The car is not the future: On the myth of motorized freedom
9 days ago
- #sustainability
- #urban planning
- #car culture
- The idea that owning a car is a default requirement for adult life is questioned, highlighting how cities and economies are built around this assumption.
- The concept of cars as freedom is critiqued, revealing the reality of traffic, costs, and urban design favoring automobiles.
- Historical context shows how streets were once shared spaces before automakers reshaped public perception, blaming pedestrians for accidents.
- Policy and infrastructure changes, like highways and parking lots, reinforced car dominance, marginalizing other forms of transportation.
- Experiments like removing traffic signals and Sweden's Dagen H switch demonstrate that less control can lead to safer, more cautious behavior.
- The true cost of car culture is hidden by subsidies and externalities, with gasoline prices not reflecting environmental and social impacts.
- Philosopher André Gorz argued that cars, marketed as freedom, create debt, isolation, and dependence, fragmenting social and urban life.
- Generational shifts show younger people driving less and treating cars as tools, not status symbols, signaling a cultural change.
- Policy changes, like decriminalizing jaywalking, reflect a reevaluation of car-centric laws and their disproportionate impact on marginalized communities.
- The article calls for reimagining urban design to prioritize people over cars, challenging the normalization of car dependency.