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by colechristensen 28 days ago
It's quite efficient use of land. Costco parking lots tend to be full, people tend to leave Costco with full carts and go once or twice a month. Direct to consumer warehouses should be encouraged not discouraged by the environmental social use advocate kinds of people.

It results in fewer miles driven and more being done per mile driven. Each parking space gets more done per parking space. There's less retail worker overhead and the people that do work are paid better and have a higher quality of life.
2 comments
claw-el 28 days ago
This is in comparison to the delivery center methodology by e commerce where the land use for delivery driver is somewhere further away from what is needed for community events, and every delivery truck is filled to the brim, way more full than what each consumer vehicle would be filled up with?
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colechristensen 28 days ago
Big trucks filled with stuff delivering a few things to each of many places is less efficient than personal cars delivering big loads with lots of things to one place.

Your SUV with a Costco haul is probably driving less distance per person and carrying MORE per person while being a smaller more efficient vehicle.

Amortizing fuel per item or distance per item I'm betting the personal vehicle wins while also being better able to deliver perishable/frozen items.

(also the likes of Amazon are terrible to employees in order to make margin while Costco is the opposite)

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fabioborellini 28 days ago
The problem isn’t the efficiency of car use, it’s car dependency. If retail is only available in the huge units it’s impossible to access those without a car. And if people end up owning cars, even against their will, they will end up using those daily.

The goal is to avoid the car-centric lifestyle, not to optimise it. Maybe that is a totally utopian idea in the us, though.

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colechristensen 27 days ago
owning cars against their will? that’s just absurd

if your objection stands even when the effects you claim to be your motivation aren’t a problem you’re just a zealot and should reevaluate your priorities

If you don’t want a car, don’t get one. There are plenty of places where you can live an entirely walkable life.

Stop trying to reorganize society around your preferences.

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