Me and my friend used to get out so much, walking everydayday at least 20km at staying outside..till we got our license and he uses his car even going like around the block to the store
There are some countries where you can actually bike or walk or take buses or some mediocre to decent metros around at the very least, the capital. One of those is the Philippines, and this place is filled with so many politicians talking about new highways and trains to alleviate traffic in the capital's metro area aka Metro Manila and there is already existing public transportation infrastructure that is half-decent at the least. But, many people here still, even if there are increasing alternatives, get the chance to buy or use a car and it adds to the traffic hell even with the new highways due to induced demand (we have a new elevated tollway that slices right through the capital to alleviate traffic on the existing highways and thoroughfares) This is because Metro Manila is generally unsafe. Even with heightened police presence, most communities have badly lit streets, high amounts of homeless people, slums along most vacant streets, and bad urban planning or community law enforcement. The Police are also notoriously corrupt. There is also the fact that you can get mugged in broad daylight and no one will chase after the criminal especially when they have a gun or a knife. There's also high reports of burglaries against middle class citizens, so most houses are gated and gated communities are everywhere. This is one reason why so many Filipinos want cars, it's safer than walking since you won't get mugged, taking the train or bus since you won't get pickpocketed, or taking the bike because you won't get killed by a 15 ton truck whose brakes and tires haven't been serviced and is going overspeed into a blind corner. Another reason, and I think this is also something that is very important, is that housing and rent prices relative to the minimum wage inside and near the center of the metro areas with well developed transportation and safe communities have gone through the roof, forcing most Filipinos to move to unsafe areas or places really far from their work or from good public transportation, so they're definitely going to buy a car or loan one even if it means they'll be in the dump financially. Just wanted to put like case study for how other factors contribute to continuing car use and how it can be a systemic or institutional problem.
For an immigrant from Europe it was a definite shock when driving through American suburban towns, the lack of pedestrians made the towns look dead and almost post-apocalyptic.
Yup I used to walk around my suburb for hours at a time while listening to dnb and I literally maybe saw one person a day fucking unreal I hate this life here
@@emiliofernandez7117 yes the only people I see are people walking dogs or jogging around suburbs. It does seem dead compared to even small towns in Europe or England
Yeah it is worse now. Everyone is either playing video games, computer or TV, inside their jail cell and they are brainwashed that this is an optimal lifestyle.
The channel seems to be doing pretty well right now! Hopefully subscribers can put up with a bit of time between videos. I prefer to find "real" topics rather than just pumping out video after video. Thanks for watching and thanks for commenting :) - UD
@@theurbandoctor787 90k views! i saw the newest vid, and its really nice having someone who can add comedy to civil engineering concepts. Definitely an untapped audience! and also look up this video about efficiency of different road designs, maybe you've seen it already th-cam.com/video/yITr127KZtQ/w-d-xo.html , but I think showing satisfying city designs could really make the whole concept of urban planning more approachable. I'm excited to see this channel grow!
I think it should be stated that for old, super young and disabled people, there is no freedom. They have to be chauffeured around being a burden on everyone else. Walkable areas in public transit allows that freedom of which a car could never grant. Plus an increasing amount of vehicle related accidents/deaths or attributed to elderly people behind the wheel
I always found it ironic that some people live in NYC most of their lives and never have to drive then at age 70 they move to Florida and have to start driving.
@@paxundpeace9970 That's true but as a disabled person who leaves his house less than once a month because I cant drive and the best public transit we have is a handful of taxis that have to be scheduled days in advance, the way we build cities sucks. Also there is this wonderful amount of vision you can have where you cant see well enough to get a license but you see too well to get disability which is just a receipe for forced homelessness.
@@DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree it's a trend in america that we are so obsessed with being allowed to do whatever we want that we stop thinking about what those choices actually make us practically able to do
@@theurbandoctor787 I have to wholeheartedly agree with Ben. I was ... _slightly surprised_ when I went to your channel (to find the next part of this video/series XD) and only saw _3_ videos with this being the first.
Growing up less well off than most, I could never even afford to get driving lessons or get a license. I used to feel really ashamed of that but since I started riding a bike and adopting a generally more active lifestyle, I realize now how much of a bullet I've dodged for both my physical and mental health. This video really helps to affirm my feelings on the topic. I really look forward to seeing this channel grow!
I was originally thinking of going to driving school and learning how to drive but I feel like its a good life skill but it doesn't feel right especially if there's traffic and stuff being in the passenger seat is something i'd rather have.
@@D.KlWA-aG Training. If you expect everyone to a) not see you and b) be out to kill you, it's pretty fine. I'm 33 and I _just_ (like, literally this week) applied to get A and B class driving licenses (car and bike). Never had the money for it either.
I learned this when I got in my first major traffic jam at the age of 17. I realized that there was literally no other option to get around instead of driving. And since everyone drives, if something happens to the road, then everything goes to shit until the road is fixed.
For real, it makes such a difference walking around mixed-use spaces. It's hard to explain just how fulfilling it feels to live somewhere where you want to go outside and spend time on the street just to see what's going on and who's around, and to be able to walk to buy groceries, go to the doctor, etc. It's hard to call somewhere home when all the things you need to live are half an hour apart
Yeah that "feeling" is what I want to experience more. There are so many reasons for walkability - health, the environment, financials... but perhaps the most emotional drive for many of us is that beautiful feeling of urban "intimacy" that you get with a walkable area. Like it's built for you. - UD
@@theurbandoctor787 we evolved in a tribal environment surrounded with people, I think we need to be part of it to be fulfilled. People like to be around other people and gatherings attract more people (read this idea in some book about urbanism).
I don't enjoy mixed used streets at all, they are just too busy and crowded. They also often lack green spaces or open spaces overall. You just get a narrow sidewalk that is often even obstructed by cafes' tables, take it or leave it. It is just great to relax in a quiet and green suburbs, many in Europe are even jealous of such lifestyle, especially if they had to live all their life in a cramped apartment inside the city center near some noisy street and without any private yard or garden.
@@theurbandoctor787 Interesting that in Europe when most people know nothing better than living in dense cities all their life, many see having a spacious private house, a yard and escaping to green suburbs as a goal, a quality of life improvement and as overall higher achievement in life.
@@ligametis I totally agree that it's wonderful to live somewhere green and spacious; I'm torn between wanting to live in the city and the country. I think the problem - at least here in Australia - comes as urban developers and local government exploit this desire to have a block of land to yourself and build sprawling suburbs of 0.25ha blocks and completely level all of the native vegetation. The suburb ends up being a sterile landscape of identical houses too disperse to have a community centre, but with no real connection to nature or any relevant greenery either. Everyone's forced to drive everywhere and it ends up making life worse for people living in surrounding suburbs too, because they have all of this extra vehicle congestion. I kind of recognise that it's not feasible for everyone to live on their own big, green block of land. If mixes spaces are done right, we can cut down urban sprawl and design our blocks to have green spaces for the people who live there. If you have 10x the density, you can convert half of your block into a park and still have more people living together, with more opportunities for businesses and community centres to be supported than in the diffuse outer suburbs.
As a gearhead i have to say i actually like the fact most younger people don't even want to drive. It leaves more for those of us who actually enjoy driving, and people who don't want to drive shouldn't drive. The only thing i wouldn't want to see is an outright ban of self owned vehicles...which isn't far fetched. Considering Tesla and Google are developing self driving software i can't help but to think it adds to all the problems you've mentioned in the video, as a matter of fact, we can think of public transportation as the same type of chauffeuring. You sit in a bus/self driving vehicle, you get driven to your destination while mindlessly staring into your phone, then just hop out. Obese moms driving slushbox automatic SUV's are the problem, not those who just enjoy the cruise once in a while.
Yeah I feel you on this. I know that urban areas need to be changed so people can live without cars, but if being able to operate a car or, much more so for me, a motorcycle is banned outright everywhere I would just give up on life. Motorcycling for a lot of people including myself is an intensely therapeutic activity. Each ride is like an adventure, taking in new sights, sounds, and even smells. Experiencing the world as being part of it rather than seperated like a car or bus or train. Now to an extent you get this with a bicycle, as afterall a motorcycle is just a bike with onboard power, but you cant go as far due to limits in speed and endurance of the rider.
I don’t see how cars could ever be banned. I would not be for that either although I’m very strongly for walkable neighborhoods and for bike paths and for neighborhoods that have a better atmosphere that you can walk to grocery stores nearby without the big parking lots and so forth. I think some people tried to ban guns of course that’s never gotten done I personally am not for banning guns except for ones like automatic and machine guns. Nobody needs to hunt a deer with a machine gun.
Very nice video and presentation. Simple and to the point. I’m writing a 10 page essay on the same topic, so it’s cool to see the same concepts here. Good luck with the future and I think this simple 2021 style of content could show a lot of people especially young ones about this topic.
If there're plenty of high speed trains, buses or subways, along with well-maintained highways for you to choose, and you decide to drive your car to wherever you want, that's freedom. If the public transportation is trash, you and everyone else can only drive cars, even if you can drive car to wherever you want, you have no freedom.
Exactly we have trains busses and shit in this country but the freeways are better. Most people don’t wanna be shoved in a fart tube next to fat strangers. Most people would rather be in their air conditioned SUV
Great video! And I am saying that from a perspective of a hardcore car enthusiast. I'd also say this is much more prominent in the US, as I can state from my personal experience. When I was on a US student exchange in Portland MA, I was simply shocked by how little people actually walked there. My US friends found it bizarre that I've walked like 2kms each morning to school and then back in the afternoon. They all drove to school, while some of them living even closer to the school than I did. I also found the US city layout so inconvenient, with minimum sidewalks, parks, benches and little to none public transport. The streets are unnecessarily wide, and everything is far apart and in rectangular shape. In my hometown, everything is walking distance, and you can take the tram or bus everywhere (which is weird considering it's 4 times the size of Portland MA). Many EU cities have started to actually make the city cores car-free (looking at you, Brussels), and it has helped so much for the city to be much more alive. I look at cars as a hobby, I enjoy going for roadtrips, or hitting the track, but when commuting, it's simply more convenient for me to take the train here in the Czech Republic. I, as a student pay only like 2$ per 100 kms (60 miles), while if I drove on the highway, it would cost me at least 10$ for the diesel alone (that being said I do have a 1.9MultiJet 140 kW Lancia Delta that gets like 35 mpg).
