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.
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.
Honestly, I suspect this is a large part of why cities tend to be so socially liberal. When you have to exist in the same space as people of all manner of different skin tones, appearances, lifestyles, religions, etc., you eventually realize that they’re all just normal people wanting to live out their lives, get groceries, get to school/work, etc.
It’s when you’re isolated away from everyone and everyone that paranoia kicks in. When you live in suburbia, your house starts to feel like a fortress that needs to be protected from everyone, and anyone on the street starts to seem a threat. But when you live in a city, the abundance of people on the streets becomes a source of safety – hard to commit crime when there are so many potential witnesses! There’s a reason crime statistically congregates in places like under freeway overpasses and in dark alleyways and other places with few pedestrians – crime doesn’t like witnesses.
![[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.
Honestly, I suspect this is a large part of why cities tend to be so socially liberal. When you have to exist in the same space as people of all manner of different skin tones, appearances, lifestyles, religions, etc., you eventually realize that they’re all just normal people wanting to live out their lives, get groceries, get to school/work, etc.
It’s when you’re isolated away from everyone and everyone that paranoia kicks in. When you live in suburbia, your house starts to feel like a fortress that needs to be protected from everyone, and anyone on the street starts to seem a threat. But when you live in a city, the abundance of people on the streets becomes a source of safety – hard to commit crime when there are so many potential witnesses! There’s a reason crime statistically congregates in places like under freeway overpasses and in dark alleyways and other places with few pedestrians – crime doesn’t like witnesses.
Parking lots. Don’t forget parking lots! A large proportion of assaults happen in parking lots because there are no witnesses around to help.