The terrible reality is this: For several decades, we have designed our communities for car travel, which makes travel by foot, bicycle and transit increasingly difficult (indeed, nearly impossible). This phenomenon continuously and profoundly breeds car cheerleaders -- loud vocal citizen advocates who angrily demand that their elected officials build wider, faster roads and bigger parking lots. After all, if we can only travel by car, we MUST have such modifications, as we are all in the same boat, and our roads and parking lots therefore quickly become crowded with the cars of an exponentially growing number of citizens.
But the horrible dilemma is this: The interests of cars and the interests of people are nearly opposite. Cars like huge, high-speed roads and enormous asphalt parking lots. People, on the other hand, prefer modest, slow-speed streets and modest parking lots.
The unintended consequence, then, is that we end up becoming our own worst enemy as we vigorously fight for community features that send our towns into a worsening, downwardly spiraling quality of life. Indeed, it becomes a self-reinforcing vicious cycle, as the more we fight for our cars, the worse our communities become, which encourages a growing number of us to flee into outlying sprawl areas. Because such areas require us to be even more dependent on cars, we scream even louder for better conditions for car travel.
Which completes the vicious cycle.
It is time to begin returning to the historic, timeless tradition of designing for people, not cars.
Follow Our Footprints to learn how to engage in self-guided, affordable, unforgettable travel to the historic old town centers of Western Europe:
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