This is the kind of comment that I like to see! I totally get car enthusiasm - cars can be super fun, super useful, and works of art. But building a city around cars instead of people? That is just nonsense. I loved walking to school, and I agree that the notion of driving to university just seems... odd. Especially within 2km! US roads being too wide deserves a video in and of itself... so silly. Your hometown sounds like a great place. Thanks for commenting :) - UD
@@drakvaclav826 yeah car enthusiast should totally want more and better public transport infrastructure, it allows them choose when and where they get to drive rather than forced into going by car for going anywhere.
Hahaha hopefully I'll have more videos for you to binge soon! Trying to get the next one out before too long, but quite busy with other things right now. Gotta pay the bills!
3 videos in a month. Im not a youtuber so i dont know if thats good or not. Having seen all your videos i agree with you...how ever. Im a delivery driver and therefore need a car. That being said i ve had lots of people ride my tail its infuriating. Im also attempting to write and one of the topics i want to do is a group of youtubers living together. So what all does a youtuber need to know/have to do their job? Keep up the great work
I wish I had proper train infrastructure where I live, because it's so unbelieavably time consuming going anywhere by bike/train/bus. A 20 minute drive to my grandpa's house takes 1.5 hours by bus. And back when I was in college a 35~ min drive became 3 hours in bus and train, either way you pay expensive fees for transport with money, or with your time.
Trains are freaking expensive to build. Maybe bus infrastructure is a replacement? Also cheaper train infrastructure isn't much faster than an intercity bus. Even in Europe trains cost at least twice as much as a plane ticket, so rarely choose it.
@@ligametis But trains are downtown to Downtown, and the plane tickets you're thinking of are for RyanAir which will destroy your spine on landing. Think about it, you're paying for your ride comfort on a plane, yet on a train, the tracks are all the same, only difference is the seat quality and amenities
@@coastaku1954 trains really are not usually downtown to downtown. Some stations are in suburbs to avoid noise in city center while many cities are not even connect by straight rail access, you have to move in twisty line or change the train to reach your destination. And I was talking about the cheapest trains with simple seats or even without one (reserved that is). If you want comfort in a train you have to pay even more. In conclusion there are just a couple routes in whole Europe that make sense to choose over a plane or a bus but they have to be not too close and not too far away. Ryanair seats are decent enough if you pay less than half what the train costs and reach your destination faster, either way I always rent a car in foreign country to easily access different sights. Good luck using trains from Warsaw to Naples. And even from Berlin it is 3 changes, takes 1 day 5 hours in one without reserved seat and in other two trains without reclining seat, 200€ per person. While with plane it is only 2h20min for 140€.
@@ligametis Most, if not all European train stations are in the city centre since they were built before cars. Look at London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Birmingham, Oslo, hell, any little town as their station pretty damn close to the town center. The only country that does suburban stations to serve the whole city is the US with it's abundance of Amshacks. Plus, I love that you ignored my point about RyanAir being uncomfortable and Trains being consistent
@@coastaku1954 Ryanair is comfortable enough compared to what you get for a higher price with a train where you don't even get a reservation for a seat (you might be left without one). I gave you exact comparison how worse it is to for example go by train from Berlin to Naples than by plane. Train stations in the center are pretty bad due to noise they make, it is not as bad as airport in the city center but still bad. Buses are quieter.
@@ligametis of corse it makes sense to have a car if you're like on the country side but the people I'm referring to are mostly in nicely planned, modern european cities but through media some of those american ideas washed up over here even if they make no sense...also only psychotic serial killers like to live in the suburbs :P
@@kerwinbrown4180 what's temperature inversion related to traffic? but I'd disagree..cars are noisy, stinking death traps...maybe I'm biased cause I literally got hit by cars twice already
I bought a bike and commuted to work in London, UK. Definitely happier and healthier, and enjoying the extra disposable income! But here I am a young, white, relatively affluent man who is willing to take on risks to cycle in to the centre of my city. In the last year, as a response to the pandemic, we've seen pavements ('sidewalks' for our American friends) widened, the introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), segregated cycle infrastructure built and more pedestrianised areas created. Hopefully we will see more of these. A subtle point you made in the vid is that for walking & biking to be viable we need appropriate infrastructure for them. Good infrastructure opens up routes previously thought un-walkable or un-cyclable for kids, parents, women, the elderly, and those with mobility difficulties.
I recently moved to a spread-out town and have been feeling like a sociopath while walking 5 miles round-trip to the grocery store. Me being the only person on the sidewalk while everybody drives. At least I’m healthy.
@@danieldaniels7571 Same, I live in a town like this and have been stopped countless times. I'm not 18 yet so they always call my mom and have her come pick me up because I'm apparently not able to walk a half mile to the grocery store for another year.
@@Danuxsy Yes, let's all live in a bubble and burn everything else to the ground because, if everybody is in a bubble, then nothing is wrong with it, only the stupid people would live outside their bubbles and inhale all the smoke and toxic fumes, dumbasses. This is how you sound to me.
In the Netherlands, they have very nice bikes. In the United States, it is almost impossible to go anywhere with a bike. There may be an empty street in the back, but sometimes there are cars, and there is no cycling lanes. Most cars go extremely fast, so you can't see them coming.
A bike takes much less space than a car, and doesn't keep polluting the air like a car does even when standing still. Gotta say though, intrigued that there can even be bike traffic jams, going to look them up
@@adityapathak5761 twenty years ago, Beijing traffic was a river of bikes as long as the eye can see shuffling along at slightly more than walking speed.
As someone who uses a bike to get where i need to go i can tell you the most stressful thing is drivers. They tend not too be super aware of their surroundings.
As someone who lives in a very rural area, a car isn't an option no matter the city design. But that being said, I wish monstrosities like Denver hadn't grown into absolutely requiring cars to go anywhere in that nightmarish traffic. Just because I need a car doesn't mean I want to use it all the time.
This maybe makes sense when you drive a automatic SUV in a good road. Because I can get very tired driving my little cheap manual FIAT hatchback after driving it for some time. 😅
I don't think cars are bad. The excessive use of them is. I love cars. They are THE HOBBY. The problem is that the majority of people don't use them because they like it. They just want the comfort, the status, etc. It's funny how I use more public transportation on my daily life and the car more for fun. 😅
I'd say bike commuting can be really stressful, too, when commuting in traffic. But, there aren't a lot of dedicated bike lanes or paths where I live and work, so that's part of it.
Trains are not going to work in the sprawling cities of the United States where 50% of commutes are inter-suburban. Buses are not only much more cost-efficient, but also much more flexible, much faster to implement, and don't require the demolition of people's homes to build paths for them. A lot of rail projects have failed in California due to the amount of disruption that their implementation causes.
@@ANTSEMUT1 there aren't just lines of unused land leading from the suburbs to downtown. It doesn't matter if there's a lot of unused land if the land all around the downtown is used. Also High-Speed rail is mostly useful to connect smaller cities to more major ones (such as Oakland to SF). There's just no reason to make this into a major political battle when there are much more flexible, faster to implement, and more economical means of accomplishing the same objective. Projects have failed in the past precisely due to protest regarding the bulldozing of homes. It's not like people are protesting a non-existent issue. They're protesting the fact that they have to suffer a personal loss for the sake of the whole. Especially when a lot of the time the value of government compensation is lower than the actual value of the home. If building the high-speed rail is not worth the market value of the homes being bulldozed in addition to the construction value and subjective value of the noise pollution of the surrounding area, then the high-speed rail is not worth building. In other words the government does not find it worth it to compensate people to the extent that they feel that the high-speed rail costs them. Thus it's not actually economical to build High-Speed rail in America.
@@johnrollex680 WOW, you took the words right out of my mouth! Flexibility and capital costs are ignored so often, when in reality they're the most important components of an efficient transportation system.
I think it would be interesting if you did a series where you looked at individual cities in the US and compared them to more successful cities with similar geological constraints and offered your thoughts on how the struggling cities can improve. This is coming from a Seattlite who has witnessed the continually failling attempt to make the very hilly, very wet, very spread out city a biking town
Dr White I don't know your definition for very wet but Zürich, Switzerland would be a example of a very hilly, wet city with great public transport and good bycicle infrastruktur
@@marcor815 you forgot very spread out, try biking for a couple of miles just to go to a gas station, or to a general store, US is not like Europe where most people live in either compact living quarters or in cities.
@@marcor815 especially if you live far and buy groceries and have to come back, also the public transport only really is efficient if you live in a more compact living area where everyone is close proximity area if everyone lives far, thus making them more expensive to maintain due to there neche uses, (because most people use cars because it is easier in that situation.) and a higher income tax for something you don't even use. Most citiots or euros don't understand how large and spaced out the US is.
Dr White the Chanel is called "the Urban Doctor" and it is about comparing cities, not the countryside. Of course on the countryside, where you drive a mile just to get to your neighbour, the situation is different. If you have miles after miles of familiy houses next to each other, then it is a problem he talked about in another video. But if you have miles between the houses, I would never call it urban or a city
I've been living with a principle of "i will get a car eventually, but I only plan on using it when walking or public transport can't take me to my destination". I understand the problem that many cities rely too much on cars, but I have hope that more cities will become people- and pedestrian-friendly in the future. Needless to say, I like your content so far. Here's hoping you get to the point where this channel helps pay your bills. :D
As a car enthusiast and a mechanic, I really believe cars have no place in cities and will actually be very destructive. I love my boosted 5 spd Miata, for my leisure driving, and as the only car we have in the household. When going to work or running errands, I bike and take transit. My kids bike to school and activities.
"And you've got yourselves a city that's made for *people* " It's as I always say We live in a world day by day made more and more *by* humans, but not *for* humans.
I live in Berlin, Germany. I don't own a car, I don't need one. If I do, I rent one - still much cheaper. My commute is 20min by bike or public transport. Combined, I spend less than 2k$ on transport annually. Cars do not create freedom, they make you dependent and result in terrible urban planning that drives our societies apart and hurts small businesses.
Yeah Germany seems like a place where someone can easily choose to not own a car and still have a wonderfully functional life (despite the fact that the Germans are like the Kings of cars!). I realize that cars aren't really going anywhere soon, but it would be nice if, in Canada and the USA, more people could choose a car-free life as you have described. Thanks for watching!
