30 Times The ‘Screw Cars’ Online Group Made Us Feel Like We’re Living In A Dystopia
Cars: you can love them, you can hate them, but you can’t deny their overwhelming prevalence in the world. And while some of us are so used to it, we don’t really pay attention to it anymore, others are getting increasingly furious.
If you’re also getting annoyed by oversized pickup trucks, this online anti-car community welcomes all car-hating folk with open arms, and so far, they have over 400k members. It’s a safe space to vent about insane traffic, car-focused city design, poor public transit infrastructure, and the lack of green and community areas.
The car-free movement idea in general is quite big these days. It is supported by many urban planners, environmentalists, social activists, and transportation engineers. They advocate for walkable cities, mixed-use buildings, high density housing, and accessible public transportation.
To get some firsthand insight, we spoke to Paul Stout, a graduate student of urban design who gained a following on TikTok because of his videos explaining it. But before we get into the nitty gritty of things, check out this collection of some of the most infuriating instances of car dominance and some of the most beautiful examples of how it could be different.
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Religious Freedom, Daytime Drag, And Robust Public Transportation
Nice Summary Of This Sub I Guess
Also a lot harder to crash a train into a skyscraper. Just sayin'.
This Awful Space Between Two Kindergardens In My Neighborhood Got The Ultimate Car-Free Makeover. Copenhagen, Denmark
Car dominance is a thing all over the world, but it’s the most noticeable in the US. Paul Stout quotes a few reasons for that, including disinvestment in city centers, urban renewal, and a strong automotive industry. However, according to him, the biggest one is the zoning law which allows cities to enforce single-use areas in city planning. This means that certain sections of a city can only be used for residential, commercial, or industry buildings. This gave rise to the suburbs, which, in turn, made cars an essential part of living.
However, the increasing concern for climate change and the often-unbearable traffic is encouraging more and more individuals to reconsider the necessity of a car in their lives. Hence, the car free movement idea is getting increasingly popular.
Carbrain Andrew Tate Taunts Greta Thunberg On Twitter. Greta Doesn't Hold Back In Her Response
F**k The Cato Institute
I Love Me Some Grassy Trams
The benefits of the car-free movement are many. The study that analyzed plans for private car free city centers found significant reductions in traffic-related air pollution, noise, and temperature. The reduction of cars also minimizes the need for parking spaces, which provides more room for green and community areas. This is a point that Stout emphasizes as well, as he believes that getting rid of parking minimum mandates can make a positive impact on communities. According to him, in addition to creating more public space, it would also “bring down the cost of housing, and allow density to exist in places it currently cannot.”
On top of all that, cleaner air, communal spaces that encourage socializing, and potential for more active mobility and physical activity can also lead to health benefits. And we haven’t even started about the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Found On Insta, Thought It Fit Well Here
And on public transport ppl can play on their phones and not kill anyone
More Of This Please
Over 70 Years Later And We Still Widen Roads
It's crazy for how long it has been known that adding lanes just doesn't work and yet most city planners/councils seemingly never got the memo.
However, not all car free initiatives work as well. The impact of car free days during which car traffic is restricted in certain areas varies a lot depending on the scale and goals of the project. Diverting traffic can increase congestion and air pollution in neighborhoods where it wasn’t a problem before. Retail business owners are also weary of car free initiatives as it might deter locals from shopping.
Just Go For A Walk, You'll Feel Better, I Promise
Infrastructure Is Too Expensive
Pinterest Randomly Reminded Me That Cars Have More Rights Than Humans Sometimes
In general, it seems that the car free movement concept is embraced more readily in Europe. Madrid, Oslo, Helsinki, and Hamburg have in the past pledged their commitment to become partly car free cities while Ghent and Nuremburg are already there. Then, there’s Barcelona that is often praised for their superblocks—clusters of city blocks designed to prioritize pedestrians and reduce car traffic.
Yet Another Person Realizing What‘S Good
Good Planning
F**k These Cars A Little Less
Of course, this trend, as well the pressing matters that force it, is not limited to Europe. For example, China’s megacity Shenzhen is investing in a massive car free district, while The Line, the ambitious Saudi Arabian project city is intended to have no cars, streets, or carbon emissions. African countries such as Uganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda have adopted monthly car free days and enough citizens are taking advantage of it to see these initiatives grow.
