Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Albuquerque

The People Left Behind By Car-Centric Planning

12:44 PM EST on November 16, 2017

There are five schools within a mile of this location in Albuquerque. Photo: Better Burque

The child walking in the dirt along this high-speed road in Albuquerque isn't the type of person America has designed its transportation systems for.

Engineering formulas and public budgets typically focus on eliminating delay for motorists. A kid walking to school is an afterthought, or worse, an inconvenience in a system that aspires to scientific efficiency in moving cars.

The writers at Better Burque flagged this Google Street View photo as an example of how the city and county should be doing better for people on foot. It's no surprise that a child is walking here:

There are five schools within a one-mile radius here, and many trailer parks, including the one noticeable in this Google Street View. One school, Robert F. Kennedy Charter, is mere feet from this kid.

Despite the obvious failure to design this street so kids can safely walk to school, when drivers harm pedestrians in this type of environment, it's the victim who gets blamed. A few lines appear in the local paper failing to note anything about the configuration of the street or the driver's behavior, and that's the end of it. Patterns of preventable deaths resulting from known design flaws are treated as isolated tragedies we have no control over.

But car-centric roads and land use patterns endanger people on foot every day. They're captured all the time in photos like this one in Nashville:

It is cruel that we do this to people. And then if they're killed we blame them.

Photo: @norakernel @walkbikenash pic.twitter.com/G2QjMlLDjS

— Streetsblog USA (@StreetsblogUSA) November 14, 2017

More people need to see what a hostile environment we've made for people outside of cars, so we're going to do a crowdsourcing project. Do you have photos of people trying to navigate dangerous situations on foot? Either your own work or pulled from Google Maps? Send your images to angie [at] streetsblog [dot] org or tag them on Twitter with #walkinginthemargins.

More recommended reading today: PlanPhilly writes that job sprawl is part of what's keeping many central Philadelphia residents mired in deep poverty. And Seattle Transit Blog explains how the region's new transit fare card will work.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Want a Better 15-Minute City? Ask Residents What They Really Want

A new study from Bogotá models how other cities can ask a deeper set of questions about how to put essential needs within walking, biking or transit distance.

March 19, 2024

Tuesday’s Headlines Win the Gold

Two articles detail efforts in Paris and Los Angeles to put on (relatively) climate-friendly Olympic games in 2024 and 2028.

March 19, 2024

Monday’s Headlines Drink Your Milkshake

How does a president end wasteful subsidies for the highly profitable fossil fuel industry? Many have tried, but none have succeeded, including Joe Biden.

March 18, 2024

How — and Why — To Start a Neighborhood E-Bike Library

American advocates are loaning out e-bikes to their neighbors — and creating flocks of new riders.

March 18, 2024

What Urbanists’ Doug Burgum Lovefest Reveals About the ‘Why’ Behind Our Advocacy

I am far less interested in talking about Gov. Doug Burgum's politics than talking about his values, and how those values shape his urbanism, and thus the actual lives of the people he governs.

March 15, 2024
See all posts