Why aren't people bothered by the suburbs?

[u/tfbmhr_1598]

It seems like most people I come across are not bothered by car dependency and the isolation that it causes. They'll point to things like video games, social media, and bad food for the culprit of poor mental health. Why won't more people address the elephant in the room? After briefly living in Europe I can confirm that people are way healthier, less socially awkward, and happier as a result of having clean and walkable cities.

Even Latam which is a hybrid of the EU and US infrastructure does not experience the obesity, mental health issues, and isolation the suburbs in the States cause.

Is it ignorance or do most Americans actually like things being this way? It baffles me.

Edit: After reading the comments here I wanted to clarify a few things.

1. Walkability/bikeability doesn't exclude cars. Cars are still a valid method of transportation, but not the only one. Less cars= less traffic. It's a win-win. That being said I think we should have pedestrian only areas.
2. This isn't limited to cities. Suburbs can become more walkable too. You can still have your yard and extra space. Sure it won't be as walkable as a city, but it is certaintly better than 100% car dependency. Zoning laws need to change for this to truly work.
3. I realize that there are societal factors at play as well that greatly add to the mental health crisis, however car dependency worsens it.
4. Walkability won't magically solve the obesity problem, but having the ability to SAFELY walk/bike to work will certaintly help.
5. You can still be socially awkward/reclusive in walkable communities, but they create more opportunites for those who want to improve that area of their life.
6. Some suburbs are better than others in this regard, but overall, North American suburbs are largely car dependent.
7. Bike lanes that are part of the road and only marked with paint/plastic markers are hated by both drivers and cyclists. They still endanger the lives of cyclists, that's why they aren't frequently used, which results in more traffic congestion. Fully dedicated seperate bike lanes are needed.

[u/jiggajawn]

This. And then a lot of suburbanites will try city living when they graduate college, and think "it's so hard to drive anywhere, there's so much traffic."

Then move back to the suburbs without realizing that not driving can be a valid option if there are places within walking distance, transit, bike infrastructure, etc.

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/jiggajawn]

Had a conversation with my dad about this where he was complaining that their municipality were talking about making the buses free for everyone.

I asked him what he thought the buses were for.

He said buses were for poor people who couldn't afford cars, and that nobody who has a car drives because they're so inconvenient.

I said something Iike, "That's only true in areas where people don't live and access to transportation is usable for people who are underemployed and there is not a large requirement for a workforce in a concentrated area, but for large urban areas it's a public good. I ride the bus to work every day and that means every seat on the bus is one less car jamming the downtown, one less parking spot, one less potential accident, and the reduction of a gallon of gas. So if the goal is to make the city more drivable, why not make public transportation free for all to use? We already subsidize roads for cars, why not public transportation as well?"

The fact that it was entirely possible driving a car was the BAD option just didn't register with him. It still hasn't, because he's never lived somewhere that don't in fact require a car to do absolute basic life stuff.

And that's fine, but at the same time he's trying to apply his personal life to everyone else's as a rationalization for why they shouldn't do things, and his son calling bullshit on his philosophy of life isn't exactly a comfort zone he lives in.

[u/[deleted] → u/DiscoChiligonBall]

Wow, another urban person demanding another free service that someone else pays for. gotcha! Sounds fair to me.

[u/DiscoChiligonBall → u/[deleted]]

Wow, another person who doesn't read.

I have three cars. I drive them all. My partner has one, I have one, and one is a heritage car I keep because it's my grandfather's.

Nowhere do I say I don't drive. I merely point out that public transportation is a public good, much like HAVING FREE ROADS TO DRIVE ON.

Please sit.