That’s right, car-free living is in the news this week.
The New York Times featured a story, “Is Happiness Still That New Car Smell?” by Micheline Maynard about the increasing trend of people going car-free because of the recession.
Maynard writes, “The recession and a growing awareness of the environment are causing many people to reassess their automobile ownership. After more than a century in which an automobile represented the American dream, car enthusiasm may no longer be a part of Americans’ DNA.”
Read the article here.
And Bob Sawatski wrote about the auto accident that made him go car-free in his Writer’s in the Range column this week.
“The more you drive, the dumber you get. Driving makes people act like rats trapped in a maze. You lose touch with your senses, your imagination and your compassion for other travelers on the road of life. Air-bagged, air-conditioned, locked in and desensitized, drivers assume they’re safe,” Sawatski writes.
Read his essay here.
Can’t wait to get a trailer for my bike so I can cycle around town with my baby! And maybe a new bike while I am at it….
Alas, car-free-ness isn’t an option for many Americans, locked in auto-only monocultures, rendering any other transportation mode impractical and often unsafe (even for a quick trip to get a jug of milk). If we hadn’t subsidized suburbia (and the specific form that it takes in the U.S.) car-free or car-light lifestyles would be entirely possible for those of us who don’t live in NYC, Portland or a handful of other dense places. Time to eliminate the subsidies, at the very least, and subsidize walkable density, in the best case.
Thanks for commenting, Reid! Yes, we so heavily subsidize automobiles in so many ways, not just infrastructure, but by paying for more police, state troopers, ambulances, emergency room doctors, etc. I agree with you, it’s definitely time for the U.S. to rethink our model of suburbia. Everyone should at least have a choice whether to walk or ride a bike, especially for short urban trips, and that’s just not the case right now in much of America.