02-11-2015, 10:34 AM
I'm all with you that the way we have laid out our cities is inefficient, and intensification and mixed-uses are the way to go. I'm not sure if that will be possible large-scale while we still allow travel by car to appear so cheap to the user.
Even now, though, it's entirely possible to choose some other mode of transportation to get to work. In my neighbourhood in KW (which is composed of houses and apartments), you walk twenty minutes and you're at jobs in the downtown core. You can walk five minutes to a grocery store (though I admit that means not being able to drive between three different stores to get different "deals"). You can take the bus if you need to get to a mall or to restaurants that aren't downtown.
You mention Europe. It's very expensive to drive there. Fuel is taxed (almost) commensurate with the damage driving causes to the environment and the burdens it places on infrastructure; and parking is expensive and a hassle in any city centre (not even just big ones). Partly because driving is so expensive, more people opt not to and have supported the development of great transit, and the ability to leave closer to amenities.
Even now, though, it's entirely possible to choose some other mode of transportation to get to work. In my neighbourhood in KW (which is composed of houses and apartments), you walk twenty minutes and you're at jobs in the downtown core. You can walk five minutes to a grocery store (though I admit that means not being able to drive between three different stores to get different "deals"). You can take the bus if you need to get to a mall or to restaurants that aren't downtown.
You mention Europe. It's very expensive to drive there. Fuel is taxed (almost) commensurate with the damage driving causes to the environment and the burdens it places on infrastructure; and parking is expensive and a hassle in any city centre (not even just big ones). Partly because driving is so expensive, more people opt not to and have supported the development of great transit, and the ability to leave closer to amenities.