Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Streetsblog.net

On Individualism, Being American and Striving for Sustainability

11:03 AM EDT on July 5, 2012

Yesterday, Americans celebrated independence -- strictly speaking, our independence from the British crown. More broadly speaking, the Fourth of July is also a celebration of personal independence, freedom and individualism.

false

Since for many people the single-family home has come to represent, as George H. W. Bush put it, "the American way of life," urbanists often find themselves on the defensive when the subject turns to sustainable development and personal freedoms. But as Roger Valdez at Seattle Transit Blog points out, the nation's founders had more nuanced views than many people realize:

The first words of our written Constitution, imperfect as it may be, are plural: “We the people.

Digging bunkers won’t help us address the pressing environmental and economic problems we face. We have to tap into that other strain of American idealism represented by figures like John Adams, Henry Clay and Daniel Webster who are often marginalized by our worship of Thomas Jefferson. Clay developed the American System, a comprehensive, government driven expansion of infrastructure that built a transportation system for the United States in its early years.

Individual expression is important, but so is our civic duty to others and we should articulate this aspect of American tradition more clearly in our language when we talk to people about growth and sustainability. American tradition includes the common cause, and supporting each other in times of change and challenge. Building better cities in our region, funding transit, and planning for sustainable growth will mean thinking big and beyond the principled stand of lone individuals protecting their rights.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Baltimore Spokes shares data condemning Maryland's track record on bike and pedestrian spending. Transport Nexus wonders if zoning is really the biggest culprit for America's car dependency. And The Bellows responds to criticism that "market-based urbanists" are too intent on describing the problems with zoning and planning policies and not focused enough on providing solutions.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday’s Headlines Hush That Fuss

New BRT in Denver, the case for reimagining parking lots, and more in today's headlines.

March 29, 2024

Why We Care About Some Transportation Tragedies More Than Others

Why do we respond to major transportation disasters with so much urgency — and why don't we count our collective car crash epidemic among them?

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's first-in-the-nation congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Take Thursday’s Headlines Home, Country Roads

Heat Map reports on why rural Americans are resisting electric vehicles, and why it might not matter much for the climate.

March 28, 2024
See all posts