• gentooer@programming.dev
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    7 months ago

    It’s crazy to see how the city centre of Ghent (Belgium) changed when they banned non-emergency cars from people not living/working in the centre. It went from some huge carparks with a few people walking between them to large squares filled with people enjoying the city and people who live here.

    Every day I bike besides the Coupure channel to the train station and in the city I work in, I walk to the office besides the Dender river. Good infrastructure is basically keeping my mental health afloat.

  • Schlemmy@lemmy.ml
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    7 months ago

    Totalled my car three years ago. Never bothered buying a new one. I save a lot of money and accepting my faith when relying on public transport has given me so much mental freedom. I take the train to work and the last part of the route is by shared bikes. Love it.

  • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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    7 months ago

    Is there a FAQ about living in car free cities? For example, how do you travel to another city? What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard? Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

    • Strykker@programming.dev
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      7 months ago

      Also “car free” doesn’t have to mean literally zero cars allowed, but just build and layout the city so you never have to use one for daily errands.

      I live next to a grocery store and it’s literally the best thing ever, grocery trips take 10 minutes max, I only end up using the car on weekends for hobbies or to visit family and friends.

      • Lianodel@ttrpg.network
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        7 months ago

        From what I’ve seen from Not Just Bikes, there’s also car-sharing. There are services to make it super easy to borrow a car for as little as a few hours if you just need to lug some furniture or something.

      • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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        7 months ago

        “Car-free cities” gave the wrong idea. I’d call them walk-friendly cities instead, but I guess that ship has already sailed. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and first-hand experience.

        • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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          7 months ago

          The term “city” can actually be confusing too since it might mean the most central district of a metropolitan area, or it could mean the whole metropolitan area. There is some desire to make the most central parts car free in the way you thought (usually street by street in the centre of the CBD etc), but generally the broader area will not be.

    • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      how do you travel to another city?

      Train, bus, electrical bike, rideshares for the last mile maybe.

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      Get off and walk, use a bike with electrical assistance, use a different type of mobility assistance if i am very physically impaired.

      how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

      See above + Elders are typically more physically able due to having lived a life of regular everyday exery + their everyday destinations are not several miles away + “car free” doesn’t paradoxically mean free of cars, just almost all cars - ambulances are still needed for example - as such if a person is so impaired that no mobility assistance is enough to get them to their destination, then they can still be taxied by help.

      • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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        7 months ago

        It’s cool and all, but trains have fixed routes that can’t take you almost everywhere. Of course I’d prefer trains over highways, just stating the current fact. Take for example every city I’ve lived in Mexico: trains never were an option to travel between cities. That’s changing, fortunately.

        PEVs are still not very common around here, but that answers some questions. Thanks for your reply.

        • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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          7 months ago

          sensible places have enough railways that trains can practically take you everywhere, used to be that here in sweden we had railways even to teensy tiny villages a lot of the time.

        • Cottenlai_Zhou [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          Trains can take you most places and busses will take you pretty much anywhere trains don’t. Taxis fill the gap on everything else.

          Just go travel somewhere like China or Japan or a lot of Europe and you’ll see for yourself.

    • Turun@feddit.de
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      7 months ago

      For example, how do you travel to another city?

      Train or car. Car free mostly refers to inner city trips, for special occasions it’s totally fine to use a car (e.g. moving, buying something big, a weekend trip, etc)

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      Bus, ebikes, other types of electric assist stuff, walking. Crazy steep slopes do put a limit on exclusively human powered mobility (i.e. walking and cycling), but those places are incredibly rare.

      Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

      A walkable city features amenities close by, plenty of benches to rest, and a solid bus system. There are absolutely no issues for people with restricted mobility. This applies to people with disabilities as well btw.

      In fact I would turn that question around: how do elders deal with the requirement to drive a car to get groceries, etc? Isn’t that like super duper dangerous?

      • Semi-Hemi-Lemmygod@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        how do elders deal with the requirement to drive a car to get groceries, etc? Isn’t that like super duper dangerous?

        Judging by some folks I’ve seen driving around with oxygen tubes in their noses: They just drive. And, yes, it is dangerous.

      • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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        7 months ago

        Thank you for your detailed reply. I was under the impression that cars and buses were out of the question. This clarifies a lot. Ebikes and electric devices, however, sound to me like something futuristic, probably because I live in latinamerica.

        Steep-slope places are not the norm almost anywhere, but they are not really that scarce here. We probably would need to make some technological catch up.

        About elders driving, well, it’s common that they have cars although they can’t/shouldn’t drive them. Some younger ones can step in and volunteer, usually family members, but not only. An arrangement can always be made when young people hardly owns a car.

        • coffeeClean@infosec.pub
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          7 months ago

          Ebikes and electric devices, however, sound to me like something futuristic

          There are kits enabling you to convert a muscle bike (push bike) into an e-bike. If you get one with a torque sensor, then it will detect how hard you push on the pedals and drive the motor proportional to that force. So you still must pedal but it amplifies your effort which preserves the natural feel and control of pedaling. It essentially makes the hills go away; a hilly place becomes a flat place.

        • barsoap@lemm.ee
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          7 months ago

          Steep-slope places are not the norm almost anywhere, but they are not really that scarce here. We probably would need to make some technological catch up.

          No worries Switzerland and Austria have you covered. Gondolas are only suitable for people and lighter loads, but funiculars can carry a ton of weight and can be built quite steep indeed, Chile has quite a few of them. In less extreme cases there’s good old rack railways. Funiculars are actually the oldest type of public transport in the world, invented before the industrial revolution, back then operated by water power (fill a tank in the top car, it will pull the bottom car up), and rack rail isn’t exactly new. The oldest were built to get stuff up and down from castles. Gondolas of the Mi Teleficero type are quite a bit newer and can reach quite impressive throughput numbers as the gondolas are unhooked from the wire in stations to make it possible to have a fast wire while not having to sprint when getting on (usually they move about at like 1/2 walking pace in the stations but you can also stop them completely for the elderly).

    • booty [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      skill issue. i live in a very hilly area and when i reach a steep slope i simply bike harder.

            • Abracadaniel [he/him]@hexbear.net
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              7 months ago

              There are many forms of personal mobility devices (some are even like speed limited, miniature, single person EVs) that make navigating a car free city easy for someone with impaired mobility.

              Getting cars out of the way makes it easier to accommodate many levels of movement ability, not harder.

              • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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                7 months ago

                Yes we agree. So the response is not “its not an issue” the response is that there are alternatives to bikes. I perceived your response as a sort of sarcastic dismissal and I see now I misread the tone and content, sorry.

        • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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          7 months ago

          There’s wheelchair accessible bikes, but you are actually correct. Good urbanism requires us to take into account not just those who conform to society, but all it’s people. Interestingly an inclusive and accommodating city is also an economically strong one - in the long run more productive potential is freed and less resources are spent on patch-fixing a broken structure.

          This is your reminder to read Invisible Women by Criado Perez

          • Kuori [she/her]@hexbear.net
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            7 months ago

            There’s wheelchair accessible bikes

            oh damn that’s cool as hell. as a general statement i’m not anti-bike or anything, i am just annoyed at how little care some people here have for those who are less able than they are

            Good urbanism requires us to take into account not just those who conform to society, but all it’s people

            100% agreed, and i think our rhetoric should reflect that inclusiveness rather than just defaulting to “can’t do it? fuck you”

            • Egon [they/them]@hexbear.net
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              7 months ago

              Yeah the bikes are super cool, there’s lots of different ones too. I once got overtaken by a guy who pedalled with his arms, made me feel like a scrub.

              It is a big issue when we don’t plan for those that don’t fit into our ideal of a “normal” person, because when we default to that we default to planning for men - and really planning for no one.
              If you’re interested you should look up “gendermainstreaming”. Vienna has a very good manual on it.

              I think people here get defensive about bikes because they’re used to arguing against carbrained folks all the time. It should also be noted a city designed for bikes and walkability will be easier to travel in for those who have trouble walking, than a city designed for cars, even if concessions aren’t made.

    • vividspecter@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      E-bikes and regular bikes with good gearing. And walking up slopes generally isn’t too challenging it’s just slow. Infrastructure can help here too by making sure there are paths that don’t go up hills unnecessarily. Fast and frequent public transport provides another option where walking and biking is less viable.

