If you’ve lived your whole life in the United States you’ve probably never noticed the absolute dominance of the personal automobile. Well, you’ve noticed, but never questioned it. That’s just the way things are, right? You need a car to get groceries, go to work, take the kids to school, go to the gym, what have you. For as long as many can remember, the United States has been characterized by its profound reliance on personal vehicles. Perhaps it’s something you’ve always taken for granted, never pausing to reflect on the matter. After all, it’s simply the customary way of life, isn’t it? An automobile has become an indispensable necessity.

Would you believe me if I said this isn’t the only way? Would you believe me if I told you there are other paths to choose from?

It wasn’t until I moved out of the U.S. and lived abroad that I fully understood and appreciated well-designed and efficient public transportation. In the United States, I always lived in towns and cities. There were always at least some public buses, the system was never truly reliable. Unfortunately, it often took twice as long for me to reach my desired destination, in the worst case I would feel uncomfortable and unsafe. Nonetheless, my experiences living overseas taught me the true value of effective and well-structured public transportation systems.

Driving a car in the U.S. is so necessary that it’s melded with our national consciousness as Americans; to be American is to drive, to sit in traffic, to road trip, to commute, and to circle the parking lot endlessly in hopes of finding a spot.

Outside of places like New York City, the biggest outlier in public transportation in the U.S., having far reaching systems of buses and subways just isn’t done. We’re not going to get into the why because that opens a whole can of worms about the power of the auto industry tycoons over the last century. In this house we are focused on the solutions, the ways we can move forward into a better future. There will be time later to dissect the past, or you can go read a book (wikipedia article) about it.

My only goal in writing this is to help you see the degree that car centered thinking has infiltrated our psyche, and why that isn’t the only way to design a neighborhood, city, or country. Cars are not (or should not) be necessary to live a fulfilled, healthy, and connected life. 

My biggest caveat to this is to use your brain. I’m quite obviously not saying that someone who lives in the countryside, or manages a large plot of land, should not use a car. The car discussion pertains mostly to cities, urban areas, and the suburbs, of which there are thousands across the U.S., so many people will still be able to relate to the ideas presented here.

For now, as always, we start by reframing our own internal thought process before launching into heated debates with our extended family about the pros and cons of a car centered economy, nation, and social fabric.

Here are my first options at reframing your internal bias:

• When using Google Maps (or Apple Maps if you’re like that), briefly switch over to the public transportation tab. Take a moment to look at trip duration, route, and number of transfers. Note how it makes you feel when you think about using this option. Example: feeling anxious because you might be late versus feeling relieved at not getting lost.
• Think about how far you would have to walk from your home to get basic necessities. This includes food, water, toiletries, and small appliances. Can you walk less than 10 minutes to get apples, a beer, or toilet paper?
• Can you walk to the nearest park, playground, library, or other public space in 15 minutes or less?
• When you drive somewhere, how many purposes do you fulfill per trip? Example: driving to the grocery store fulfills the purpose of buying food. 1 trip, 1 purpose.

Questions to ask yourself and others to highlight the absolute monarchy of cars:

• “Is a car the best/only way to reach [your destination]?”
• “Is there bike parking?”
• “What’s the nearest bus stop?”
• “Do I have to drive to get there?”
• “What is the parking situation like at [your destination]?”

If any of these thought exercises or questions make you feel angry or skeptical, or you think this article is dumb and useless, I encourage you to dig deeper into that feeling. Why are these questions dumb, why would it be pointless to entertain the scenarios described above?

Detaching oneself from the narrative that places cars at the center of our American lives and livelihoods is an ongoing practice. Much like exercise trains our physical bodies, this is an exercise for our minds. Feeling uncomfortable is not always bad, and can help you be a more independent thinker and more confident in other areas of your life.