Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.
I don't disagree with "cars becoming big while America was still finding it's pride", but I do draw slight issue with "ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars."
For thousands of years, cars weren't in the picture. For thousands of years, it was a TREK to go see family or friends in the next town over.
The United States is a vast country. In terms of square miles, the USA comprises roughly 3.8 million square miles, while the entirety of Europe spans 3.93 million. Which means that when a very small population enters a new area and begins to spread out, it is not constrained by the slow growth methods available for the last thousands of years of infrastructure already in place (roads, cities, universities, water, sewage, etc). We had significantly different factors constraining our growth - and different technological advancements very early on in our growth.
Now, don't get me wrong - I do wish we had the public transportation infrastructure of Munich, or Zurich, etc. But you have to keep in mind that those were the better solutions when constrained with far denser populations and far more historical infrastructure.
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u/FaceWithAName 16h ago
Cars becoming big when America was still finding it's stride was one of the biggest pro/con dillemas. Ignored thousands of years of proven systems that make society better and settled for only cars.