@@theurbandoctor787 when you go beyond large cities, the car becomes a necessity here. No, cars aren't going anywhere for sure. But many trips could be shortened or done with other means of transport - all over the world. The automotive lifestyle has been lived to the maximum for decades, I think younger generations are starting to see its flaws. Anyways, great content, looking forward to more! :)
@Albert Felsen ever heard of car sharing? or car rental? if you live in a city, you spend most of your time there. If I go on a trip into a rural area, I simply rent a car for those 20 days a year. if I need to transport heavy stuff, I rent a car for an hour or two.
@Albert Felsen What about banning cars from the city but allowing townspeople to rent cars for outside the city? And also using systems like "park & ride" for village people if there is no option to get with public transport into the city?
Same. It sucks that in qatar, you don't really have any choice since public transportation barely has developed (they focused their budget on roads and highways). I would love the convenience of just being able to walk or ride a train.
this video and your most recent video about The Line are so so good, I can't believe that they're your only videos on the channel. I'm subbing at 948 subs and keep up the quality content!
I think TH-cam remembered me watching another video discussing why the line is bad (Well There's You're Problem podcast episode Gulf States Vanity Projects), as well as binging Not Just Bikes videos that have a similar viewpoint.
found you channel today, and dude, you're rocking it! Seems like you have similar interests as "not just bikes", might be interesting to check out. You seem like a combination of not just bikes and tapakapa, and I'm loving it!
i often complain about dutch trains but after more than a year of not commuting (and my student discount coming to an end) i so miss the freedom and opportunity they provided me (not having a driver’s license) that hour i was trapped on the tube was truly the best time to my reading for classes, i really relied on it... can’t do that in a car
This definitely applies in Australia. I would cycle everywhere if there were dedicated cycle lanes. It's simply not safe to be on two wheels around here.
@@m136dalie 😔 damn I understand. But their very convenient when going around town and parking them anywhere you want. Anyways I won't bother you any longer.
As a car guy I think you should buy a car only if you love cars, if you NEED a car or maybe if you have a lot of money and you're going to use it here and there (because some things are way more convenient when you have a car).
Great video! Nicely and clearly explained. If I could give one tip to improve your video's it is the audio quality, it's not bad but improving it will make your video's much more attractive.
Thanks for the tip! I used a lav mic for it ($20) and I think I'll probably just stick to that for w little while. But yeah the audio is definitely the limiting factor (and better editing...). Cheers!
As much as i love my car and driving it , i usually jump at every opportuninty do ride public transport instead. Atleast then i dont have to worry about the thing.
Another thing to consider is that if driving a car is a want rather than a need, it means less congested highways, and better drivers in general. If america was as strict about lisences as germany or france, many people wouldnt be on the road. now in france or germany, thats not a problem, you can still get around. But in america, that effectively makes you unemployable, which is why comparatively lisences are easy to obtain and hard to lose. Fans of driving should welcome the push for other transportation options.
@@bonda_racing3579 Exactly. Sometimes I take the car to do something because I want to drive, to change the gears, listen to the exhaust. But in general, I basically use the bus or the train. And... I love buses... so, not a big problem to me (but I hate when they're full).
So the overall conclusion is that as a form of transport, cars will always suck no matter what. In my humble opinion however, it's about time cars should be given a whole new purpose for what they are and what they should be, because they really have so much more potential than just getting from A to B, to the extent that they could be viewed as a hobby instead of a necessity. I do support public transport and having less cars on the road, but the remaining cars should be the ones driven by people who drive for pleasure, not by people who "have to drive just to run their errands".
I bike to work. ~$2000/year saved in fuel alone. ~$2400/year in saved car insurance ~$300/year in oil changes saved I feel better the whole day when I bike as the fresh air and cardio first thing in the morning wakes you up better than any coffee ever would. The cardio helps you maintain a healthy body fat level, this alone helps you feel better drastically A bike is cheaper all together as stated above. And I don't have the stress associated with driving, or parking a car. Anyone who lives within 4 miles of their job if there is a sidewalk or its a residential street I highly suggest you try biking to work. Why pay money just to go make money when you can keep more of the money you make just by doing a bit of biking each day.
I've talked about this exact same thing with my dad but he simply can't imagine living without cars. for him this is simply madness, but for me and as I can see for many others is a dream.
As a car enthusiast, I want all of the maniacs who hate the world and tailgate me with their big useless GMC suburbans OFF THE ROAD. It would sure heal congestion. I remember when I used to live in Seabrook, there were always these old dudes at the planning board who would periodically pitch a case for investing in a light rail system in the town. Really, their apparent care for urban planning and the future of the town was just a very obvious disguise for their childish love and fascination with trains.
Great points made here. I have seriously considered taking a lesser paying job within a few miles of my home to allow me to walk, and or bike there instead of drive, and cut our household down to one car.
When I lived in Denver I was able to take the train to and from work every day and it was... unimaginably nice. The worst part of my commute was the drive to and from the park and ride lot, I wish it could be like that for everyone
@@thomaspanditfan2435 Have you driven in Denver? It sucks ass lol But ok, we'll look at it this way; my monthly payment for my truck is $281, not even counting my $15k down payment, my insurance premium is I think around $129/month, I fill up gas about every other week so call that about $100/month. So that is over $500 dollars a month i spend on my vehicle. That's more than some peoples weekly paycheck in this country. There's also maintenance and consumables, a full set of tires is $800 minimum, full synthetic oil changes are about $80, and thank god I haven't had any accidents or mechanical failures yet. Now admittedly, I have a nicer, newer vehicle, and I am able to afford all this somewhat comfortably. But not everyone else has been so lucky to be in the same position as me. So my point is, I don't despise cars in general, I enjoy driving, but do I wish the society we lived in didn't force us to saddle ourselves with these massively expensive, massively wasteful machines? Of course I do
@@fritzophrenia3146 u see that's the difference between people like u who only like cars as a means of transport and people like me who actually love cars. For me, my car is more than just a piece of machinery. It's basically part of my family now. With all that I have done to it and how many good times I have spent with it, I would never sell it.
@@thomaspanditfan2435 Ok that's cool, you've got a hobby and I respect that, but shouldn't people have the freedom to choose whether they want to be a part of it? Like honestly, I hope you understand that this isn't an attack on you personally just because people are talking about how building a society around car ownership can be kinda crappy
@@fritzophrenia3146 no man I completely understand. That's why as soon as I understood your perspective I respected your opinion and where you are coming from. But I don't like the people who just say cars are bad and polluting and should be scrapped. These are probably the same people which caused the massive amount of steam engines to be scrapped.
What brilliant summary of so much that is wrong with American city planning! This is why I'm studying to be a city planner. Btw, are you familiar with the Strong Towns movement? They talk a lot about the unsustainable subsidies we give our cars.
Hey there thanks for the kind comment! I have certainly heard of Strong Towns. Chuck's book (A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity) is absolutely fantastic. I think that book, plus Jeff Speck's Walkable Cities, is all someone would need to read in order to "see it". Then it can't be unseen! - UD
@@theurbandoctor787 Oh my gosh, Yes! I just finished reading Walkable Cities and the Strong Towns book. Such inspiration! (Might I also recommend Jan Gehl's Cities for People?) Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to seeing this channel grow.
I stopped biking after I moved on top of a mountain and I didn't want to have to bike up the mountain after I got done with work. I actually forgot that I used to love biking instead of driving, and I'm moving to flatter ground soon, so thank you for reminding me to use a bike instead of a car
This is why i've always been confused why suburbs and cities even use cars. I live in a more rural around a village and I do think cars actually matter more out here than they do in cities. I mean entire buildings have to be built in cities just to house cars.
So, cars are not dumb, they can be fun, useful and convenient. But the way people use them is really dumb. They don't even like it but they use it to do anything. 🤔
I live in a small village in Germany. We have one small supermarket and two more shops for the essentials and I can reach everything by foot or bike. Everything else I need to get from the nearest city. But there is only one bus every half an hour driving to that city and only until 9 o'clock. So if you want to be flexible you need a car. I hate that because driving in bigger cities is really painful: It's full, you have to pay attention to everything so that you don't hurt anyone, the streets and the parking spaces are very narrow and all that makes it very stressful. A solution could be expanding the public transport system or to enable to "park & ride", which unfortunately not every city has. I am really looking forward into your ideas in your next videos :)
Exactly, when I see wide streets and huge parkings in US I am in a way jealous but also understand that creates other problems. It is annoying that large cities in Europe are becoming almost separate closed off "countries" that aren't really welcoming to outsiders. Even though are walkable inside it is very difficult to easily and comfortably access them from outside. It costs a lot to pay for parking and it also takes a lot of time and effort to find one. If you need to go to the city and depend on it but live in some less wealthy rural area or town nearby overall it isn't great. You can take a bus, but then you can't buy much and it becomes full day trip. But car is great tool to have a trip to nature, some natural parks, historical sites and other towns in this sense it gives freedom bus or train could never provide.
Can't wait to boast about being here since before 500 subscribers. only a matter of time until you run your very own Curiosity Stream and Nebula bundle Ads in your videos:) cheers
The problem for me is that the supermarket is 29 miles away from my house and there are no busses out here in the countryside. Until I move or, miraculously, a bus route comes by here, I need my car.
Yeah definitely - that's the problem. That is really not your fault, and I honestly have no real problem when people drive cars because they have to, especially in the countryside. Heck, I drive too. It really needs to be a coordinated effort by municipalities/cities and developers (and politicians, let's be honest) to make walkable/bikeable cities more prevalent. Tough task. Thanks for the comment! - UD
I live walking distance from my grocery store, but carrying groceries for a family on foot simply isn’t practical. It’s difficult enough to to carry a case of water into the house from my car.
Frankly I don't want to talk to people on my walk and after walking 5 miles a day everyday for work I can safely say I don't want to anymore. Edit: but yes a car is a financial monstrosity
Growing up in America, there is one thing that I hadn’t realized I missed out on until now. As a kid you are unable to drive, meaning you are only limited to your suburban neighborhood or a 30 min walk to the closest store. 15 min if there is a gas station near by, that kind of sucks.
I've never considered buying a car, not even when commuting 9.5km (6 miles) on a bicycle in winter. It's like workout, sightseeing and saving money all at once. Okay, I took a bus when it reached below -20C. I can't imagine why people in warmer countries won't ride a bicycle everywhere every day, it's like you don't even appreciate how the air doesn't hurt your lungs.
