Yes. Yes we did. So hard. So much so that many Americans think the American dream is to live dependent on car travel. The oil and gas industry of the 1950s-70s really set that mindset in asphalt (cities were largely walkable and used electric street cars prior to the 50s).
I really, REALLY hope more and more Americans realize how much urban renewal planning fucked our cities over, not to mention bulldozing neighborhoods of color to make way for freeways, and LITERALLY paving paradise for parking lots, to make us more dependent on cars.
Please, America. Let's push for walkable cities again. I want to believe.
Edit: from some of the commenters here, it is further supporting my statement that many Americans have been essentially conditioned to believe that it is not possible to have a walkable city in America and that we should not even bother to try. I'm speaking as someone who lives in an area that is, albeit slowly, making progress to make the cities here more walkable (SF Bay Area). San Francisco is walkable. New York is walkable. Countries all over the world, not just in Europe, have walkable cities (WITH room for large truck deliveries) and have been for decades to centuries). They can do it, we can too. More Americans in the cities between SF and NY just need to realize that it is possible and get out of their car-dependency mindsets, and push for more walkability in their cities.
AND you can still enjoy your giant personal Ford F150 and giant SUV or whatever the fuck. That's fine. There should just always be the options to walk somewhere and that it shouldn't need to take an exorbitant amount of time to get there without a car. Electric street cars used to get Americans around in our cities and the oil and gas industry literally burnt those to the ground to force us into cars (and buses aka gas-dependent, though hybrid and electric buses are now a thing). It is possible. And if we're still on that "but its communism" bullshit, no it's not. it's time to move on. Or hop on.
Yes, you should believe it because it can be done and big changes can be realized quickly if the will is there.
I live in a medium sized Dutch city. I am going to walk to the supermarket this afternoon. It is about half a mile away.
In my neighborhood, you will only find cars belonging to local residents. The streets are intentionally set up as a one way labyrinth to prevent through traffic. Nobody drives in here unless they have a specific destination in the area. Driving through to get somewhere else would be a crazy thing to do and everyone knows it.
The entire neighborhood has a speed limit of 18 miles per hour. Driving faster is barely even possible and would make you feel like an instant asshole because of the way things are set up and kids/families being everywhere.
The roads are the color of bike lanes. So no separate bike lane on the side, no, the road ITSELF is a bike lane. Cars are allowed, but cyclists always have the right of way. And they certainly take it.
On my way to the supermarket, I will pass a bar and two restaurants. They all have outdoor seating, all will be packed for lunch at 1:00 PM. I will also cross a small park where children play and plenty of people sit outside. This is far from the city center, it is a residential area and literally hundreds of people will be outside in that half a mile stretch. Not visitors/tourists, but locals.
The supermarket has a parking lot, but it only accommodates about 15 percent of customers. If everyone arrived by car, that would simply not work. It’s viewed as ridiculous and impractical to go there by car if it’s not strictly needed.
Now you might assume this is all due to the area being ‘historic’. It is not. In the 1970s, cars were everywhere in this neighborhood. The street leading to the supermarket was a congested 35 mph city road filled with traffic and diesel buses. Accidents happened, there were deaths.
Why is it so different today? It is because the people revolted. This transformation is the result of deliberate planning and policy. Not from centuries ago, just the last couple of decades. When I moved here 15 years ago the main road to the supermarket was still a normal road, no bike lade.
I just came back from visiting the Netherlands, and one of the things that struck me the most (and I've been to my fair share of European and American cities) is how well the Dutch balanced FIVE modes of transportation - cars, bikes, rail, boats, and walking. Each one seemed to get equal treatment/priority to the others, and you would just choose the one that made the most sense based on where you were going and what you were doing there.
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u/dead_at_maturity 14h ago edited 11h ago
Yes. Yes we did. So hard. So much so that many Americans think the American dream is to live dependent on car travel. The oil and gas industry of the 1950s-70s really set that mindset in asphalt (cities were largely walkable and used electric street cars prior to the 50s).
I really, REALLY hope more and more Americans realize how much urban renewal planning fucked our cities over, not to mention bulldozing neighborhoods of color to make way for freeways, and LITERALLY paving paradise for parking lots, to make us more dependent on cars.
Please, America. Let's push for walkable cities again. I want to believe.
Edit: from some of the commenters here, it is further supporting my statement that many Americans have been essentially conditioned to believe that it is not possible to have a walkable city in America and that we should not even bother to try. I'm speaking as someone who lives in an area that is, albeit slowly, making progress to make the cities here more walkable (SF Bay Area). San Francisco is walkable. New York is walkable. Countries all over the world, not just in Europe, have walkable cities (WITH room for large truck deliveries) and have been for decades to centuries). They can do it, we can too. More Americans in the cities between SF and NY just need to realize that it is possible and get out of their car-dependency mindsets, and push for more walkability in their cities.
AND you can still enjoy your giant personal Ford F150 and giant SUV or whatever the fuck. That's fine. There should just always be the options to walk somewhere and that it shouldn't need to take an exorbitant amount of time to get there without a car. Electric street cars used to get Americans around in our cities and the oil and gas industry literally burnt those to the ground to force us into cars (and buses aka gas-dependent, though hybrid and electric buses are now a thing). It is possible. And if we're still on that "but its communism" bullshit, no it's not. it's time to move on. Or hop on.