• 🍉 Albert 🍉@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    i find it fascinating how Americans secretly love walkable towns.

    Where do they vacation? Disneylands, Makinac island, NY, Chicago, or go to iconic walkable cities overseas like London, Paris…

    but the idea of enjoying something line that throughout their entire life seems propostrotous. they gotta have their 2 ton trucks.

    • buttnugget@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      The US was designed for cars specifically, unlike European cities that have been around since 1150 or 1288 or 1467 or whatever. So, we see how well it works there but it’s not quite the same here.

      The adduction to massive trucks isn’t just for traitor lunatics. It’s just like a rural farmer in the Nederlands with their tractor. It’s how things are set up.

      • 🍉 Albert 🍉@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        most cities in the US predates cars. but countless towns and small cities that were walkable were practically entirely demolished to turn them into parking lots. whole neighborhoods were demolished to make highways (guess the colour).

        some before/after pictures are depressing as fuck.

        like three US was entirely peppered with (what we would now call) European style towns.

    • faythofdragons@slrpnk.net
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      2 days ago

      The average American doesn’t vacation. In the past ten years, the only travel I’ve done was to attend two funerals and one wedding. Vacations are for the rich, and nice areas are only for the rich. We secretly love walkable towns like we secretly love Buckingham Palace, we like to dream that one day, we’ll be able to afford it too.

      The only reason my town is affordable is because it’s shitty, and improving it would price me out of living here, so I don’t want to improve it.

      • petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        1 day ago

        I would like to point out that the likes of walmart and amazon have, like the mosquitos they are, sucked dry the money that used to circulate around smaller towns, and that might otherwise be used for a swim center or something.

        I say this because step number one to fixing these places is bringing the money back.

        Step two might be price locking rent and/or just taking land out of the hands of landlords and housing firms.