Sitting in Cars = Bad, Sitting in Buses/Trains = Just Fine? I could ride a bicycle to work most of the time; it's not that far, with reasonably safe sidewalks, residential streets, and trails the whole way. But I choose not to, because any significant injury could either kill me or be financially ruinous -- certainly enough to wipe out the savings from not driving a car. And I'd still want/need a car anyway, for longer in-city trips, hauling tools and gear, or going to remote/rural locales that'd never have any kind of transit access, even in the alternative reality where the US actually cares enough to build a good network.
Bless the youtube recommendations, excited for more urban planning dives on youtube! Any ideas on how to transform existing suburban sprawl into less car-centric towns? I'm from California - SF Bay Area, Sacramento, and LA all have a terrible case of unfortunate transit design.
It really depends if you like cars, where you live and where you're going... Where I live I think both are stressful but public transportation is cheaper and a little bit less stressful. Some days are really bad and some days are really good.
That's so true. I got annoyed by driving by the age of 14, cuz I was playing every GTA since 2005 and every last one of them forces you to drive car endlessly from point to point, which is physically and mentally exhausting.
ok, it's been half a year ago and i changed my opinion. Majority of places on earth have neither climate nor infrastructure for bikes. And while bike is much cheaper, it required almost daily dirty maintenance like a newborn and it is such a pain in the ass. I've been driving the bike this whole year and bikes sucks, if you are not Netherlander. It gives you no protection from weather or accident, it has no "amentities", you constantly need both of your hands. You can't drive a bike in sand storm, at winter, during rain or in a criminal communities. Fuck bycicles
Now this seems aimed more for the well developed cities around the world, but then there's the sparesly populated areas where public transport goes twice a week or not at all. These are areas that, if it wasn't for cars, wouldn't be as populated as they are today. In contrast to what cars do in cities, on the countryside they function as a connection between people, often the only one. Unless you're cool and live by the ocean, then there's boats
5:10 That’s my home city of Porto in Northern Portugal! Shame that that particular mode of transport is made for everyone but the citizens of Porto. The eléctrico as we call it used to be a crucial part of commuters’ lives here, but now it’s just another tourist attraction
I agree with the premise. However, the reality is that if there are no cars in cities, public transit needs to be developed tenfold. Right now public transit is simply inadequate for me to stop using a car. And that comes from me. I live in Europe. Nearby one of the more walkable cities with good public transit judging by my country's standard.
... this does imply that cities are a good thing... Which I question greatly. A bunch of tightly packed places where you don't really know anyone, people die daily, higher crime rates, more depression, and the list goes on? The ideal social construct is tribal. You have a family unit inside a larger group of family units and you know and trust everyone in that group. Nowadays? We live alone, spend our time alone, trust no one, lie more frequently, and bash each other's skulls in more when we're packed into this apocalyptic nightmare where we're surrounded by people but don't know a single one. Okay... I will admit, some of those are unfounded. But the depression, loneliness, and higher crime rates are pretty well documented.
Wants: To bike to school for efficiency and to be fit Issues: Way too close to the road for comfort, goes through a large car intersection, all around scary (Even with that, that's my closest hs, not the 40 min car drive one I go to since since the good schools are in poor income neighborhoods to make them look good despite having a student base mainly from far outside its location)
I do live in a Car-dependant suburb and I am a Car enthusiast, but I'm spending a lot of my free time biking around Downtown Toronto and I'm enjoying that a lot more. Things are denser, more interesting. Everything is bigger yet made more for people. Driving back home, I got caught in Rush hour and I legit hated driving cause I could have taken a train that morning and taken it back in the evening, or even taken a GO bus which would have been stuck in the same traffic but I would have been able to entertain myself since driving distracted is very dangerous and illegal
I agree with the mental health aspect. I've lived in a couple countries and visited many more and neighborhoods outside America are more conducive to relationships with neighbors, shopowners, and other pedestrians. People actually know those around them and interact with them daily.
I live in a 6.000 people town in Germany and I need my car mainly to get to work in a small city near me, I would love to ride my bike there, but it would be either a 14km ride with a fairly steep climb up a valley or a 25km ride over a much more flat disused railroad route converted to a bicycle path between a few towns and small cities. Either way, at my current fitness level with my current bike it would be over an hour for each way. That being said, I usually use my bike for grocery shopping in town or when I have to get or bring something to the post office, I also often use my bike when I want to shop in a nearby town, while our bike infrastructure within towns sucks, it is surprisingly great between them. For longer trips I prefer to go by train, it is somewhat rare that you can´t easily reach a given destination by public transport here or at least with a reasonable walk from wherever the next bus / train stop is. I´m honestly always shocked at how terrible public transport seems to be in the US and Canada and how insanely car dependent and car focused they are built.
Yes I am shocked also at how it’s the year 2022 and the US and Canada is mostly car dependent and car focused and most of the cities and towns don’t have options so people who can’t drive for various reasons or are too Stressed don’t have choices
I didn't even get my driver's license until I was like 25 because in high school I was either walking, biking, taking BART, or in a car with others. Then I went to college in NY city, so I could rely on walking, public transit, or the occasional drive when someone else wanted to take me somewhere. When I moved to NJ it was absolutely essential to get my license just to earn a living, and even then sharing ownership of a car.
Some of this is a stretch. You run into people from your town often enough at stores and resraurants and everything. You can get a perfectly serviceable car for as little as $1000 if you take some time to look for a deal. A lot of the rest of this is more just personal preference. For me I like a more spread out and sparse living space without neighbors watching everything I do.
As someone who grew up in suburban sprawl, I feel that it's the opposite. In the suburbs I grew up in, people generally care more about what other people do, whereas in cities people don't care, which is super liberating as someone who couldn't handle the cultural homogeneity and pettiness of my small town. Plus, separating residences from local businesses within walking distance removes serendipitous social interactions, and basically destroys community, especially if you're young and have to rely on your parents to shuttle you around everywhere. When you have to _plan_ every social interaction, removing spontaneity in the process, you miss something essential to the human experience.
Also Check out Eco Gecko's video, How the 'Burbs are Killing Us: th-cam.com/video/IUzuRL0uJnw/w-d-xo.html
Me and my friend used to get out so much, walking everydayday at least 20km at staying outside..till we got our license and he uses his car even going like around the block to the store
There are some countries where you can actually bike or walk or take buses or some mediocre to decent metros around at the very least, the capital. One of those is the Philippines, and this place is filled with so many politicians talking about new highways and trains to alleviate traffic in the capital's metro area aka Metro Manila and there is already existing public transportation infrastructure that is half-decent at the least. But, many people here still, even if there are increasing alternatives, get the chance to buy or use a car and it adds to the traffic hell even with the new highways due to induced demand (we have a new elevated tollway that slices right through the capital to alleviate traffic on the existing highways and thoroughfares)
This is because Metro Manila is generally unsafe. Even with heightened police presence, most communities have badly lit streets, high amounts of homeless people, slums along most vacant streets, and bad urban planning or community law enforcement. The Police are also notoriously corrupt. There is also the fact that you can get mugged in broad daylight and no one will chase after the criminal especially when they have a gun or a knife. There's also high reports of burglaries against middle class citizens, so most houses are gated and gated communities are everywhere. This is one reason why so many Filipinos want cars, it's safer than walking since you won't get mugged, taking the train or bus since you won't get pickpocketed, or taking the bike because you won't get killed by a 15 ton truck whose brakes and tires haven't been serviced and is going overspeed into a blind corner. Another reason, and I think this is also something that is very important, is that housing and rent prices relative to the minimum wage inside and near the center of the metro areas with well developed transportation and safe communities have gone through the roof, forcing most Filipinos to move to unsafe areas or places really far from their work or from good public transportation, so they're definitely going to buy a car or loan one even if it means they'll be in the dump financially.
Just wanted to put like case study for how other factors contribute to continuing car use and how it can be a systemic or institutional problem.
For an immigrant from Europe it was a definite shock when driving through American suburban towns, the lack of pedestrians made the towns look dead and almost post-apocalyptic.
Yup I used to walk around my suburb for hours at a time while listening to dnb and I literally maybe saw one person a day fucking unreal I hate this life here
@@emiliofernandez7117 yes the only people I see are people walking dogs or jogging around suburbs. It does seem dead compared to even small towns in Europe or England
Yeah it is worse now. Everyone is either playing video games, computer or TV, inside their jail cell and they are brainwashed that this is an optimal lifestyle.
You must be coming from a densely populated area of Europe. Plenty of European neighborhoods look like that
@@Breastsinmymouthplease wtf is that name 😂😂😂
Can't wait until this channel blows up
The channel seems to be doing pretty well right now! Hopefully subscribers can put up with a bit of time between videos. I prefer to find "real" topics rather than just pumping out video after video.
Thanks for watching and thanks for commenting :)
- UD
@@theurbandoctor787 it seems interesting, you earned a sub from me.
@@theurbandoctor787 subscribers can wait the algorithm won’t I prefer quality over quantity
@@theurbandoctor787 90k views! i saw the newest vid, and its really nice having someone who can add comedy to civil engineering concepts. Definitely an untapped audience! and also look up this video about efficiency of different road designs, maybe you've seen it already th-cam.com/video/yITr127KZtQ/w-d-xo.html , but I think showing satisfying city designs could really make the whole concept of urban planning more approachable.
I'm excited to see this channel grow!
It’s gonna
This is the video I've wanted for years. Love it!
Silv!
I think it should be stated that for old, super young and disabled people, there is no freedom. They have to be chauffeured around being a burden on everyone else. Walkable areas in public transit allows that freedom of which a car could never grant. Plus an increasing amount of vehicle related accidents/deaths or attributed to elderly people behind the wheel
I always found it ironic that some people live in NYC most of their lives and never have to drive then at age 70 they move to Florida and have to start driving.
@@clydelaz Florida is a death trap due to super dangerous road designs meeting people who are unable to safely operate the vehicles.
I should note that plenty of disabled people drive themself.
@@paxundpeace9970 That's true but as a disabled person who leaves his house less than once a month because I cant drive and the best public transit we have is a handful of taxis that have to be scheduled days in advance, the way we build cities sucks. Also there is this wonderful amount of vision you can have where you cant see well enough to get a license but you see too well to get disability which is just a receipe for forced homelessness.
