I think a lot of what we need to do is check some of our assumptions at the door. The notion that it's only urbanites that need alternatives is really dismissive of the rural population. Most families of four or five don't have four or five cars. We need alternatives for car light households and for maybe households that want to go car light because like mine who had four cars for a family of fivemaybe would like to translate that money into savings for college as opposed to maintaining all those vehicles just to address your everyday needs.
Can you imagine if everything you needed in your everyday life was just a walk or bike ride away? That’s the goal of the 15-minute City, a new name for an old idea. Reducing the need for cars cuts emissions and gets autos off of the roads, which is a boon for safety, air quality and the climate. But, as is often the case, good ideas become a lot more difficult when you have to implement them in real places, with real people, who don’t always share the enthusiasm for the idea. What will it take to make compact, walkable cities a reality in the U.S., where the car is king?
Guests:
Beth Osborne, Director, Transportation for America
David Miller, Former Mayor of Toronto
Justin Bibb, Mayor of Cleveland
Henry Grabar, Author of Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World.
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org
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