I Know It's An Old Tweet. I Don't Know If This Is A Repost. I Just Think People Here Will Like Something Like This
Height Of Folly (By Jen Sorensen)
I wonder how many grannys and grandpas have broken their legs trying to get out of those "cars". They look like you need a ladder to get in!
The Public Train I Take To Go To Work Has A Self Service Coffee Station
Overall, it seems that the car-free movement is the future. And, after looking at all these posts, it seems that that future cannot come soon enough.
Helicopters Exist Also
Is "Trunk Or Treat" Real And Because Of Non-Walkable Communities?
I always thought this was done for safety sake so the families knew everyone who was giving their kids candy and it was a controlled environment. Which is also sad.
It is. It's not for the false info in the post.
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No, very awesome. Church parking lot, the kids know most of the parents. The parents know the kids...so things like "Oh my Clarke, what a scary shark you are" and "I have never seen a cowboy-astronaut-ballerina Margot, how creative." Plus you, as a parent handing out candy at your trunk, only have to hand out candy for an hour or so. Then you close the trunk and do your own thing.
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That’s not why this is done. It’s done for another sad reason and that’s because some people don’t feel that it’s safe to let kids knock on strangers’ doors. Of course we have walkable neighborhoods.
We have that where I live but it's rural hear with long distances between homes. Our local grocery hosts one each year to give the children a taste of Beggars Night.
We do this in my area because of distance between houses since I live in the middle of nowhere. My closest neighbor is close enough to walk to, but the next house is over 5 miles down the road with woodland in between. Trunk or Treat is pretty much the only way we could have any sort of Trick or Treat around here.
The vast majority of the US never had walkable communities. It's still not unusual for small town neighbors to be half a mile apart.
My area isn't walkable but there are at least 6 neighborhoods within a ten minute drive from me that are. I usually park at my aunt's house (lots of trees and old houses in her neighborhood and that makes it spooky and awesome to me) and off we go!
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These were popular during the COVID lockdowns because it kept people from going to random houses and touching doors, doorbells, doorknobs, stair rails and such.
No we hit so many different trunk or treat events AND run the streets
This was done for safety and time has nothing to do with unwalkable cities.
Part of the reason for this is safety. In retrospect, small children walking around in the dark, going up to strangers doors wasn't really smart. Trunk or Treat is a much safer alternative.
This is false info. It's not because there aren't walkable streets or areas anymore. Trunk or Treats are part of a larger festival or carnival where fire department, police, fun and games are set up, etc. It's also normally done on the weekend prior to Halloween unless Halloween falls on a Saturday that year.
In my city the many churches do it. Instead of it being fun and scary and witchy, they make it fun and kiddy and not witchy. Basically taking the Halloween out of Halloween and making it about Jesus. Took my kids once a few years ago and yeah they got candy but also god pamphlets and stuff like that.
Load More Replies... We have trunk or treat annnd walkable neighborhoods! We even do an interactive zombie gravyard experience at our house that the kids and adults love!
People forget that a large chunk of American still live in rural communities and they are really spread out.
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Southerner here. It's for Christians who don't want to risk their child being exposed to evil/ Satanic Halloween stuff. It's usually done in church parking lots.
The public schools do them here not just churches
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In Louisiana, this was great because the area I'm from, it's very rural, and everyone is far away from each other. So they come together as a community in the Piggly Wiggly lot.
That's absolutely NOT why they do trunk or treat! They do it for the safety of the kids trick or treating. There's more than enough walkable communities for trick or treating but here's a safer way. I'm thankful for liberals and the entertainment they provide me
Also, more places picked up the idea because of covid. It allowed children to trick or treat without close contact & going to houses that could be "infected". Kids approach trunks for goodies & pick out their treat themselves instead of adult handing it out.
Most trunk or treats are from churches wanting to distract from the "satan" vibes or in a very rural area. The suburbs you all try to hate on with stuff like this are actually perfect for trick or treating 🤷♂️
In my area, Trunk or Treat is a church-hosted event. Churches are "communities" that are geographically distributed. It gives their kids (and others who may be aware/invited) a "target-rich" and safe Halloween environment.
