How Car Culture Is Eroding Cities, Budgets, and Choices (ft. author Arthur Kay)

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Cars have long been sold as the ultimate symbol of freedom. But what if they’ve trapped us instead? In this episode of FUTUREPROOF., we sit down with Arthur Kay, urban designer and coauthor of Roadkill: Unveiling the True Cost of Our Toxic Relationship with Cars.

Kay argues that America’s car dependency is more than a climate issue—it’s a system of financial, political, and social control that burdens working and middle-class families, strains local economies, and limits real choice. Together, we explore:

• Why cars drive hidden costs in housing, taxes, and debt
• How car-centric cities hollow out communities and opportunities
• The global lessons America can learn from more walkable, resilient urban models
• A realistic blueprint for building cities that prioritize people, not vehicles

This conversation goes far beyond traffic jams and tailpipe emissions—it’s about the future of freedom, equity, and the way we design our lives.