The way I’ve figured out how to frame my urbanist arguments to people irl who are scared of being forced to give up their cars or something is talking about the lack of choice.
The way that a lot of car centric cities are designed leaves no freedom of choice for how to get around. Isn’t that unfair?
In mostly pedestrian or transit centric cities like New York or Tokyo or something there are still people who own cars. It’s perfectly possible to get around with a car.
In fucking Houston or whatever though there isn’t much of a choice. If you don’t want to get around without a car you suffer. The environment is actively hostile and dangerous for you.
Shouldn’t people have choice in how they live their lives? Right now where I live public transit is something for the desperate. Not an everyday form of transit. Isn’t that bad? Isn’t that an injustice?
Should you be forced to take on the expensive burden of a car to exist in this city? Shouldn’t the disabled and the young and the poor also have an easy way of getting around?
Okay maybe you personally will never give up your car no matter what. Even if it becomes inconvenient. But what about everyone else? Isn’t it stupid that they have no choice? Shouldn’t there be options? Isn’t it infuriating that there’s a way to give people more freedom of choice in how they live their lives in this city and nobody is trying to improve on that?
