[mercer]

One explanation could be that people are lazy and will generally opt for the conveniences a car if the perceived disadvantages are relatively small. I and many people I know probably would consider a car if we lived in a city optimized for that.

Instead, because the city is optimized for cycling and public transport, I live in a culture where taking even public transport is frowned upon if the bicycle commute is < 30 mins (and even an hour, perhaps).

I think this argument applies to many things. In the city where I live, Amsterdam, there's (almost) always a supermarket at walking distance (or a 5-10 min. bike ride). In fact, this is true for the whole country, as far as I know. 'Hypermarkets' like wal-mart or Carrefoure never really took off. The reason for this is partly culture, but largely it's because of regulation that protects smaller shops.

Most people consider it a very good thing that we can walk to the supermarket and that we are, in effect, 'forced' to have a healthy lifestyle and culture.

Anyways, I just wanted to share how the fact that streets will fill up and hypermarkets will most likely be successful doesn't mean that this is a good thing, or that it's in our best interest.