Friday, October 29, 2010

[R] How Does Car-Centered Culture Limit Freedom?


“One of the ad executives I interviewed
said that really people like the idea of
driving more than they like driving. And
so that’s what they’re selling, and that’s
what we're buying. When you first start
asking people, ‘Why do you like your car?’
All the positives come up first. And then
you dig and you dig, and you start to get
some of the frustrations and the day-to-day
irritations. But that first gut response –
it's almost some kind of latent memory
from the advertising messages” 
From a Planetizen interview with Anne Lutz
Fernandez, author of Carjacked: The Culture
of the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives

Consider the ways that car transportation
limits independence:
- An exclusively car-centered culture
limits transportation choices.
  Since the
automobile became affordable for most
Americans, cities, suburbs, neighborhoods,

and even our homes have been planned
around the car.  For those that prefer
driving, this is convenient.  For those who
are unable to drive, cannot afford a car,
or simply prefer to travel by foot or rail,

this is extremely limiting.

- Car travel depends on the road system
Our system of roads and freeways is

expensive to build, maintain, and patrol. 
Like your car, roads never pay for
themselves.  Even after the initial cost
of
construction, roads require constant
upkeep.

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