. You'd have a difficult time finding someone who found a 45-60 minute drive through congested and frankly miserable GTA winter roads less unpleasant.

link