I think the key to winning the war on cars in the US is to appeal to identity politics. Car advocates love their freedom and property values and are terrified of the government taking it away.
All places of consequence you can go with a car require using a road you have to have GOVERNMENT PERMISSION to operate a car on that is easily tied to individuals. Plate scanners, toll transponders, traffic cameras, vehicle connectivity system and cellular location data can be used by the government to EASILY track a driver. Considering how an authoritarian government can make life hell, fear of growing government power is a reasonable fear. But advocating for cars is unwittingly handing the government that power.
We want options for walking, busses, bikes, ferrys, mopeds, scooters, trains, planes, subways, and even drive cars. Most require no government ID or permission to use.
Last, how much is a building in the outskirts of Alexandria worth vs an equivalent in Dupont Circle? Same metro area, except the latter has better transportation access and a lot that can be accessed via walking.
I think the key to winning the war on cars in the US is to appeal to identity politics. Car advocates love their freedom and property values and are terrified of the government taking it away.
All places of consequence you can go with a car require using a road you have to have GOVERNMENT PERMISSION to operate a car on that is easily tied to individuals. Plate scanners, toll transponders, traffic cameras, vehicle connectivity system and cellular location data can be used by the government to EASILY track a driver. Considering how an authoritarian government can make life hell, fear of growing government power is a reasonable fear. But advocating for cars is unwittingly handing the government that power.
We want options for walking, busses, bikes, ferrys, mopeds, scooters, trains, planes, subways, and even drive cars. Most require no government ID or permission to use.
Last, how much is a building in the outskirts of Alexandria worth vs an equivalent in Dupont Circle? Same metro area, except the latter has better transportation access and a lot that can be accessed via walking.