• SCB@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    It’s pretty disingenuous to claim that your city founded in 1300 has tight streets and isn’t car-friendly because people in 1300 were really big on public transport.

    And the answer is that cities grow descriptively rather than prescriptively. They generally add what is in demand/what they need piecemeal, and most US cities really grew in the 20th century.

    That’s why NYC, for example, has significantly better public transport than most of the nation - it’s one of the oldest cities

    This is also why moving to mass transit is a hard sell. It’s expensive and there is less demonstrated need and more forethought behind the switchover.

    • thepianistfroggollum@lemmynsfw.com
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      1 year ago

      Not to mention that the US has far, far more land than Europe. It’s hard for many to imagine having to drive 3 hours just to get to a major city.