Cars are integral to daily life across the United States. Yet, even with their usefulness, their pervasive presence may pose an inadvertent risk to our well-being. To understand this idea, examining the components contributing to reliance on motor vehicles in our daily routines is imperative. Many factors have led to increased car dependency in the United States. Mass motorization facilitated by assembly lines brought down costs for American households. This wider accessibility led to many cities adapting to motor vehicles at a large scale. With the government allocating funds and tax revenue to constructing interstate highway systems, urban areas across the nation were soon rapidly linked.
However, having cars as a necessary component of participation in society increases household expensesA and carbon emissions, while the effectiveness of public transportation and pedestrian safety are hindered. Road projects running through densely populated communities can eliminate pedestrian access to basic amenities, sprawling parking lots deplete crucial land space, and sidewalks and bus lanes are exchanged for roadside parking.
Furthermore, these disparities disproportionately affect seniors and populations of color. Seniors who may face mobility issues and are vulnerable to side effects of greater severity from collisions are at a higher risk of experiencing the devastating impacts of traffic accidents.
Meanwhile, people of color live in communities that are frequently isolated from adequate public transportation. Communities of color are often those targeted by mass demolition projects in pursuit of optimized highway infrastructure, cutting them off from basic services but also impeding opportunities like jobs, schools, and healthcare, exacerbating economic hardships.
In a country of rapidly developing car-centric innovations, college campuses may be pedestrian havens. Compared to the over ninety percent of households nationwide that own cars, it is estimated less than fifty percent of college students bring an automobile to campus. Due to the lessened automotive activity, most campuses are designed to prioritize pedestrians and public transportation over cars. College campuses are typically compact, with amenities close to each other, and outdoor spaces are designed for socialization. Car pollution sees significant reduction. Students are oriented to spending time outdoors, and local centers of commerce, such as campus towns, are sanctuaries for economic development. The benefits are overwhelmingly positive, and mimicking these features nationwide could lead to largely productive growth.
Even so, transforming a broader American urban landscape, predominantly designed around cars, into a pedestrian-friendly environment poses a considerable challenge. Implementing policies that prioritize pedestrians is imperative. This includes expanding public transportation networks in urban areas, mandating sidewalks along major commercial and activity hubs, and reducing speed limits to enhance pedestrian safety. Moreover, creating walkable communities necessitates incentivizing pedestrians, such as public recreational spaces like parks, shopping centers, plazas, and squares. These changes will be essential to ensuring the longevity of human well-being in the United States. By ensuring that people have safe and accessible access to all their amenities, we can reshape cities and urban centers to cater to the needs of people rather than automobiles.