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

How to Reframe the Narrative About Car Dependency

Photo: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/jVWxLStmxPU"Clay Leconey, CC

"Roadway safety is a shared responsibility, and people in cars and outside of cars play an equal role in keeping each other safe."

"Sprawl is good, actually, because it means people can have big, beautiful houses and some quality alone time on their daily commutes."

"We won’t need to worry about transportation emissions or the broader impacts of automobiles on the environment for that much longer, because haven’t you heard? Electric cars are here!"

Those phrases might make the average sustainable transportation advocate's blood pressure spike. But in the world of corporate disinformation, they're simply a handy way to reframe the conversation about car dependency — and to manipulate the public into accepting the avoidable deaths of their loved ones and their planet.

On today's episode of The Brake, host Kea Wilson brings you an extended interview with Grant Ennis, author of Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the EnvironmentListen below, and check out a sharable summary of the "nine devious frames" he outlines in his book here. 

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Exactly Why the Cybertruck Sucks

Unwind and let yourself hate on Elon Musk a little.

December 5, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Cooking With Gas

Fuel economy is the latest victim of President Trump's efforts to unravel the Biden administration's legacy.

December 5, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: The (Parking) Reformation

Tony Jordan, president of the Parking Reform Network, discusses getting rid of our cars, parking policy, and Donald Shoup’s legacy.

December 4, 2025

This Holiday Season, Buy Your Kid a Bike With Your Pre-Tax Healthcare Money

Got an FSA account that's about to expire, or an HSA fund gathering dust? Now is a great time to invest in your child's health by getting them a bike — with a little help from your fellow taxpayers.

December 4, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Knock Down a Straw Man

Lack of regulations are the reason cars are so big, heavy, expensive and dangerous, not the regulations themselves.

December 4, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Take the Wheel

If Jesus won't take it, maybe AI will.

December 3, 2025
See all posts