Car culture is more of a symptom than the cause of most of the problems.
Cars aren't the cause of houses being identical, roads being identical, etc. A culture of trying to battle for the cheapest implementation of everything is the cause. We want the most bang for our buck for everything. You get that by lowering costs using pre fabricated parts and reusing safe ideas.
And comparing the "identity" of cultures that existed for thousands of years to that of the Americas is arguing in bad faith on the topic. The push to drive things to be cheaper has been priority for a much greater portion of our history.
Homogenization of culture isn't a lot of "bang for my buck." In fact I'd say it's actually extracting a lot of value out of culture for the sake of someone else's profit. In a word commodification.
It is, though.
You get all the functionality for the lower price tag. That's not saying it's a good thing. That's the mentality that leads to it, though.
Yep! We can see in some archaeological sites where pottery and plates went from a luxury to a mass produced commodity. Its fucking awesome, if you ask me. I wouldnt mind more, not less similarities. Once it looks like commie blocks we can stop and add some paint or a facade.
You must live in a city if you feel that way
Most people live in cities, and the video mentions that it is about cities in the first 10 seconds.
Bold of you to assume they even clicked the link
You're right, when I left that comment I hadn't watched the video. Now that I have, I feel like I'm covered in awkward teenage angst.
The video gives examples of "look at these cities with thousands of years of culture compared to cities in North America."
And doesn't highlight any of the benefits cars bring. Heres some arbitrary arguments (to keep in the style of the video):
Person needs to do a midnight move from an abusive situation, but can't because they have to wait for the bus/train and can only carry on a few belongings.
Person needs medical care, not ambulance worthy, but can't stand on a train for an hour.
Hit rock bottom and lost your shelter? You can sleep in your car. It's way better than a train station.
Want to go camping/hike/climb anywhere? Public transit can't accommodate everyone's schedule/place to be.
Agree though, we need a better solution for parking.
I like this video but the illusion of choice is not really the basis for an identity.
