tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post4340698639066164073..comments2024-03-27T04:02:47.206-04:00Comments on Old Urbanist: Friday Read: Lewis Mumford on Narrow Streets, Wide Streets, and the CarCharlie Gardnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07317335121565650040noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-215649401424554962014-07-17T09:18:52.559-04:002014-07-17T09:18:52.559-04:00There are advantages and disadvantages of suburbs,...There are advantages and disadvantages of suburbs, especially when sprawl and overdevelopment increase traffic congestion with resulting smog and other air pollution. Human health is also negatively impacted by automobile dependency, heart disease and other ailments occur from reduced physical exercise. If there are greenways and wilderness areas people can have outdoor recreation without breathing in auto exhaust from being limited to roadsides. Most suburban politicians favor developers over protecting green spaces and thus the overcrowding reduces quality of life for all, including newcomers. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-45801971278055071752012-02-29T11:07:53.184-05:002012-02-29T11:07:53.184-05:00Great points, Vince. There is nothing about cars,...Great points, Vince. There is nothing about cars, though, that requires rigidly segregated uses -- rather, it's the use segregation that creates the requirement for a car. Oddly enough, the rise of both use segregation and widespread vehicle ownership occurred almost exactly at the same time (circa 1916-1926), which could make one suspect that it was the start of people driving to commercial establishments which led to calls for their exclusion from largely residential districts (really, not an irrational position to take).Charlie Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07317335121565650040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-54642502443454072952012-02-29T10:07:52.272-05:002012-02-29T10:07:52.272-05:00I'd also add the psychological cost -- not onl...I'd also add the psychological cost -- not only the disorders and traumas arising from crashes and crash injuries, which affect millions of people, but the cumulative effect of driving on stress levels and people's respect for others. From the windshield perspective, after all, every other motorist is a competitor or potential threat (drive defensively!), while pedestrians and bicyclists are mere obstacles.Charlie Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07317335121565650040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-25984243957278845902012-02-28T16:13:53.728-05:002012-02-28T16:13:53.728-05:00Not to mention the enormous cost of the resources ...Not to mention the enormous cost of the resources consumed and damage wrought by car culture...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-33210619547423763362012-02-27T18:40:44.280-05:002012-02-27T18:40:44.280-05:00There's one problem with the freedom that come...There's one problem with the freedom that comes from driving a car, which is that this freedom takes away an infinitesimal slice of freedom away from everyone else who also has a car, and now can't occupy the space that your car is occupying. If there are few other cars, then nobody really notices, but if there are a lot, then those infinitesimal slices start to add up, and the time you save by having a car has to be balanced against the time you waste for everyone else who has a car, since your car is now in their collective way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-82738842275426140332012-02-27T13:33:22.857-05:002012-02-27T13:33:22.857-05:00I forget who said it, but it's a very simple e...I forget who said it, but it's a very simple explanation of the situation. <br /><br />"Automobiles are great servants, but terrible masters."Jeffrey Jakucykhttp://www.jjakucyk.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-85567254824773386292012-02-27T01:00:34.261-05:002012-02-27T01:00:34.261-05:00I'm not sure that Mumford (or Jane Jacobs for ...I'm not sure that Mumford (or Jane Jacobs for that matter) saw the car itself as the enemy, but rather the prioritization of cars above all else in designing towns and cities. Still, with car sharing and rentals, it can be possible to "have your cake and eat it too."Charlie Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07317335121565650040noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-48139523332094877502012-02-26T17:17:54.003-05:002012-02-26T17:17:54.003-05:00I have never felt more free that when I got rid of...I have never felt more free that when I got rid of my car 2.5 years ago. It feels so good that I can live in a place (Center City Philly) with endless opportunity to freely move by foot or subway. If anything a car can trap you from the outside world. On foot my senses can take in the surroundings much better than you can in a car. Really, a car is a jail cell cutting you off from experiences and people.Greg Meckstrothhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15256907632977729803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-32168516589849897152012-02-25T19:09:38.636-05:002012-02-25T19:09:38.636-05:00I love having the freedom to sit in traffic for up...I love having the freedom to sit in traffic for up to 10 hours a week. A couple weekends ago me and a friend drove our kids up to the mountains for some sledding. The entire rest of the city had the same idea. The result? A 1 hour drive there and a 5 hour traffic jam going back.<br /><br />So here's the thing: cars aren't the freedom so much as mobility is. And really, mobility is a means to an end: getting to interesting places. Proponents of traditional urbanism advocate for filling in cities with interesting places. In that regard, I have a car and live in a suburb . I consider the suburb a jail because I can't walk anywhere and the suburbs are cultural dead zones.<br /><br />But really we're just talking about different strokes for different folks. We have plenty of car suburbs for people like you, Cambias. I'd just like city planning and zoning policies to allow for some traditional urbanism for people like me.Vincehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02777126353459877468noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-34181246082018630402012-02-25T01:33:07.358-05:002012-02-25T01:33:07.358-05:00Having to spend a sizable portion of my income to ...Having to spend a sizable portion of my income to be able to go anywhere does not make me feel free. <br />Knowing that people feel they can't be free without a form of technology that's only existed 100 years is depressing.Morrisseynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7394091530012769761.post-61139391247367381072012-02-24T17:12:49.137-05:002012-02-24T17:12:49.137-05:00People like cars because cars provide freedom.
C...People like cars because cars provide freedom. <br /><br />Cities should not be jails.Cambiashttp://www.jamescambias.comnoreply@blogger.com