Well sure, let's let kids associate car trunks with candy. Nothing could go wrong as a result of that...
This has nothing whatsoever to do with walkability! This is done for children's safety. Find something else to rant about, please.
Yes, and now when you have a walkable community people dont trick or treat or pass out candy because of this. It takes a while to find a neighborhood through the grapevine that actually still participates.
The US is a dystopia but your government and the corporations that own the government have convinced you that it's still the "land of the free".
I'm not going to deny that that is why some trunk-or-treat events happen in some places, but in rural areas it's because the houses are so far apart, with long driveways. When I was a kid it took ages to get to the next house, plus no streetlights so we spent the long walks doing silly things with flashlights. Parent bonus, no kid sugar high, we walked it all off. Toward the end of my trick or treating years, we'd ask to be driven to a family members house in town to trick or treat from just to get more candy. As an adult I live in another rural area. While I may be nostalgic about long walks for candy, I think the local Trunk-or-Treat is a great idea.
It was more used for years when trick or treat couldn't happen, like thru COVID. You'd gather just your friends and family you trusted the kids to be around, and setup to replace the lost ability to trick or treat that year. Now that covid is (mostly) over, I haven't seen a trunk or treat again. Maybe for very small kids, like how malls do inside "safe" trick or treats too.
NO! It is not about a lack of walkable communities and it is not that commom. It is something conservative Christian churches do so their children won't be exposed to the "evils" of Halloween. Trunk'or'treats are held in Church parking lots. It's weird, and it's not common outside of the the fervent right.
My brothers middle school started doing that because of covid and they also dance and eat snacks on the playground.
Trunk or Treating has nothing to do with unwalkable cities, it has everything to do with people using Halloween to celebrate car culture and give kids an option not to walk around in the dark https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/a28712618/what-is-trunk-or-treat/
Yes. In my city, many, many streets don’t have sidewalks at all, and the sidewalks we do have are cracked and old (the concrete is pushed 6 inches out of place by tree roots in some places, which goes to show just How much our government cares about our sidewalks) and in most places it isn’t safe to cross the streets even at the crosswalks, because the cars are just so unpredictable.
It's not sad - it became a thing during Covid and it stuck. Parents are more easily able to keep an eye on their kids (okay, so a bit paranoid on that), houses that do not want to particpate in Halloween do not have to, people find it easier to decorate their cars rather than their houses, and most importantly, it becomes a community event. We do this at our schools, and get a big turnout of students and teachers and parents, and show movies, and have games, etc.
We do this because of the risk of our kids knocking on a sexual predators door or being kidnapped. Our neighborhoods are not wastelands. If you check out the sexual predator database in any city or suburb, you'll see that there are predators everywhere. A sad commentary in a much darker way.
Just be careful of using that database to be all end all. there are people on that list who had to register because they got arrested for drunkenly peeing in public one night. I know a person on a sex offender list because he, at the time was 18, was having relations with his girlfriend, who was 16 (both still in HS), and girls dad found out and called police.
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I’m Convinced A Lot Of People Wouldn’t See Something Wrong With This
My partner looked at it and shouted "dream house!" 😫 No I do not agree, unless the garage is a cat room
How Is This Legal?
Unfortunately that really is a huge safety problem. In an extra high SUV your viewing angle is so skewed you have virtually no chance to see anything smaller than an adult. Also it makes you drive more in the middle of the road instead of on the side, because you are unable to see the curb otherwise. SUVs are a traffic nightmare.
American Exceptionalism
Cool Idea? (Cannot Stand Carbrains In The Replies)
Everything Must Be Sacrificed For The Car
The poicture reminds me of the sad story of what was known as the "loneliest tree" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tree_of_T%C3%A9n%C3%A9r%C3%A9) . It was a single tree standing in the middle of a huge desert, hundreds of miles away even from the next road. What happend to it? Yes, you guess right: it was hit by a car.
New vs. Old Mini Cooper
Terrifying
Magic Parking Lot
6 Hour Line Of 14 Lane Traffic At Burning Man
My City (Ottawa, Canada) Removing A Pedestrianized Street In Favour Of Cars
Note: this post originally had 63 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
We need more posts like this, it is becoming really hard to breath. Ignorance is outraging!
