Another interesting difference I think most people don’t understand is how much more extreme the climate is in the United States. America tends to have much hotter summers as well as often colder winters. Along with the lower population density, this probably explains a huge amount of the reason Americans favor cars over walkable cities. Generally speaking, people are much too fast to try to explain these things in terms of cultural differences.
“Generally speaking, people are much too fast to try to explain [...] things in terms of cultural differences.”
This is an important point I might have underlined if I’d written the post today. I think it applies to a lot of stuff besides the desired mode of transport problem.
My main point in this context would probably be that if you want to compare political- or societal structures and decisions—which many people seem to want to do even though it’s very hard—you need to know a lot of stuff. Additional information makes it harder to maintain a faulty model.
Incidentally on a related note I may be wrong, but I have the impression that a lot of people living in developed societies tend to assume that environmental constraints are often things that we can just work our way around, that they’re just engineering problems, and so are often not important in the big scheme of things. I.e. ‘developed societies are past those problems, and being past those problems is part of what makes a society developed’, rather than developing. I think that’s a potentially very problematic way to think about these things, and I think that that line of thinking may make you overlook important stuff.
My understanding is the milder climates in Europe are caused by there being an ocean to the west of it—the western United States gets the same sort of temperatures. There’s probably more to it than just that, but in general, west coasts in the Northern hemisphere get less temperature variation than east coasts and inland areas.
As to the walkable cities—that’s actually General Motors’ fault. A lot of cities had good trolley systems in the 30s, but they were privatized bought by companies with ties to the auto industry, which then replaced them with buses. People didn’t like the buses, so the bus system gradually died back as people bought cars instead. I suspect culture is also part of it—Americans really like to be independent and self-sufficient, or at least feel like they are. I’m told that fits well with having a car, for a lot of people. (I’m not a very good driver, so I feel more independent when I can get where I need to go without driving, but each to their own.)
If climate also contributes, then I’d expect west coast American cities to be more walkable than east coast and inland cities. It might be most useful to make the comparison based on the 50s, 60s or 70s, once cars were widely available, but global warming was not considered a major issue. (Western cities probably also tend to favor walking because people there are more liberal, and so would want walkable and bikable cities partly for political reasons.)
My understanding is the milder climates in Europe are caused by there being an ocean to the west of it—the western United States gets the same sort of temperatures.
Very little of the western US has temperatures as mild as are typical in Europe. Once you go even a few miles inland, extreme temperatures become common. For example, the Inland Empire suburbs of LA are notoriously hot in summer, and even temperatures in the 100s (Fahrenheit) are normal during summer.
As to the walkable cities—that’s actually General Motors’ fault.
You may want to actually read that wikipedia link, since it doesn’t actually support the claim you’re making. It points out that the streetcar systems that were dismantled were mostly hemorrhaging money and even in cities GM did not touch, the streetcar systems were usually dismantled anyway.
If climate also contributes, then I’d expect west coast American cities to be more walkable than east coast and inland cities.
They are more walkable ceteris parabis. The east coast is more densely populated, which puts more pressure on people to use public transit. But SF, Seattle, Portland, and Oakland are among America’s most walkable cities.
Western cities probably also tend to favor walking because people there are more liberal, and so would want walkable and bikable cities partly for political reasons.
The West Coast, East Coast, and Northern Midwest are all liberal. Also keep in mind that liberals probably gravitate toward walkable cities because it fits with the lifestyle they enjoy. Conservatives are more home-and-family oriented than liberals, so they especially like having big homes and big cars to facilitate family togetherness.
My understanding is the milder climates in Europe are caused by there being an ocean to the west of it—the western United States gets the same sort of temperatures.
Very little of the western US has temperatures as mild as are typical in Europe. Once you go even a few miles inland, extreme temperatures become common. For example, the Inland Empire suburbs of LA are notoriously hot in summer, and even temperatures in the 100s (Fahrenheit) are normal during summer.
