Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

Yesterday America reflected. We collectively remembered the terrorist attacks of September 11, and examined the country we've become.

false

There's no denying that 10 years later, our country has irreversibly changed. We've been through a decade of costly and humbling warfare. We've suffered economic upheaval and stagnation.

But in many ways, we're still the same country we were. One troubling constant is our addiction to oil.

And reducing oil dependence, writes Matthew Meltzer of Network blog Transit Pass, should have been a key strategy to achieving a more secure future:

As I look back, not just as a citizen, but as a transportation lover and advocate, I am saddened and dismayed. I am demoralized by what has been termed a lost decade. That day, ten years ago, the United States was attacked by men from the Middle East. America has had a strategic interest in the Middle East for decades for many reasons, but the first has always been the oil on which the American economy depends.

Instead of seeing the attacks as the kick in the pants we needed to change our joint energy and transportation policy, we doubled down on oil. We did not invest in infrastructure to reduce our dependence through vehicles with better mileage, denser cities, better regional planning, more public transportation, and research into new technologies. We did not see the irony that the oil inside the planes caused the destruction of the two towers. Instead we went to war with an oil producing nation and were told to just keep on acting as we had been. This was a moral failure of leadership, but we as Americans also failed to look in the mirror.

Today, we can do better. With the benefit of hindsight, knowing how little we have accomplished in the past decade, and understanding that we may have actually fallen behind – now is the time to start working towards change. We should not rethink energy and transportation system because of terrorism, but we should now understand that our foreign oil dependence can come with consequences that hit close to home.

Imagine what our country would be like today if our Homeland Security strategy had focused on reducing the need for American involvement in the Middle East altogether. If we had invested in rebuilding our towns so that people could live comfortably without worrying about every jump in gas prices caused by events in distant countries.

Maybe then we could have said with confidence yesterday that we were truly more secure.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Rebuilding Place in the Urban Space looks at the way communities change when Whole Foods comes knocking. Straight Outta Suburbia reviews the new book "visualizing density," which explains strategies for building attractive, tightly-knit communities. And the Chicago Bicycle Advocate displays a simple chart comparing bike commuting movements in the country's leading cycling cities.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Wednesday’s Headlines Are Bigger and Beautiful-er

There's a lot of bad news in the Big Beautiful Bill — but it also may have helped kill a major highway expansion in Oregon.

July 9, 2025

Removing ‘Rainbow Crosswalks’ Won’t Make America’s Arterials Safer

Secretary Duffy wants to tackle dangerous arterials. So why is he coming after rainbow crosswalks most often seen on narrow city roads?

July 9, 2025

The ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ Is About Our Transportation Future, Too

Transportation didn't get a lot of mention in the public discussion of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. But it's everywhere.

July 8, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines of Many Colors

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called rainbow crosswalks "a distraction" and called on cities to eliminate them.

July 8, 2025

Form-Based Codes Mean More Sustainable Cities

New research shows that prioritizing building "form" over their use leads to more sustainable cities.

July 8, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Big and Beautiful

The ginormous GOP tax and spending bill President Trump signed on July 4 will make the air dirtier, a lot of it from tailpipe emissions.

July 7, 2025
See all posts