@@DopaminedotSeek3rcolonthree it's a trend in america that we are so obsessed with being allowed to do whatever we want that we stop thinking about what those choices actually make us practically able to do
TH-cam must be lying to me when it says this is your first video. Lovely work, keep it up!
Thanks so much for saying that! I can't tell you how motivating that is.
@@theurbandoctor787 I cannot even fathom all the skills required to write, animate and voice this 6 min video. Keep it up!
I agree! These videos are just great!
@@theurbandoctor787 I have to wholeheartedly agree with Ben.
I was ... _slightly surprised_ when I went to your channel (to find the next part of this video/series XD) and only saw _3_ videos with this being the first.
Growing up less well off than most, I could never even afford to get driving lessons or get a license. I used to feel really ashamed of that but since I started riding a bike and adopting a generally more active lifestyle, I realize now how much of a bullet I've dodged for both my physical and mental health. This video really helps to affirm my feelings on the topic. I really look forward to seeing this channel grow!
How do you ride a bike without the fear of getting run over
@@D.KlWA-aG You get used to it
I was originally thinking of going to driving school and learning how to drive but I feel like its a good life skill but it doesn't feel right especially if there's traffic and stuff being in the passenger seat is something i'd rather have.
@@D.KlWA-aG Training. If you expect everyone to a) not see you and b) be out to kill you, it's pretty fine.
I'm 33 and I _just_ (like, literally this week) applied to get A and B class driving licenses (car and bike). Never had the money for it either.
I would walk to the bus stop in the mornings for work but there are no bus routes after 7PM here so I have to get an Uber.
I learned this when I got in my first major traffic jam at the age of 17. I realized that there was literally no other option to get around instead of driving. And since everyone drives, if something happens to the road, then everything goes to shit until the road is fixed.
For real, it makes such a difference walking around mixed-use spaces. It's hard to explain just how fulfilling it feels to live somewhere where you want to go outside and spend time on the street just to see what's going on and who's around, and to be able to walk to buy groceries, go to the doctor, etc. It's hard to call somewhere home when all the things you need to live are half an hour apart
Yeah that "feeling" is what I want to experience more. There are so many reasons for walkability - health, the environment, financials... but perhaps the most emotional drive for many of us is that beautiful feeling of urban "intimacy" that you get with a walkable area. Like it's built for you.
- UD
@@theurbandoctor787 we evolved in a tribal environment surrounded with people, I think we need to be part of it to be fulfilled. People like to be around other people and gatherings attract more people (read this idea in some book about urbanism).
I don't enjoy mixed used streets at all, they are just too busy and crowded. They also often lack green spaces or open spaces overall. You just get a narrow sidewalk that is often even obstructed by cafes' tables, take it or leave it. It is just great to relax in a quiet and green suburbs, many in Europe are even jealous of such lifestyle, especially if they had to live all their life in a cramped apartment inside the city center near some noisy street and without any private yard or garden.
@@theurbandoctor787 Interesting that in Europe when most people know nothing better than living in dense cities all their life, many see having a spacious private house, a yard and escaping to green suburbs as a goal, a quality of life improvement and as overall higher achievement in life.
@@ligametis I totally agree that it's wonderful to live somewhere green and spacious; I'm torn between wanting to live in the city and the country. I think the problem - at least here in Australia - comes as urban developers and local government exploit this desire to have a block of land to yourself and build sprawling suburbs of 0.25ha blocks and completely level all of the native vegetation. The suburb ends up being a sterile landscape of identical houses too disperse to have a community centre, but with no real connection to nature or any relevant greenery either. Everyone's forced to drive everywhere and it ends up making life worse for people living in surrounding suburbs too, because they have all of this extra vehicle congestion. I kind of recognise that it's not feasible for everyone to live on their own big, green block of land. If mixes spaces are done right, we can cut down urban sprawl and design our blocks to have green spaces for the people who live there. If you have 10x the density, you can convert half of your block into a park and still have more people living together, with more opportunities for businesses and community centres to be supported than in the diffuse outer suburbs.
As a gearhead i have to say i actually like the fact most younger people don't even want to drive. It leaves more for those of us who actually enjoy driving, and people who don't want to drive shouldn't drive.
The only thing i wouldn't want to see is an outright ban of self owned vehicles...which isn't far fetched.
Considering Tesla and Google are developing self driving software i can't help but to think it adds to all the problems you've mentioned in the video, as a matter of fact, we can think of public transportation as the same type of chauffeuring. You sit in a bus/self driving vehicle, you get driven to your destination while mindlessly staring into your phone, then just hop out.
Obese moms driving slushbox automatic SUV's are the problem, not those who just enjoy the cruise once in a while.
Yeah I feel you on this. I know that urban areas need to be changed so people can live without cars, but if being able to operate a car or, much more so for me, a motorcycle is banned outright everywhere I would just give up on life.
Motorcycling for a lot of people including myself is an intensely therapeutic activity. Each ride is like an adventure, taking in new sights, sounds, and even smells. Experiencing the world as being part of it rather than seperated like a car or bus or train. Now to an extent you get this with a bicycle, as afterall a motorcycle is just a bike with onboard power, but you cant go as far due to limits in speed and endurance of the rider.
I don’t see how cars could ever be banned. I would not be for that either although I’m very strongly for walkable neighborhoods and for bike paths and for neighborhoods that have a better atmosphere that you can walk to grocery stores nearby without the big parking lots and so forth. I think some people tried to ban guns of course that’s never gotten done I personally am not for banning guns except for ones like automatic and machine guns. Nobody needs to hunt a deer with a machine gun.
Very nice video and presentation. Simple and to the point. I’m writing a 10 page essay on the same topic, so it’s cool to see the same concepts here. Good luck with the future and I think this simple 2021 style of content could show a lot of people especially young ones about this topic.
I appreciate the comment. I'd love to get my hands on that 10-page paper of yours! Thanks for watching.
- UD
Yooo, I'd really like to read that ten page essay as well if at all possible :)
There are only two uploads and they're already dope af
If there're plenty of high speed trains, buses or subways, along with well-maintained highways for you to choose, and you decide to drive your car to wherever you want, that's freedom.
If the public transportation is trash, you and everyone else can only drive cars, even if you can drive car to wherever you want, you have no freedom.
Exactly we have trains busses and shit in this country but the freeways are better. Most people don’t wanna be shoved in a fart tube next to fat strangers. Most people would rather be in their air conditioned SUV
The freedom of driving a car is trumped by the freedom to not have to drive a car.
"you have no freedom" is a pretty bad conclusion, I get your point, but that last statement is simply wrong.
@@MaoDev it is not wrong
Yeah it's freedom
To do stupid things
Great video! And I am saying that from a perspective of a hardcore car enthusiast. I'd also say this is much more prominent in the US, as I can state from my personal experience. When I was on a US student exchange in Portland MA, I was simply shocked by how little people actually walked there. My US friends found it bizarre that I've walked like 2kms each morning to school and then back in the afternoon. They all drove to school, while some of them living even closer to the school than I did. I also found the US city layout so inconvenient, with minimum sidewalks, parks, benches and little to none public transport. The streets are unnecessarily wide, and everything is far apart and in rectangular shape. In my hometown, everything is walking distance, and you can take the tram or bus everywhere (which is weird considering it's 4 times the size of Portland MA). Many EU cities have started to actually make the city cores car-free (looking at you, Brussels), and it has helped so much for the city to be much more alive.
I look at cars as a hobby, I enjoy going for roadtrips, or hitting the track, but when commuting, it's simply more convenient for me to take the train here in the Czech Republic. I, as a student pay only like 2$ per 100 kms (60 miles), while if I drove on the highway, it would cost me at least 10$ for the diesel alone (that being said I do have a 1.9MultiJet 140 kW Lancia Delta that gets like 35 mpg).
This is the kind of comment that I like to see! I totally get car enthusiasm - cars can be super fun, super useful, and works of art. But building a city around cars instead of people? That is just nonsense.
I loved walking to school, and I agree that the notion of driving to university just seems... odd. Especially within 2km! US roads being too wide deserves a video in and of itself... so silly. Your hometown sounds like a great place. Thanks for commenting :)
- UD
@@theurbandoctor787 It would be definetly a interesting video to dig into :) Btw. the size of American cars doesn't help much.
@@drakvaclav826 yeah car enthusiast should totally want more and better public transport infrastructure, it allows them choose when and where they get to drive rather than forced into going by car for going anywhere.
Exactly, plus it also means less cars on the road overall, thus less traffic jams, and other frustrating traffic scenarios. :)
Compared to bikes, cars are for wankers.
I binge watched all of your videos after discovering this channel!
Hahaha hopefully I'll have more videos for you to binge soon! Trying to get the next one out before too long, but quite busy with other things right now. Gotta pay the bills!
3 videos in a month. Im not a youtuber so i dont know if thats good or not. Having seen all your videos i agree with you...how ever. Im a delivery driver and therefore need a car. That being said i ve had lots of people ride my tail its infuriating.
Im also attempting to write and one of the topics i want to do is a group of youtubers living together. So what all does a youtuber need to know/have to do their job?
Keep up the great work
I wish I had proper train infrastructure where I live, because it's so unbelieavably time consuming going anywhere by bike/train/bus. A 20 minute drive to my grandpa's house takes 1.5 hours by bus. And back when I was in college a 35~ min drive became 3 hours in bus and train, either way you pay expensive fees for transport with money, or with your time.
Trains are freaking expensive to build. Maybe bus infrastructure is a replacement? Also cheaper train infrastructure isn't much faster than an intercity bus. Even in Europe trains cost at least twice as much as a plane ticket, so rarely choose it.
@@ligametis But trains are downtown to Downtown, and the plane tickets you're thinking of are for RyanAir which will destroy your spine on landing. Think about it, you're paying for your ride comfort on a plane, yet on a train, the tracks are all the same, only difference is the seat quality and amenities
@@coastaku1954 trains really are not usually downtown to downtown. Some stations are in suburbs to avoid noise in city center while many cities are not even connect by straight rail access, you have to move in twisty line or change the train to reach your destination. And I was talking about the cheapest trains with simple seats or even without one (reserved that is). If you want comfort in a train you have to pay even more. In conclusion there are just a couple routes in whole Europe that make sense to choose over a plane or a bus but they have to be not too close and not too far away. Ryanair seats are decent enough if you pay less than half what the train costs and reach your destination faster, either way I always rent a car in foreign country to easily access different sights. Good luck using trains from Warsaw to Naples. And even from Berlin it is 3 changes, takes 1 day 5 hours in one without reserved seat and in other two trains without reclining seat, 200€ per person. While with plane it is only 2h20min for 140€.
