Holy shit, what a depressing and truthful read.
When my wife and I moved to Pittsburgh from New York City, we deliberately sought out a neighborhood where we could walk to get where we needed to go. The thought of having to get into a car to go fetch a gallon of milk or a cup of coffee was entirely unappealing. I still find myself bragging that the only time I truly need to get in a car is to do a big grocery store run, which is true for the most part.
I remember a European friend who was visiting the States. They were utterly perplexed that even though their destination was literally across the street, there was no way to actually get there by foot.
Walking is an impediment to the car culture we revere, an experience we’ve intentionally designed out of our lives.
This stays true to Jared Spool’s “design is the rendering of intent” definition. Our decisions to create hostile walking environments is intentional, and I hope that articles like this one get more people thinking.