• Pipoca@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    ·
    8 months ago

    Only 20% of the US is rural.

    80% of the US lives in metropolitan and micropolitan areas. In small towns, suburbs and cities.

    People on this sub aren’t saying that we should force Old Macdonald to take the bus from the farm to the feed store. You’re never going to get rid of all cars. They have an important niche.

    You always have the option to not use a car if weather permits no one is stopping you.

    I mean, in a technical sense that’s true. Practically, though, people respond to their built environment. There’s a reason way more people drive to work in Rome than Barcelona, and it ain’t the weather. And there’s a reason way more people bike in the winter in Oulu, Finland than Syracuse, NY despite having similar populations and climate.

    Most people aren’t ideological “drivers” or “pedestrians”, they’re just people who want to get somewhere and will follow the path of least resistance. Put them in Amsterdam and they’ll happily bike to their destination, put them in Houston and they wouldn’t.