Fried_out_KombiAug 24, 2023

[meme] Trains -- not driverless cars -- are the future of transportation

https://lemmy.world/post/3774282

[meme] Trains -- not driverless cars -- are the future of transportation - Lemmy.world

Image transcript: Calvin (from Calvin & Hobbes) sitting at a lemonade stand, smiling, with a sign that reads, “Trains and micromobility are inevitably the future of urban transportation, whether society wants it or not. CHANGE MY MIND.”

Show threadDr_pepper_sprayAug 26, 2023

In the United States, I don’t know how you’d accomplish this. It would be impossible for almost all rural neighborhoods unless we’re going to build a grocery store within walking distance of most homes.

This is one of those liberal (I rarely leave my home) notions whose heart is in the right place but is ultimately stupid.

Show threaddaw_germany
This comment seems to be based on the false presumption that cities and settlements cannot be transformed, however they can
Aug 26, 2023 at 3:12pmWeb
Show threadPersnickityPenguinAug 26, 2023
They can, but it’s a multi trillion dollar century plus endeavor that well require eminent domain millions of properties in order to do it. My city doesn’t even have any land left to build more train lines. It’s just 30 miles of gridded small lots.
Show threadzbyte64Aug 26, 2023
Well that’s what the climate disasters are for, to wipe the slate clean when people refuse to adapt
Show threaddaw_germanyAug 26, 2023
30 Miles of gridded small lots -> no space to build trains 🫠
Show threadFried_out_KombiAug 27, 2023

We already bulldozed and rebuilt our cities once, less than a hundred years ago. See Cincinnati below:

Further, policy-wise, we don’t need eminent domain. We don’t need to forcefully destroy everything. We just need to abolish the restrictive zoning and parking minimums that are stopping the invisible hand of the free market from providing us with density, walkability, and transit-oriented development.

Cities Start to Question an American Ideal: A House With a Yard on Every Lot

Rising concerns about housing affordability, racial inequality and climate change are causing cities nationwide to re-examine their attachment to the detached house.

The New York Times
Show threadPersnickityPenguinAug 29, 2023
That’s not going to fly today. Today, citizens can sue the jurisdiction and actually win, unlike the 1950s or '70s. And cities aren’t going to be able to target minority dominated neighborhoods like they did in the past, or they’re going to be in a real shitstorm both politically and legally.