@@ligametis Most, if not all European train stations are in the city centre since they were built before cars. Look at London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Birmingham, Oslo, hell, any little town as their station pretty damn close to the town center. The only country that does suburban stations to serve the whole city is the US with it's abundance of Amshacks. Plus, I love that you ignored my point about RyanAir being uncomfortable and Trains being consistent
@@coastaku1954 Ryanair is comfortable enough compared to what you get for a higher price with a train where you don't even get a reservation for a seat (you might be left without one). I gave you exact comparison how worse it is to for example go by train from Berlin to Naples than by plane. Train stations in the center are pretty bad due to noise they make, it is not as bad as airport in the city center but still bad. Buses are quieter.
I've been telling this people for years and they always think I'm crazy lol
People enjoy different things, many don't want to live in a city and from suburbs car is still probably the best option.
Cars are not that bad if you avoid congested traffic especially where temperature inversion occurs.
@@ligametis of corse it makes sense to have a car if you're like on the country side but the people I'm referring to are mostly in nicely planned, modern european cities but through media some of those american ideas washed up over here even if they make no sense...also only psychotic serial killers like to live in the suburbs :P
@@kerwinbrown4180 what's temperature inversion related to traffic? but I'd disagree..cars are noisy, stinking death traps...maybe I'm biased cause I literally got hit by cars twice already
In the record of history often smart, and progressive thinking people were deemed crazy.
I bought a bike and commuted to work in London, UK. Definitely happier and healthier, and enjoying the extra disposable income!
But here I am a young, white, relatively affluent man who is willing to take on risks to cycle in to the centre of my city.
In the last year, as a response to the pandemic, we've seen pavements ('sidewalks' for our American friends) widened, the introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs), segregated cycle infrastructure built and more pedestrianised areas created. Hopefully we will see more of these. A subtle point you made in the vid is that for walking & biking to be viable we need appropriate infrastructure for them.
Good infrastructure opens up routes previously thought un-walkable or un-cyclable for kids, parents, women, the elderly, and those with mobility difficulties.
As the saying goes: TRAIN GOOD. CAR BAD.
Here's another comment because interaction is good for the al gore rhythm.
Hahaha cheers! Really appreciate that kindness :)
don't forget Bikes better and Feet best
All strong points, love it. Ironically the money you mentioned made me instantly think of the type of upgrades I could put in my car🤣
I recently moved to a spread-out town and have been feeling like a sociopath while walking 5 miles round-trip to the grocery store. Me being the only person on the sidewalk while everybody drives. At least I’m healthy.
In towns like this I’ve been hassled by the police because I looked “suspicious” walking.
you're the only one inhaling all the smoke from the cars going by, jokes on you buddy.
@@danieldaniels7571 Same, I live in a town like this and have been stopped countless times. I'm not 18 yet so they always call my mom and have her come pick me up because I'm apparently not able to walk a half mile to the grocery store for another year.
@@sammym6239 Are you not white by any chance?
@@Danuxsy Yes, let's all live in a bubble and burn everything else to the ground because, if everybody is in a bubble, then nothing is wrong with it, only the stupid people would live outside their bubbles and inhale all the smoke and toxic fumes, dumbasses.
This is how you sound to me.
In the Netherlands, they have very nice bikes. In the United States, it is almost impossible to go anywhere with a bike. There may be an empty street in the back, but sometimes there are cars, and there is no cycling lanes. Most cars go extremely fast, so you can't see them coming.
This feels like a old channel that has dozens of videos about a niche topic that I have just stumbled across but its new.
I hope it does grow more
Urban doctor: “Bikes are stress free when they’re given dedicated space”
Amsterdam bike traffic jams: 🤫
A bike takes much less space than a car, and doesn't keep polluting the air like a car does even when standing still. Gotta say though, intrigued that there can even be bike traffic jams, going to look them up
@@adityapathak5761 oh I bike to work. Even where I live in Seattle there can be bike traffic jams though.
@@adityapathak5761 twenty years ago, Beijing traffic was a river of bikes as long as the eye can see shuffling along at slightly more than walking speed.
Well that's probably because it's still not enough space
As someone who uses a bike to get where i need to go i can tell you the most stressful thing is drivers. They tend not too be super aware of their surroundings.
As someone who lives in a very rural area, a car isn't an option no matter the city design. But that being said, I wish monstrosities like Denver hadn't grown into absolutely requiring cars to go anywhere in that nightmarish traffic. Just because I need a car doesn't mean I want to use it all the time.
As a car enthusiast myself I can say that I respect the research and some of the points you made in this video
I was surprised to find out how new is this channel! It's is growing fast, congratulations!
4:51 THIS is why I left the US years ago. Even from this image, you can just smell the lifelessness of the community.
"Driving cars involves no activity"
People who drive manuals: You underestimate my ability!
it makes me laugh that so many people in america cant use a gearbox lol
This maybe makes sense when you drive a automatic SUV in a good road.
Because I can get very tired driving my little cheap manual FIAT hatchback after driving it for some time. 😅
@@Gean...de...Oliveira Americans are so bad at driving manuals, they created a truly automatic (Self driving) cars
@@LiterallyVera what car is that?
My friend in his short paddle shifted 11 gear rally car: **INFINITE POWER**
I don't think cars are bad.
The excessive use of them is.
I love cars. They are THE HOBBY.
The problem is that the majority of people don't use them because they like it. They just want the comfort, the status, etc.
It's funny how I use more public transportation on my daily life and the car more for fun. 😅
I agree
I'd say bike commuting can be really stressful, too, when commuting in traffic. But, there aren't a lot of dedicated bike lanes or paths where I live and work, so that's part of it.
Trains are not going to work in the sprawling cities of the United States where 50% of commutes are inter-suburban. Buses are not only much more cost-efficient, but also much more flexible, much faster to implement, and don't require the demolition of people's homes to build paths for them. A lot of rail projects have failed in California due to the amount of disruption that their implementation causes.
Overblown NIMBY nonsense, light rail exist and there is plenty of space to build infrastructure without having to bulldoze homes.
@@ANTSEMUT1 there aren't just lines of unused land leading from the suburbs to downtown. It doesn't matter if there's a lot of unused land if the land all around the downtown is used. Also High-Speed rail is mostly useful to connect smaller cities to more major ones (such as Oakland to SF).
There's just no reason to make this into a major political battle when there are much more flexible, faster to implement, and more economical means of accomplishing the same objective.
Projects have failed in the past precisely due to protest regarding the bulldozing of homes. It's not like people are protesting a non-existent issue. They're protesting the fact that they have to suffer a personal loss for the sake of the whole. Especially when a lot of the time the value of government compensation is lower than the actual value of the home.
If building the high-speed rail is not worth the market value of the homes being bulldozed in addition to the construction value and subjective value of the noise pollution of the surrounding area, then the high-speed rail is not worth building. In other words the government does not find it worth it to compensate people to the extent that they feel that the high-speed rail costs them. Thus it's not actually economical to build High-Speed rail in America.
@@johnrollex680 WOW, you took the words right out of my mouth! Flexibility and capital costs are ignored so often, when in reality they're the most important components of an efficient transportation system.
I think it would be interesting if you did a series where you looked at individual cities in the US and compared them to more successful cities with similar geological constraints and offered your thoughts on how the struggling cities can improve. This is coming from a Seattlite who has witnessed the continually failling attempt to make the very hilly, very wet, very spread out city a biking town
try making a very hilly, very wet, very spread out city a biking town
Dr White I don't know your definition for very wet but Zürich, Switzerland would be a example of a very hilly, wet city with great public transport and good bycicle infrastruktur
@@marcor815 you forgot very spread out, try biking for a couple of miles just to go to a gas station, or to a general store, US is not like Europe where most people live in either compact living quarters or in cities.
@@marcor815 especially if you live far and buy groceries and have to come back, also the public transport only really is efficient if you live in a more compact living area where everyone is close proximity area if everyone lives far, thus making them more expensive to maintain due to there neche uses, (because most people use cars because it is easier in that situation.) and a higher income tax for something you don't even use.
Most citiots or euros don't understand how large and spaced out the US is.
Dr White the Chanel is called "the Urban Doctor" and it is about comparing cities, not the countryside. Of course on the countryside, where you drive a mile just to get to your neighbour, the situation is different. If you have miles after miles of familiy houses next to each other, then it is a problem he talked about in another video. But if you have miles between the houses, I would never call it urban or a city
I've been living with a principle of "i will get a car eventually, but I only plan on using it when walking or public transport can't take me to my destination". I understand the problem that many cities rely too much on cars, but I have hope that more cities will become people- and pedestrian-friendly in the future.
Needless to say, I like your content so far. Here's hoping you get to the point where this channel helps pay your bills. :D
As a car enthusiast and a mechanic, I really believe cars have no place in cities and will actually be very destructive. I love my boosted 5 spd Miata, for my leisure driving, and as the only car we have in the household. When going to work or running errands, I bike and take transit. My kids bike to school and activities.
"And you've got yourselves a city that's made for *people* "
It's as I always say
We live in a world day by day made more and more *by* humans, but not *for* humans.
“literally no physical activity” someone hasn’t driven a car with no power steering
I live in Berlin, Germany. I don't own a car, I don't need one. If I do, I rent one - still much cheaper. My commute is 20min by bike or public transport. Combined, I spend less than 2k$ on transport annually. Cars do not create freedom, they make you dependent and result in terrible urban planning that drives our societies apart and hurts small businesses.
Yeah Germany seems like a place where someone can easily choose to not own a car and still have a wonderfully functional life (despite the fact that the Germans are like the Kings of cars!). I realize that cars aren't really going anywhere soon, but it would be nice if, in Canada and the USA, more people could choose a car-free life as you have described. Thanks for watching!
@@theurbandoctor787 when you go beyond large cities, the car becomes a necessity here. No, cars aren't going anywhere for sure. But many trips could be shortened or done with other means of transport - all over the world. The automotive lifestyle has been lived to the maximum for decades, I think younger generations are starting to see its flaws.
