Cars were the infrastructure that allowed sprawling development. People could drive out to the middle of nowhere, buy some land, and build a house and a grocery store. Towns didn’t need a train station or a bus station to grow, and neighborhoods could be located farther from the noise and pollution of high-traffic areas.
It’s not good or bad, it’s just what it is. Cars are a part of the fabric of American society. Chasing civilization with train tracks and subways will cost far more now than if we had built our residential neighborhoods around public transit. But that’s not what happened.
Cars were the infrastructure that allowed sprawling development. People could drive out to the middle of nowhere, buy some land, and build a house and a grocery store. Towns didn’t need a train station or a bus station to grow, and neighborhoods could be located farther from the noise and pollution of high-traffic areas.
It’s not good or bad, it’s just what it is. Cars are a part of the fabric of American society. Chasing civilization with train tracks and subways will cost far more now than if we had built our residential neighborhoods around public transit. But that’s not what happened.