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Car culture is more of a symptom than the cause of most of the problems.
Cars aren’t the cause of houses being identical, roads being identical, etc. A culture of trying to battle for the cheapest implementation of everything is the cause. We want the most bang for our buck for everything. You get that by lowering costs using pre fabricated parts and reusing safe ideas.
And comparing the “identity” of cultures that existed for thousands of years to that of the Americas is arguing in bad faith on the topic. The push to drive things to be cheaper has been priority for a much greater portion of our history.
Homogenization of culture isn’t a lot of “bang for my buck.” In fact I’d say it’s actually extracting a lot of value out of culture for the sake of someone else’s profit. In a word commodification.
It is, though.
You get all the functionality for the lower price tag. That’s not saying it’s a good thing. That’s the mentality that leads to it, though.
Yep! We can see in some archaeological sites where pottery and plates went from a luxury to a mass produced commodity. Its fucking awesome, if you ask me. I wouldnt mind more, not less similarities. Once it looks like commie blocks we can stop and add some paint or a facade.
I like this video but the illusion of choice is not really the basis for an identity.
You must live in a city if you feel that way
Most people live in cities, and the video mentions that it is about cities in the first 10 seconds.
Bold of you to assume they even clicked the link
You’re right, when I left that comment I hadn’t watched the video. Now that I have, I feel like I’m covered in awkward teenage angst.
The video gives examples of “look at these cities with thousands of years of culture compared to cities in North America.”
And doesn’t highlight any of the benefits cars bring. Heres some arbitrary arguments (to keep in the style of the video):
Person needs to do a midnight move from an abusive situation, but can’t because they have to wait for the bus/train and can only carry on a few belongings.
Person needs medical care, not ambulance worthy, but can’t stand on a train for an hour.
Hit rock bottom and lost your shelter? You can sleep in your car. It’s way better than a train station.
Want to go camping/hike/climb anywhere? Public transit can’t accommodate everyone’s schedule/place to be.
Agree though, we need a better solution for parking.
None of the places outside North America mentioned in the video have completely banned cars. The video is mostly talking about reducing car dependence and increasing options for transport rather than banning them completely.
Also every situation you mentioned can be solved with a taxi or rental car. We can still do those things without having to drive everywhere for everything.
Yeah but all taxis look the same, most have a monopoly or at best an oligopoly in major cities. Doesn’t that “rob us of our individualism?” and ability to break free of massive corporations/governments?
Why rely on yet another corporation for a car when I can just use my own at any time on a whim?
Again, the point is more about car dependence. Why be forced into driving everywhere when you could have other options available?
The solution to car dependence is to depend on another corporation gate keeping the cars?
Help me unsee the irony here
The solution is in the video… It’s walkable, cycle-able cities with good public transport.
Gas companies are the biggest oligopoly. How can you “break free” from those corporations when you depend on a car to basic subsistence?
Yeah agreed, I’m all for getting rid of them too. Restricting peoples movement isn’t the answer though
Like the restriction of movement car centric infrastructure impose kver everyone that dosen’t bow to big oil and big auto.
The person under an abusive situation easily loses the car key to the abuser.
Ambulances get stuck all the time in congestioned cities and that’s a problem.
A car should never be someone’s night shelter, that person is homeless in that case. Houses, not cars, can solve the problem.
Want to do a special trip where car is the most convenient option? You can rent one out. If you only use a car a few times a year, buying one is a terrible waste of money and street space.
You’re playing semantics and missing the point, but whatever, let’s play.
There’s a good chance the victim has a friend or someone they trust that could drive. In your world, they still have to wait for the fucking bus or at a sketchy train station at 2am - both on a public schedule that everyone’s aware of, including the abuser.
What about my not ambulance worthy scenario? Again are they just going to stand on the train with a broken foot? Otherwise yes, ambulances can run into congestion which isn’t great, but more that’s more of an engineering issue.
I’ve slept in my car, even with houses for rent and homeless shelters I could’ve stayed at (they sound better on paper than they are in person).
For those “special trips” I use it a lot more than twice a year lol. I should also mention my vehicle is a cheap POS so I’m not driving some fancy ass truck around. I’m also willing to pay more for the convenience of not having to go to a rental store every time, while having to lug equipment around. Rental stores are lump summed too, at least in ownership I can spread the cost out to maintain some cash flow