Anyways, great content, looking forward to more! :)
@TJT Well said. Thanks for tuning in!
@Albert Felsen ever heard of car sharing? or car rental? if you live in a city, you spend most of your time there. If I go on a trip into a rural area, I simply rent a car for those 20 days a year. if I need to transport heavy stuff, I rent a car for an hour or two.
@Albert Felsen What about banning cars from the city but allowing townspeople to rent cars for outside the city? And also using systems like "park & ride" for village people if there is no option to get with public transport into the city?
Can't wait to move to a country that doesn't require me to spend thousands of dollars on some buggy to move around.
Same. It sucks that in qatar, you don't really have any choice since public transportation barely has developed (they focused their budget on roads and highways). I would love the convenience of just being able to walk or ride a train.
Dude just start advocating for the changes you want in your home area. I started to visit city halls to speak about this issues.
this video and your most recent video about The Line are so so good, I can't believe that they're your only videos on the channel. I'm subbing at 948 subs and keep up the quality content!
I think TH-cam remembered me watching another video discussing why the line is bad (Well There's You're Problem podcast episode Gulf States Vanity Projects), as well as binging Not Just Bikes videos that have a similar viewpoint.
Glad I found your channel. The rise of urbanism on TH-cam, Twitter and TikTok is super heartening.
found you channel today, and dude, you're rocking it! Seems like you have similar interests as "not just bikes", might be interesting to check out. You seem like a combination of not just bikes and tapakapa, and I'm loving it!
i often complain about dutch trains but after more than a year of not commuting (and my student discount coming to an end) i so miss the freedom and opportunity they provided me (not having a driver’s license)
that hour i was trapped on the tube was truly the best time to my reading for classes, i really relied on it... can’t do that in a car
This definitely applies in Australia. I would cycle everywhere if there were dedicated cycle lanes. It's simply not safe to be on two wheels around here.
This justifies my apprehension of buying a car, thanks
How you feel about motorcycles?
@@bonda_racing3579 Death machines
@@m136dalie 😔 damn I understand. But their very convenient when going around town and parking them anywhere you want. Anyways I won't bother you any longer.
@@m136dalie they are death machines only if someone who is incompetent is behind the wheel.
As a car guy I think you should buy a car only if you love cars, if you NEED a car or maybe if you have a lot of money and you're going to use it here and there (because some things are way more convenient when you have a car).
This was great, and if this is your first video, I cannot believe how good your tenth video will be 🥳🥳
subscribed!
Thanks for the sub! I really hope I can make significant improvements by then. Suggestions are always welcome!
Great video! Nicely and clearly explained. If I could give one tip to improve your video's it is the audio quality, it's not bad but improving it will make your video's much more attractive.
Thanks for the tip! I used a lav mic for it ($20) and I think I'll probably just stick to that for w little while. But yeah the audio is definitely the limiting factor (and better editing...). Cheers!
I don't got much to say besides I really like yer content, albeit few so far. Can't wait for more!
As much as i love my car and driving it , i usually jump at every opportuninty do ride public transport instead. Atleast then i dont have to worry about the thing.
True am a car enthusiasts but I normally drive for pleasure or picking up things like a desk or sofa. Otherwise a street car will do for me.
Another thing to consider is that if driving a car is a want rather than a need, it means less congested highways, and better drivers in general.
If america was as strict about lisences as germany or france, many people wouldnt be on the road. now in france or germany, thats not a problem, you can still get around. But in america, that effectively makes you unemployable, which is why comparatively lisences are easy to obtain and hard to lose.
Fans of driving should welcome the push for other transportation options.
@@bonda_racing3579
Exactly. Sometimes I take the car to do something because I want to drive, to change the gears, listen to the exhaust.
But in general, I basically use the bus or the train.
And... I love buses... so, not a big problem to me (but I hate when they're full).
Is it just me or have channels about urbanism become more and more popular the last year?
You are one of my favourite new finds, keep up the great work!
So the overall conclusion is that as a form of transport, cars will always suck no matter what.
In my humble opinion however, it's about time cars should be given a whole new purpose for what they are and what they should be, because they really have so much more potential than just getting from A to B, to the extent that they could be viewed as a hobby instead of a necessity.
I do support public transport and having less cars on the road, but the remaining cars should be the ones driven by people who drive for pleasure, not by people who "have to drive just to run their errands".
Sure, just not on public roads
In other words, only elites, professionals and hobbyists should be allowed to drive.
I bike to work.
~$2000/year saved in fuel alone.
~$2400/year in saved car insurance
~$300/year in oil changes saved
I feel better the whole day when I bike as the fresh air and cardio first thing in the morning wakes you up better than any coffee ever would.
The cardio helps you maintain a healthy body fat level, this alone helps you feel better drastically
A bike is cheaper all together as stated above. And I don't have the stress associated with driving, or parking a car.
Anyone who lives within 4 miles of their job if there is a sidewalk or its a residential street I highly suggest you try biking to work.
Why pay money just to go make money when you can keep more of the money you make just by doing a bit of biking each day.
Nice a new urban planning channel
Man i always hated that suburbs look. And the huge parking space too!
Thank you for putting my feelings into words.
I like the idea of having different options, but Im not sure I can give up a car completely
I've talked about this exact same thing with my dad but he simply can't imagine living without cars. for him this is simply madness, but for me and as I can see for many others is a dream.
Bruh, is it that hard to accept people love the things that you guys call just a junk piece of metal?
As a car enthusiast, I want all of the maniacs who hate the world and tailgate me with their big useless GMC suburbans OFF THE ROAD. It would sure heal congestion.
I remember when I used to live in Seabrook, there were always these old dudes at the planning board who would periodically pitch a case for investing in a light rail system in the town. Really, their apparent care for urban planning and the future of the town was just a very obvious disguise for their childish love and fascination with trains.
Nothing wrong with a fascination with trains and nothing wrong with your fascination with cars.
Great points made here. I have seriously considered taking a lesser paying job within a few miles of my home to allow me to walk, and or bike there instead of drive, and cut our household down to one car.
When I lived in Denver I was able to take the train to and from work every day and it was... unimaginably nice. The worst part of my commute was the drive to and from the park and ride lot, I wish it could be like that for everyone
So u just despise cars in general?
@@thomaspanditfan2435
Have you driven in Denver? It sucks ass lol
But ok, we'll look at it this way; my monthly payment for my truck is $281, not even counting my $15k down payment, my insurance premium is I think around $129/month, I fill up gas about every other week so call that about $100/month. So that is over $500 dollars a month i spend on my vehicle. That's more than some peoples weekly paycheck in this country. There's also maintenance and consumables, a full set of tires is $800 minimum, full synthetic oil changes are about $80, and thank god I haven't had any accidents or mechanical failures yet.
Now admittedly, I have a nicer, newer vehicle, and I am able to afford all this somewhat comfortably. But not everyone else has been so lucky to be in the same position as me. So my point is, I don't despise cars in general, I enjoy driving, but do I wish the society we lived in didn't force us to saddle ourselves with these massively expensive, massively wasteful machines? Of course I do
@@fritzophrenia3146 u see that's the difference between people like u who only like cars as a means of transport and people like me who actually love cars. For me, my car is more than just a piece of machinery. It's basically part of my family now. With all that I have done to it and how many good times I have spent with it, I would never sell it.
@@thomaspanditfan2435 Ok that's cool, you've got a hobby and I respect that, but shouldn't people have the freedom to choose whether they want to be a part of it? Like honestly, I hope you understand that this isn't an attack on you personally just because people are talking about how building a society around car ownership can be kinda crappy
@@fritzophrenia3146 no man I completely understand. That's why as soon as I understood your perspective I respected your opinion and where you are coming from.
But I don't like the people who just say cars are bad and polluting and should be scrapped. These are probably the same people which caused the massive amount of steam engines to be scrapped.
Love that I got recommended your channel! I’m glad I’m here early and can’t wait for more videos!
What brilliant summary of so much that is wrong with American city planning! This is why I'm studying to be a city planner. Btw, are you familiar with the Strong Towns movement? They talk a lot about the unsustainable subsidies we give our cars.
Hey there thanks for the kind comment! I have certainly heard of Strong Towns. Chuck's book (A Bottom-Up Revolution to Rebuild American Prosperity) is absolutely fantastic. I think that book, plus Jeff Speck's Walkable Cities, is all someone would need to read in order to "see it". Then it can't be unseen!
- UD
@@theurbandoctor787 Oh my gosh, Yes! I just finished reading Walkable Cities and the Strong Towns book. Such inspiration! (Might I also recommend Jan Gehl's Cities for People?) Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm looking forward to seeing this channel grow.
I stopped biking after I moved on top of a mountain and I didn't want to have to bike up the mountain after I got done with work. I actually forgot that I used to love biking instead of driving, and I'm moving to flatter ground soon, so thank you for reminding me to use a bike instead of a car
Alan referred me to your channel from his discord server. Great video!
Well then I'm in debt to Alan! Great guy, it seems. I'll try to hop on that Discord server in my free time. Thanks for watching!
Your videos are awesome! I hope the algorithm will be kind to you
This is why i've always been confused why suburbs and cities even use cars. I live in a more rural around a village and I do think cars actually matter more out here than they do in cities. I mean entire buildings have to be built in cities just to house cars.
So, cars are not dumb, they can be fun, useful and convenient. But the way people use them is really dumb.
They don't even like it but they use it to do anything. 🤔
I live in a small village in Germany. We have one small supermarket and two more shops for the essentials and I can reach everything by foot or bike. Everything else I need to get from the nearest city. But there is only one bus every half an hour driving to that city and only until 9 o'clock. So if you want to be flexible you need a car. I hate that because driving in bigger cities is really painful: It's full, you have to pay attention to everything so that you don't hurt anyone, the streets and the parking spaces are very narrow and all that makes it very stressful. A solution could be expanding the public transport system or to enable to "park & ride", which unfortunately not every city has.
I am really looking forward into your ideas in your next videos :)
Exactly, when I see wide streets and huge parkings in US I am in a way jealous but also understand that creates other problems. It is annoying that large cities in Europe are becoming almost separate closed off "countries" that aren't really welcoming to outsiders. Even though are walkable inside it is very difficult to easily and comfortably access them from outside. It costs a lot to pay for parking and it also takes a lot of time and effort to find one. If you need to go to the city and depend on it but live in some less wealthy rural area or town nearby overall it isn't great. You can take a bus, but then you can't buy much and it becomes full day trip. But car is great tool to have a trip to nature, some natural parks, historical sites and other towns in this sense it gives freedom bus or train could never provide.
