Car culture
Basics
The (Too-Brief) History of Traffic Violence Memorials in America
Mass memorials to the victims of traffic violence are a rarity on American roads. But it wasn't always that way — and there's a fascinating history behind why so many lost lives have become virtually invisible in the public realm today.
December 13, 2022
It’s Hard to Get a Driver’s License in Holland — And That May Be One Reason Dutch Roads Are So Safe
Even as Holland has become famous for its people-first infrastructure, U.S. advocates rarely talk about the arduous process Netherlanders must undertake before they're allowed to drive — or how education contributes to the country's eye-popping safety stats.
December 5, 2022
Why There Are So Few Monuments to Traffic Violence Victims — And Why It Matters
People who die in car crashes largely go unmemorialized in the public realm. Here's why that's bad.
November 18, 2022
Walkable City 10 Years Later: How Car Culture Takes Away Our Freedom
We are often told that America’s car culture is integral to its freedom. But let’s parse that one out a little bit. Three factors— road policing, car dependence, and street design — would together seem to conspire otherwise.
November 18, 2022
Walkable City 10 Years Later: Cars Make Us Sicker Than We Thought
The original edition of the landmark book Walkable City detailed some of the most devastating health impacts of an automotive lifestyle. In the years since, though, author Jeff Speck has discovered they were just the tip of the iceberg.
November 15, 2022
The Day I Was Hit By a Driver Changed My Life, And My City, Forever
Here at Streetsblog, we write a lot about car crashes — but when it comes to the impact they have on individuals and communities, it's best to hear from the victims themselves.
October 6, 2022
OPINION: To Defeat the New Electric Dodge Muscle Cars, Amp Up Sound Cameras
The Charger Daytona SRT Banshee is being pitched as a big, fat thumb in the eye of "authority." Well, authority needs to stick a thumb back.
September 28, 2022
To Fix Inflation And Climate Change, Get Americans out of Cars
Our gas-guzzling rides are tanking our personal finances and municipal budgets as well as dooming the planet.
August 17, 2022
The Brake: What Would the ‘Post-Automobility’ Future Look Like?
Last time on the Brake, we chatted with authors Robert Braun and Richard Randell about why automobility isn't really about cars at all — and how it's become what they call a "totalitarian system" that touches virtually every part of our lives.
August 10, 2022
This Artificial Intelligence Bot is Designing Better Streets Than Some Engineers
A New York artist is breaking through Americans' willful inability to imagine how their communities could be designed around people instead of automobiles.
July 28, 2022
