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this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2025
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I would love to walk or bike everywhere, but in most places in the US it's just not feasible. I'm a 30 minute bike ride from the nearest grocery store. And outside of the liquor store (8 minute ride) and Dunkin Donuts (12 minute ride), that's the nearest thing to me. But also, only the main roads have sidewalks. So I'm biking down a side road that's supposed to be 25 mph but most people do at least 35.
Most places in this country are set up for driving, with substantially separated residential and commercial areas. Even public transportation would have a hard time fixing this. Am I going to wait 45 minutes for a bus to come, at that I can take a 25 minute indirect ride around town to finally get to the grocery store, only to then have to wait another 30-45 minutes for another bus to take me around town until I can finally get near my house? Or am I going to drive a 20 minute round trip? Heck, even biking would be faster than taking a bus locally.
The US sucks for anything except for cars.
Most places by land area, sure.
But many, many people live within a metro area that has at least some pockets where being car-free is feasible. For cities like New York, Chicago, DC, or San Francisco, those pockets are pretty large and cover a large population.
Growing those neighborhoods by population and size is part of the overall strategy for reducing car dependence. Even in heavily car dependent Houston or LA, there are mixed use developments where people can live and grocery shop and dine and maybe even work without needing a car. Obviously that's not going to work for meeting up with other people from the same city, but living in a neighborhood like that can reduce the typical number of weekly car trips for a typical household: whether the young kids need to be driven to a playground/park or to school, whether a visit to the grocery store or gym or bar or library need a car, etc.
I can only speak for Chicago, but the lines of those pockets where being car-free is feasible are pretty intentionally only the white wealthy neighborhoods on the north side. The south and west sides do not have bike lanes, have tons of potholes, no sidewalks, and if you are in a black neighborhood no grocery stores in biking distance.