Car co-ops: was Re: [sustran] intro

Wendell Cox wcox at publicpurpose.com
Wed May 14 08:27:10 JST 1997


I guess it falls to me to play the role of spoiler.

Unfortunately the answer --- as you note --- is not so simple in American
urban areas, where population densities average 1000 per square km or less,
and where jobs and businesses are spread throughout the urban area.

At these densities, frankly, there is no realistic and comprehensive
alternative. Frankly, to provide a high level of personal mobility in such
an environment sans cars would require no less than the razing of at least
3/4 of development, and reconcentration in the centre.

That is not to suggest that there aren't strategies that can help. But in
the aggregate they must, of necessity, be of little impact --- at least in
the American urban area.

Wendell Cox

>Hello,
>	I have been following this discussion with some interest 
>and thought I would put in my two cents worth..
>Personally I don't like driving and would be happy to use alternative 
>modes of transportation..but it seems to me that often one has no 
>other option. I live in a suburb of Chicago and to think of living 
>without a car is quite impossible. I need a car to access the train 
>that will take me downtown. 
>Of course there has been talk by planners in this city (like elsewhere!) 
>about policies to curtail car trips..but it seems to me that most 
>policies which talk of reducing VMT are actually aimed at reducing 
>MOBILITY by reducing parking options, increasing the cost of driving etc 
>without providing for any alternative options. 
>Surely there is a better answer?
>I would like to walk to the grocery store..but the closest grocery store 
>is 4 miles away. The train station is 10 miles away..
>It seems to me that the focus should be on sustainable development and 
>alternative means of transportation. While it may take some doing to wean
>people away from their cars...to be really successful we also need some 
>realistic alternatives. What is the point in curtailing auto trips if the 
>only alternative is reduced mobility?
>						Maya
>----
>Maya Tatineni
>Post Doctoral Research Associate
>University of Illinois at Chicago
>
>
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