lilitharcane:

sixpenceee:

This drawing, by Swedish artist Karl Jilg shows how much public space we’ve surrendered to cars

@thepeacockangel I’m curious what your take is on a post scarcity solution to private vehicles and how much space they take, especially in sub/urban areas 

Well I think we’d need to look at what benefits cars give and come up with a way to replace them.

The benefits of cars are:
1. Speed vs public transport: No transfers, no waiting, no having to wait for other people to get on and off

2. Ability to easily transport large objects/heavy stuff like groceries and furniture

3. Comfort: A car where you control the temperature is more comfortable than where you don’t

4. A place to stow your shit without lugging it around.

I think for 1 we’d probably use good IT to create public transport that can be called like an uber, and takes several people who want to go to the same place to the same place, we’d also maybe have communal stocks of cars that are available to anyone so you can take a car that’s appropriate to the situation (mini car for parking in a city, SUV for offroading, minivan for hauling the kids to grandma) because right now people end up with cars that are too big for some stuff and too small for others, how nice would it be to have that big truck for moving and be able to switch it out for a smart car when you’re just running into town. Also we can do community planning so that people going to the same places live close together, because everything will be based on free association workplaces will be groups of people who like each other and want to work together, so they can live in neighborhoods designed for the purpose and organize a work shuttle.

For 2 I think a similar solution works (I imagine that we’ll have self driving cars by then) and maybe a weekly twice weekly neighborhood grocery delivery drone

For 3 devices to make walking more comfortable (perhaps some kind of temperature controlled bubble or indoor/underground sidewalks to keep people comfy in bad weather) and compartments for individuals on public transport.

For 4: Robot pack mules you can take inside maybe, with a storage compartment inside?

Also just urban planning to make walkability more of a priority, planned and intentional communities so that what you need will be within easy walking distance and the people you want to hang out with will be close by

Also as it’s still more space efficient to have a whole FUCK TON of public transport than individual cars, just a fuck ton of public transport (that doesn’t require giant roads.

I imagine most cities would stop having cars within the city limits, though I do think broad streets are nice for the light they let in, but we could certainly narrow a fair number down a bit.

I imagine a society where you can walk to pick up food and anything else you need quickly, and everything else is delivered by drone

Also maybe those conveyer belt sidewalks like they have in airports so you can get where you’re going faster.

I mean really generally walking is good for people, as is getting outdoors now and then so I’d want to plan communities to encourage it and make it easy and pleasant