Why do people drive so much? A look at the costs.

[futurebird]

I just created this graph for the wikipedia article on the Effects of the automobile on societies. (It's based on a similar graph in the book Transportation for Livable Cities By Vukan R. Vuchic, a great read for anyone interested in sustainable development.) The article still needs a lot of work, but I wanted to share what I added today.

Comments

Re: The reason is simple, the realities of day to day life

[dracumancer]

I don't think that futurebird, and the modern environmental community, really are harping on individual choices. We understand that people will do what's easy and logical, but our government and economic systems often make the logical and easy choice the less efficient and less environmentally friendly choice. This is the case when we subsidize roads and hide the cost of parking.

While I encourage early adopters to find a way to drop their cars and live on public transportation (I did this recently, but only could because I moved from Detroit to Chicago), I don't place responsibility for change on the driver. It's on the planners who favor sprawl over centralization.

The premise we operate under is that when all the costs are internalized, and the alternative is readily available, people will choose public transportation.

By the way, I think urban communities give you a better quality of life than suburban sprawl. You get exercise, and you don't view the world through your car window. You don't get the same square footage in your house for the same price, but public space is much more available. The entire city is your back yard. I think citizens should be demanding this model of development purely because it's better for us.