Corporations did this, and everyone just went with it.
Not true, a socialist movement was on the rise in the US but then the government started abducting and arresting anyone who had any ties to socialism from Truman to McCarthy.
The government has been very clear that any real threat to zombie consumerism/ capitalism will quickly be snuffed out through state sanctioned violence.
Also, the US bombed the fuck out of every country that tried to resist being taken over by western corporations. “The Jakarta Method” is a very interesting read on the untaught atrocities of the US government that forced the world down the path it went down.
I don’t think the blame lies solely with corporations when it comes to urban planning issues. Corporations will act in the way that they think is most profitable. Always. That’s a know quantity.
The reason that so many places ended up looking like this is failures of the political systems that allow, or even encourage this type of development. Express you displeasure to your elected officials at all levels. That is the best way to get changes made, not just complaining about corporations on the internet.
The root failure of our political systems is allowing money to buy political representation. Once money can buy political influence then the system will inevitably be hijacked and corrupted to serve money over people
Yes, I wouldn’t say they are solely to blame, but their influence drives politics, and politics drives infrastructure and societal change.
There is no “big bike” or “big pedestrian” lobby, so we have to pull hair and teeth to get just a measly strip of paint on the ground, or for a sidewalk to be built.
But the car industry, and their friends in politics, have made so if millions need to be spent for “one more lane, bro”, they’re totally fine doing it.
Hell, our own corrupt Ontario Premier (Doug Ford) wants to spend $400 million on a parking garage. $400 million could build an entire network of active transportation connections throughout the entire province, and most places have to beg to get the government to give even a $1 million for projects that save lives.
It’s almost unheard of for politicians so say that car-centric projects are a bad idea. Yet, some run on an election platform to GET RID OF bike lanes. And that goes beyond just pandering to the public with wedge issues, there has to be industry influence at play, too.
The world we live in is the choice of the majority.
The majority demand convenience and are willing to sacrifice almost anything to get it. Additionally, we are forced to go places like work, school, etc and with few other means to accomplish this, you get a glut of roads and cars. A lack of transportation options is a choice–usually one by those who profit from the current system. Unless their greed is sated in another way, they will work tirelessly to defend their presumed entitlements. Either that or such greed must be extinguished by societal controls and the priority has to shift to service of the greater good and the will of the people.
The root of the issue must be addressed if anything is expected to change. Cars are a symptom of the problem, not the cause. Greed and sloth are the causes.
I imagine my experience with technology “innovation” over the last 20-25 years mirrors past generations’ love affair with booming industry and commerce.
It starts with skepticism, enters a phase of slow adoption, and after the average consumer has accepted an idea and is convinced of its benefits, becomes accustomed to and dependent on its normalization. Then the industry cranks up the exploitation to eleven, and anyone who grows to hate it is stuck in the banal evil of it all.
And then people have to “escape” to find any semblance of peace and sanity away from horrific infrastructure like that.
Corporations did this, and everyone just went with it.
Not true, a socialist movement was on the rise in the US but then the government started abducting and arresting anyone who had any ties to socialism from Truman to McCarthy.
The government has been very clear that any real threat to zombie consumerism/ capitalism will quickly be snuffed out through state sanctioned violence.
Also, the US bombed the fuck out of every country that tried to resist being taken over by western corporations. “The Jakarta Method” is a very interesting read on the untaught atrocities of the US government that forced the world down the path it went down.
My point, exactly. Industry is the hand that feeds the mouth of the government, so they help each other to destroy society.
And their point is everyone did not just “go with it”, they were ruthlessly manipulated and murdered into submission
I was gonna say, going to work every day to afford a living is survival, and not “going with it”. Everything else is secondary.
I don’t think the blame lies solely with corporations when it comes to urban planning issues. Corporations will act in the way that they think is most profitable. Always. That’s a know quantity.
The reason that so many places ended up looking like this is failures of the political systems that allow, or even encourage this type of development. Express you displeasure to your elected officials at all levels. That is the best way to get changes made, not just complaining about corporations on the internet.
The root failure of our political systems is allowing money to buy political representation. Once money can buy political influence then the system will inevitably be hijacked and corrupted to serve money over people
Yes, I wouldn’t say they are solely to blame, but their influence drives politics, and politics drives infrastructure and societal change.
There is no “big bike” or “big pedestrian” lobby, so we have to pull hair and teeth to get just a measly strip of paint on the ground, or for a sidewalk to be built.
But the car industry, and their friends in politics, have made so if millions need to be spent for “one more lane, bro”, they’re totally fine doing it.
Hell, our own corrupt Ontario Premier (Doug Ford) wants to spend $400 million on a parking garage. $400 million could build an entire network of active transportation connections throughout the entire province, and most places have to beg to get the government to give even a $1 million for projects that save lives.
It’s almost unheard of for politicians so say that car-centric projects are a bad idea. Yet, some run on an election platform to GET RID OF bike lanes. And that goes beyond just pandering to the public with wedge issues, there has to be industry influence at play, too.
The world we live in is the choice of the majority.
The majority demand convenience and are willing to sacrifice almost anything to get it. Additionally, we are forced to go places like work, school, etc and with few other means to accomplish this, you get a glut of roads and cars. A lack of transportation options is a choice–usually one by those who profit from the current system. Unless their greed is sated in another way, they will work tirelessly to defend their presumed entitlements. Either that or such greed must be extinguished by societal controls and the priority has to shift to service of the greater good and the will of the people.
The root of the issue must be addressed if anything is expected to change. Cars are a symptom of the problem, not the cause. Greed and sloth are the causes.
I imagine my experience with technology “innovation” over the last 20-25 years mirrors past generations’ love affair with booming industry and commerce.
It starts with skepticism, enters a phase of slow adoption, and after the average consumer has accepted an idea and is convinced of its benefits, becomes accustomed to and dependent on its normalization. Then the industry cranks up the exploitation to eleven, and anyone who grows to hate it is stuck in the banal evil of it all.