To be fair, Europe has vastly more coastline, and directly along the west coast of the US weather is extremely mild. LA is notoriously hot but it also doesn’t get cold there; the temperature range for any city along the west coast is probably 50 degrees from cold winter days to hot summer days [citation needed].
Also, Firenze, Italy has some pretty extreme weather and is only 90 km (55 miles) from the coast.
Another interesting difference I think most people don’t understand is how much more extreme the climate is in the United States. America tends to have much hotter summers as well as often colder winters. Along with the lower population density, this probably explains a huge amount of the reason Americans favor cars over walkable cities. Generally speaking, people are much too fast to try to explain these things in terms of cultural differences.
“Generally speaking, people are much too fast to try to explain [...] things in terms of cultural differences.”
This is an important point I might have underlined if I’d written the post today. I think it applies to a lot of stuff besides the desired mode of transport problem.
My main point in this context would probably be that if you want to compare political- or societal structures and decisions—which many people seem to want to do even though it’s very hard—you need to know a lot of stuff. Additional information makes it harder to maintain a faulty model.
Incidentally on a related note I may be wrong, but I have the impression that a lot of people living in developed societies tend to assume that environmental constraints are often things that we can just work our way around, that they’re just engineering problems, and so are often not important in the big scheme of things. I.e. ‘developed societies are past those problems, and being past those problems is part of what makes a society developed’, rather than developing. I think that’s a potentially very problematic way to think about these things, and I think that that line of thinking may make you overlook important stuff.
My understanding is the milder climates in Europe are caused by there being an ocean to the west of it—the western United States gets the same sort of temperatures. There’s probably more to it than just that, but in general, west coasts in the Northern hemisphere get less temperature variation than east coasts and inland areas.
As to the walkable cities—that’s actually General Motors’ fault. A lot of cities had good trolley systems in the 30s, but they were privatized bought by companies with ties to the auto industry, which then replaced them with buses. People didn’t like the buses, so the bus system gradually died back as people bought cars instead. I suspect culture is also part of it—Americans really like to be independent and self-sufficient, or at least feel like they are. I’m told that fits well with having a car, for a lot of people. (I’m not a very good driver, so I feel more independent when I can get where I need to go without driving, but each to their own.)
If climate also contributes, then I’d expect west coast American cities to be more walkable than east coast and inland cities. It might be most useful to make the comparison based on the 50s, 60s or 70s, once cars were widely available, but global warming was not considered a major issue. (Western cities probably also tend to favor walking because people there are more liberal, and so would want walkable and bikable cities partly for political reasons.)
Very little of the western US has temperatures as mild as are typical in Europe. Once you go even a few miles inland, extreme temperatures become common. For example, the Inland Empire suburbs of LA are notoriously hot in summer, and even temperatures in the 100s (Fahrenheit) are normal during summer.
You may want to actually read that wikipedia link, since it doesn’t actually support the claim you’re making. It points out that the streetcar systems that were dismantled were mostly hemorrhaging money and even in cities GM did not touch, the streetcar systems were usually dismantled anyway.
They are more walkable ceteris parabis. The east coast is more densely populated, which puts more pressure on people to use public transit. But SF, Seattle, Portland, and Oakland are among America’s most walkable cities.
The West Coast, East Coast, and Northern Midwest are all liberal. Also keep in mind that liberals probably gravitate toward walkable cities because it fits with the lifestyle they enjoy. Conservatives are more home-and-family oriented than liberals, so they especially like having big homes and big cars to facilitate family togetherness.
To be fair, Europe has vastly more coastline, and directly along the west coast of the US weather is extremely mild. LA is notoriously hot but it also doesn’t get cold there; the temperature range for any city along the west coast is probably 50 degrees from cold winter days to hot summer days [citation needed].
Also, Firenze, Italy has some pretty extreme weather and is only 90 km (55 miles) from the coast.