Exactly. No one’s advocating that walking be a drop-in replacement for all our driving trips. What this community wants is neighborhoods dense and walkable enough that you don’t have to travel 3 miles just to get groceries. Or if you do, there ought to at least be a high-quality bike path and/or public transit to get you there and back. Car-oriented urban design just needlessly spreads things out and needlessly segregates uses. Neighborhoods should be denser and mixed-use.
Walk short distances on quiet, low-stress streets, having chance encounters with friends and neighbors? I can see why people are afraid of this nightmarish hellscape! /s
Seriously, I do sort of understand. Decades of isolation and media brainwashing has made Americans literally terrified of each other. We have a huge loneliness epidemic, and research finds that those sort of loose, community ties are what would best fix it. Yet, we refuse, and cower behind the wheel of our Suburban Assault Vehicles.
![[meme] Pedestrians shouldn't be relegated to the sidelines](https://lemmy.world/pictrs/image/6b416d86-6a93-45bc-9275-c7c1d7a52943.webp){kind=link}
Exactly. No one’s advocating that walking be a drop-in replacement for all our driving trips. What this community wants is neighborhoods dense and walkable enough that you don’t have to travel 3 miles just to get groceries. Or if you do, there ought to at least be a high-quality bike path and/or public transit to get you there and back. Car-oriented urban design just needlessly spreads things out and needlessly segregates uses. Neighborhoods should be denser and mixed-use.
Walk short distances on quiet, low-stress streets, having chance encounters with friends and neighbors? I can see why people are afraid of this nightmarish hellscape! /s
Seriously, I do sort of understand. Decades of isolation and media brainwashing has made Americans literally terrified of each other. We have a huge loneliness epidemic, and research finds that those sort of loose, community ties are what would best fix it. Yet, we refuse, and cower behind the wheel of our Suburban Assault Vehicles.