Car-lite Neighborhoods - Background

For those of us who have traveled a bit, and seen the car-free or car-lite centers of European towns with quaint streets from Medieval times, strolled the quiet walkable/bikeable streets of the Netherlands after riding their excelling trains, been in India during the age of cycling and mopeds and then again after in their age of cars, or wandered through the rebuilt cities of China with their wide multi-mode streets along with the ancestral parks with wandering paths, the impact of cars on our lives is perhaps a bit more noticeable than for our countrymen at large.

I've recently been fond of the technocratic side of cycling and autos, delving into the impact of cars on city pollution, noise, emissions, and hazards, and the relative math of transportation modes, and the uncertain Faustian bargain of EV's and self-driving cars.  I've advocated for cycling for years, from the days of recreation pathways (rails to trails and river-edge paths, etc.) to the seize-the-lane notion of shared roadways (and the now-infamous sharrows), to more recent complete streets with marked bike lanes, to current best-practices with bollards, bike-boxes, green-wave lights, and dedicated side-paths.

I've done the math on land area dedicated to cars, the drivers of sprawl, and the impacts on happiness and health.  I've seen the analysis of ponzi-economics of suburbia, and that of transit- and housing-deprived cities.  For me, the options are clear and the choices are obvious.


What I must now admit is that painting a data-driven picture of what is wrong with car-centric cities and lifestyles in the hopes of winning converts is a losing approach.  For every deeply-considered numbers-thinking convert, there are a dozen more who immediately get their hackles up and react defensively to protect their cars.  Since the early days of cars, some drivers have seen cyclists and pedestrians as enemies, and it's certainly no better now.  We're now maybe 4 generations into the great experiment of post-war highways and car-centric lives, and most drivers today outside of the largest cities have never known transit, and fewer still effective mass transit.

What fraction of ambitious young Americans have been in a car-lite city? What fraction of busy family-age parents have spent much time living on quiet, car-free street?  How many have lusted over a sharp, expensive automobile, or simply dreamed of the day they turned 16 and could drive their first jalopy?


So, now that I've decided that deep understanding isn't enough, what is a marketing approach that will work?  In my business experience, real-world examples that can be experienced first-hand work better than presentations and brochures.  Maybe what we need instead of books and articles stating all the facts, is some feel-better examples here in the US of areas that "work" without cars?

For me, reading "Curbing Traffic" by the Bruntlett's was the turning point for my thinking.   Sure, they had lots of good examples and discussion on infrastructure along with lifestyle color, but this latest book focuses a lot more on the lived experience of a car-lite existence than their earlier book "Building the Cycling City", or another great book "Copenhagenize" by Collville-Andersen, or Speck's excellent "Walkable City".  Rather than complaining about the ills of our modern suburbs (which are indeed many!), let's present a lifestyle as it could be - healthier, friendlier, safer, more independent, more equitable, cheaper, and along the way greener, more sustainable, and less CO2 generating.

Let's not "war on cars" in the mainstream, however richly deserved that may be; instead, let's just ignore cars and quietly relegate them to longer odd-ball trips or those with painful commutes, and paint a more wholesome picture of a life where walking and cycling works for most trips and we simply don't need a car for many errands.  Let's meet struggling young families where they are (and who among us hasn't struggled in some way during those early child years?) and show a better way to live, with a richer world of local interactions for young children and more autonomy for teens.  As we accomplish this, let's help those already without cars -- the elderly, infirm, and financially disadvantaged -- have a good life.

So, we need examples of livable neighborhoods.  Where are such places in the US?

 

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