Europe, cars, and the American dream
Ben Werdmuller, on making America more like Europe:
If I could change one thing it would actually be car culture. So much is related to that: what psychologically makes it more attractive to be in a little cocoon by yourself instead of in a tram or a bus with other people, even if it makes more traffic and more pollution? Fix that, fix so much else.
Hoo boy, America's car culture is a Whole Thing and I'm not well-versed enough to really break it down. If you're reading this, you probably have first-hand experience that tells you a lot already. If you'd like to learn more, I'd suggest starting with:
- The War on Cars podcast
- Not Just Bikes on YouTube
- Shifter on YouTube
In brief, America has been designed, since the early 20th century, to prioritize cars over pretty much everything else. Most of Europe's cities are older, and haven't been mangled as badly.[1] America has it bad for cars, to our collective detriment.
I think that if I could change anything about the USA, it would be guns. Cars are an extremely close second, if not a dead heat. I personally loathe guns and gun culture, and the way we have decided children's lives are a reasonable exchange for pervasive guns is sickening. It's the guns, stupid, and Everytown for Gun Safety is one group doing great work on this issue, if you want to get involved or support them.
There are many caveats and counter-examples to this, but I feel comfortable making the generalization. ↩︎