More sensationalized half-truth memes that support your cognitive bias? Look at every comment section, most of it is debunked by people that know the place, given clarity by research, or dunked-on with absolute sanity. You must not want half-truths, you must not take the social media "funny pages" at face value when it concerns a fact of the world. You must want more elaboration, not unreasonable fittings of emotion. "Ignorance is outraging"... hey, you said it. Know when to use "We" which is rarely, you don't speak for anyone but yourself here. Go change your tampon
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I live in Japan, and not even in Tokyo or Osaka. Not rural, but not "big city" by Japanese standards. I don't have a car. I have a license, but I actually have a phobia of cars, like not kidding here, not hyperbole: an actual phobia. Japan is great for me because I can go out of my house and in two minutes I'm at the station. At the next station, I catch a bus. Bus not convenient? I can walk. Even if the trains weren't running (like one time there was a typhoon): I walked home. Took awhile, but it wasn't so bad (except when the roof of a shed flew past me). Most of the time, I don't need a car. Clinic, dentist, supermarket, hardware store: all walking distance.
Of the nearly 3.5 years I lived in Japan, I haven't missed my car (which I drove almost daily before moving) even once. Public transport WORKS
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If anyone is interested, there's this really cool Instagrampage from a Canadian couple with all these examples about how converting to more cycle-friendly communities is really a change for the better. It's called modacitylife (no spon, it's just very interesting ).
My working hours and the place I work change every now and then, so I have to use my own car to get to work and home. But I do support public transportation.
When I lived in Chicago it didn't matter because the El ran so often. Public transit done right is better than a car for everything but large quantity hauling...and now we have peak delivery.
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I dunno public transport always sucks and it's to awfully safe as there is a lot of harassment or worse going on in there, so I'd rather never use it. It's also far more expensive than driving here compared to driving a small car or even medium sized ones as long as the fuel economy is decent. I do think they should stop banning electric scooters/steps of they want people to use cars less tho, that seems like a good option when you have the displeasure of having to go to a city to begin with. More green is also always good, but cities have none of that either. Cities just suck for everything tbh.
We need more posts like this, it is becoming really hard to breath. Ignorance is outraging!
More sensationalized half-truth memes that support your cognitive bias? Look at every comment section, most of it is debunked by people that know the place, given clarity by research, or dunked-on with absolute sanity. You must not want half-truths, you must not take the social media "funny pages" at face value when it concerns a fact of the world. You must want more elaboration, not unreasonable fittings of emotion. "Ignorance is outraging"... hey, you said it. Know when to use "We" which is rarely, you don't speak for anyone but yourself here. Go change your tampon
Load More Replies... I live in Japan, and not even in Tokyo or Osaka. Not rural, but not "big city" by Japanese standards. I don't have a car. I have a license, but I actually have a phobia of cars, like not kidding here, not hyperbole: an actual phobia. Japan is great for me because I can go out of my house and in two minutes I'm at the station. At the next station, I catch a bus. Bus not convenient? I can walk. Even if the trains weren't running (like one time there was a typhoon): I walked home. Took awhile, but it wasn't so bad (except when the roof of a shed flew past me). Most of the time, I don't need a car. Clinic, dentist, supermarket, hardware store: all walking distance.
Of the nearly 3.5 years I lived in Japan, I haven't missed my car (which I drove almost daily before moving) even once. Public transport WORKS
Load More Replies... If anyone is interested, there's this really cool Instagrampage from a Canadian couple with all these examples about how converting to more cycle-friendly communities is really a change for the better. It's called modacitylife (no spon, it's just very interesting ).
My working hours and the place I work change every now and then, so I have to use my own car to get to work and home. But I do support public transportation.
When I lived in Chicago it didn't matter because the El ran so often. Public transit done right is better than a car for everything but large quantity hauling...and now we have peak delivery.
Load More Replies... I dunno public transport always sucks and it's to awfully safe as there is a lot of harassment or worse going on in there, so I'd rather never use it. It's also far more expensive than driving here compared to driving a small car or even medium sized ones as long as the fuel economy is decent. I do think they should stop banning electric scooters/steps of they want people to use cars less tho, that seems like a good option when you have the displeasure of having to go to a city to begin with. More green is also always good, but cities have none of that either. Cities just suck for everything tbh.