Can't wait to boast about being here since before 500 subscribers. only a matter of time until you run your very own Curiosity Stream and Nebula bundle Ads in your videos:)
cheers
Thanks so much for the motivation! Just diving in to work on the next video right now :)
- UD
@The Aristocrat 1.13K now hehe.
@The Aristocrat 1.2K now. love to see it
Lol
30k now.
>cars.. are dumb
I instantly subscribed after hearing that
Can’t wait for more videos! I’m so happy that this attitude is becoming more and more mainstream.
The problem for me is that the supermarket is 29 miles away from my house and there are no busses out here in the countryside. Until I move or, miraculously, a bus route comes by here, I need my car.
Yeah definitely - that's the problem. That is really not your fault, and I honestly have no real problem when people drive cars because they have to, especially in the countryside. Heck, I drive too. It really needs to be a coordinated effort by municipalities/cities and developers (and politicians, let's be honest) to make walkable/bikeable cities more prevalent. Tough task. Thanks for the comment!
- UD
I live walking distance from my grocery store, but carrying groceries for a family on foot simply isn’t practical. It’s difficult enough to to carry a case of water into the house from my car.
@@danieldaniels7571 I think a cargo bike maybe a thing you should consider. Or some kind of personal cart idk I think it should exist.
@@ilcubo32 no thanks. I got a car; I’m good.
Frankly I don't want to talk to people on my walk and after walking 5 miles a day everyday for work I can safely say I don't want to anymore.
Edit: but yes a car is a financial monstrosity
If only you have a bus service.
This channel definitely gonna blow up
This is literally why I want to move back to France
Growing up in America, there is one thing that I hadn’t realized I missed out on until now. As a kid you are unable to drive, meaning you are only limited to your suburban neighborhood or a 30 min walk to the closest store. 15 min if there is a gas station near by, that kind of sucks.
"Cars are a deprechiating and expensive burden."
Not ours, lol.
22 year old Clio 2 (older than I am) 1.2L, worth ~100€,
and 0 intention to sell it.
I've never considered buying a car, not even when commuting 9.5km (6 miles) on a bicycle in winter. It's like workout, sightseeing and saving money all at once. Okay, I took a bus when it reached below -20C. I can't imagine why people in warmer countries won't ride a bicycle everywhere every day, it's like you don't even appreciate how the air doesn't hurt your lungs.
While I agree I still love driving out to the middle of nowhere and racing time.
Sitting in Cars = Bad, Sitting in Buses/Trains = Just Fine?
I could ride a bicycle to work most of the time; it's not that far, with reasonably safe sidewalks, residential streets, and trails the whole way. But I choose not to, because any significant injury could either kill me or be financially ruinous -- certainly enough to wipe out the savings from not driving a car. And I'd still want/need a car anyway, for longer in-city trips, hauling tools and gear, or going to remote/rural locales that'd never have any kind of transit access, even in the alternative reality where the US actually cares enough to build a good network.
I choose not to eat because i might choke and die is basically what your saying
Bless the youtube recommendations, excited for more urban planning dives on youtube!
Any ideas on how to transform existing suburban sprawl into less car-centric towns? I'm from California - SF Bay Area, Sacramento, and LA all have a terrible case of unfortunate transit design.
great channel dude, love it, keep em coming out
2:33 - man you cannot imagine how stressfull in comuting by public transport.. Car is relax in comparison. Regards from Europe
Road infrastructure in Europe is heaven compared to the US. Trust me, I spend hours of my day on Google Streetview...
In what universe is driving a 2 ton mechanism of plastic and metal around an average of 100kmh-² with others doing the same thing relaxing?
It really depends if you like cars, where you live and where you're going...
Where I live I think both are stressful but public transportation is cheaper and a little bit less stressful. Some days are really bad and some days are really good.
@@CathDamienn1776
It depends. If you enjoy it, going some places driving can be VERY, VERY, VERY satisfying.
P.S.: the car I drive weights 1ton. 😅
Maybe you are a TRUE car enjoyer. Maybe there’s some improvement to be done to public transport services.
That's so true. I got annoyed by driving by the age of 14, cuz I was playing every GTA since 2005 and every last one of them forces you to drive car endlessly from point to point, which is physically and mentally exhausting.
ok, it's been half a year ago and i changed my opinion. Majority of places on earth have neither climate nor infrastructure for bikes. And while bike is much cheaper, it required almost daily dirty maintenance like a newborn and it is such a pain in the ass. I've been driving the bike this whole year and bikes sucks, if you are not Netherlander. It gives you no protection from weather or accident, it has no "amentities", you constantly need both of your hands. You can't drive a bike in sand storm, at winter, during rain or in a criminal communities. Fuck bycicles
Now this seems aimed more for the well developed cities around the world, but then there's the sparesly populated areas where public transport goes twice a week or not at all. These are areas that, if it wasn't for cars, wouldn't be as populated as they are today. In contrast to what cars do in cities, on the countryside they function as a connection between people, often the only one. Unless you're cool and live by the ocean, then there's boats
If you live near a river or a canal then maybe boat makes sense, I’ve heard countless amount of old literature that’s about rowing a boat somewhere.
5:10 That’s my home city of Porto in Northern Portugal! Shame that that particular mode of transport is made for everyone but the citizens of Porto. The eléctrico as we call it used to be a crucial part of commuters’ lives here, but now it’s just another tourist attraction
Like the cable cars in San Francisco
Salve irmão lusitano
@@felipec.2854 Salve irmão, bonito é o dia em que se vê um comentário na língua de Camões num vídeo que não seja tipo do Wuant ou do Windoh ou o crl
Nice Video
I agree with the premise.
However, the reality is that if there are no cars in cities, public transit needs to be developed tenfold. Right now public transit is simply inadequate for me to stop using a car.
And that comes from me.
I live in Europe. Nearby one of the more walkable cities with good public transit judging by my country's standard.
Walkability, bike infrastructure and public transport are closely related.
cars are for go fas, not for go work
Wise words.
... this does imply that cities are a good thing... Which I question greatly.
A bunch of tightly packed places where you don't really know anyone, people die daily, higher crime rates, more depression, and the list goes on?
The ideal social construct is tribal. You have a family unit inside a larger group of family units and you know and trust everyone in that group.
Nowadays? We live alone, spend our time alone, trust no one, lie more frequently, and bash each other's skulls in more when we're packed into this apocalyptic nightmare where we're surrounded by people but don't know a single one.
Okay... I will admit, some of those are unfounded. But the depression, loneliness, and higher crime rates are pretty well documented.
Wants: To bike to school for efficiency and to be fit
Issues: Way too close to the road for comfort, goes through a large car intersection, all around scary
(Even with that, that's my closest hs, not the 40 min car drive one I go to since since the good schools are in poor income neighborhoods to make them look good despite having a student base mainly from far outside its location)
I do live in a Car-dependant suburb and I am a Car enthusiast, but I'm spending a lot of my free time biking around Downtown Toronto and I'm enjoying that a lot more. Things are denser, more interesting. Everything is bigger yet made more for people. Driving back home, I got caught in Rush hour and I legit hated driving cause I could have taken a train that morning and taken it back in the evening, or even taken a GO bus which would have been stuck in the same traffic but I would have been able to entertain myself since driving distracted is very dangerous and illegal
Cars are shit for Urban environments but great for country roads.
I agree with the mental health aspect. I've lived in a couple countries and visited many more and neighborhoods outside America are more conducive to relationships with neighbors, shopowners, and other pedestrians. People actually know those around them and interact with them daily.
I live in a 6.000 people town in Germany and I need my car mainly to get to work in a small city near me, I would love to ride my bike there, but it would be either a 14km ride with a fairly steep climb up a valley or a 25km ride over a much more flat disused railroad route converted to a bicycle path between a few towns and small cities. Either way, at my current fitness level with my current bike it would be over an hour for each way.
That being said, I usually use my bike for grocery shopping in town or when I have to get or bring something to the post office, I also often use my bike when I want to shop in a nearby town, while our bike infrastructure within towns sucks, it is surprisingly great between them.
For longer trips I prefer to go by train, it is somewhat rare that you can´t easily reach a given destination by public transport here or at least with a reasonable walk from wherever the next bus / train stop is.
I´m honestly always shocked at how terrible public transport seems to be in the US and Canada and how insanely car dependent and car focused they are built.
Yes I am shocked also at how it’s the year 2022 and the US and Canada is mostly car dependent and car focused and most of the cities and towns don’t have options so people who can’t drive for various reasons or are too Stressed don’t have choices
I’m definitely sending this to my mom because I care about urban development and not just because I want an excuse not to drive
5:13 is it Spain? I see El Corte Inglés advertisement on the train. Unless it has malls in Portugal. But it is not US for sure.
I can’t stand car culture here in the US
Also, this channel rules, keep it up!
Cars, customization, driving, racing can be very cool and fun but driving empty SUVs everywhere doesn't seem to make sense, right. 🤔
I didn't even get my driver's license until I was like 25 because in high school I was either walking, biking, taking BART, or in a car with others. Then I went to college in NY city, so I could rely on walking, public transit, or the occasional drive when someone else wanted to take me somewhere. When I moved to NJ it was absolutely essential to get my license just to earn a living, and even then sharing ownership of a car.
Some of this is a stretch. You run into people from your town often enough at stores and resraurants and everything. You can get a perfectly serviceable car for as little as $1000 if you take some time to look for a deal. A lot of the rest of this is more just personal preference. For me I like a more spread out and sparse living space without neighbors watching everything I do.
As someone who grew up in suburban sprawl, I feel that it's the opposite. In the suburbs I grew up in, people generally care more about what other people do, whereas in cities people don't care, which is super liberating as someone who couldn't handle the cultural homogeneity and pettiness of my small town.
Plus, separating residences from local businesses within walking distance removes serendipitous social interactions, and basically destroys community, especially if you're young and have to rely on your parents to shuttle you around everywhere. When you have to _plan_ every social interaction, removing spontaneity in the process, you miss something essential to the human experience.
Waiting for you to become big, you deserve the attention 👍