      For example, how do you travel to another city?

      Trains and buses. Car as a last resort (preferably one that is hired rather than owned, and preferably electric rather than an ICE).

      Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

      Elderly people can’t (or shouldn’t) drive either so better walkability = better for the elderly since it gives options to get around without relying on a car. Good infrastructure design can help with disability access, and many disabled people can’t drive anyway.

    • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      how do you travel to another city

      Car co-ops is one way.

      I have a car, but I’m also in one as it gives me access to different vehicle types that I sometimes need.

      To get some places here I also need to take a ferry, and walking on and renting a car on the other end can be situationally cheaper.

    • monobot@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      how do you travel to another city?

      Usually by bus or train.

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      Walking is good for you, biking is not too popular in cities with slopes, but electic bikes are changing that.

      Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

      There is definitely less mobility, but that is part of getting older isn’t it? Usually they just walk a bit slower and use busses and taxies.

      • NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

        Electric mobility scooters as well. I’m sure those are capable of much better range now, and it should keep getting better, and everything they need would ideally be close by

          • overcast5348@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            I live in Toronto, and I don’t have a car. I use buses and subways for most of my commute in winter. Along with these options, I use rideshare (public bicycle rentals) in every other season. There are people who bike even in winter but I’m nowhere close to that hardcore. I’ve spent maybe $250 on uber for dire situations in the last one year - that would’ve been a monthly auto insurance payment.

            I waited for a bus for around 20 minutes in -18°C a few weeks back. The biggest problem was that I had overdressed so I started sweating and had to unzip a layer.

            An important fact that people who have only ever lived in suburbs miss is that you don’t have to commute thaaat far thaaat often when you live in walkable cities. My cousin who lives in a suburb, drives for ~20 minutes to get to the closest big box store. I have 5 options groceries in a 1km radius and one of them is just one block over. So, I don’t even need a bus for groceries, let alone a car. We have seniors who definitely shouldn’t be driving walking around with grocery carts on the sidewalks. So, reducing car dependency improves mobility - not the opposite.

            • radicalautonomy@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              I drove from Dallas to Toronto in 2017 (you know, for fun), and I was amazed not only at how trim almost everyone looked but also at how many fucking people were on bicycles. Coming from the concrete jungle that is DFW, it was genuinely inspiring.

              • overcast5348@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                I’m happy to report that the number is cyclists is increasing every year with the addition of more bike lanes and a growing network of bikeshare stations. :)

          • Liz@midwest.social
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            7 months ago

            You dress appropriately for the weather and the city actually bothers to clear the bike path quickly when it snows. Oulu does it that way.

          • Strykker@programming.dev
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            7 months ago

            I’m going to let you in on a secret, even though our Canadian cities are shit for people with a car there are still thousands of people in every city who get by year after year without one, because they can’t afford to buy one.

            Not having a car sucks, but it is not a death sentence and would be a hell of a lot better if our cities didn’t assume everyone had one.

      • Dave@lemmy.nz
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        7 months ago

        Wouldn’t the elderly be a huge benefiter of a car free city? You get old enough or frail enough that you can’t drive. Then what?

        I like in a city that provides free busses and trains to those aged 65+ if they ride in off peak hours, and it’s heavily used. This is in a city designed around cars.

    • Hanrahan@slrpnk.net
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      7 months ago

      Or how do elders deal with what other citizens would take for granted in terms of mobility?

      Currently they alll use little electric mobility scooters, in cycle lanes when available, bacause its too dangerous to be any where there are cars here in Australia.

      How do those with epilepsy get around, they can’t drive at least they can’t here in Australia. One lady with epilepsy I knew rode a little electric scoot, she loved having her independence.

      What happens to people when they loose thier license in the US ?

      • selokichtli@lemmy.ml
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        7 months ago

        I couldn’t tell. Barely know the US and it’s been a long time. Those were questions over the top of my head, out of curiosity, and coming from the wrong assumption that these cities were totally car-free with the only exception of emergency vehicles.

    • Teapot [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      What do you do if the city has high slopes making walking and biking too hard?

      You shift to a lower gear and go up the hill

    • huf [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      yeah, car-free cities dont exist. what does exist is cities where you can live a normal life without a driving license. though even there this is restricted to parts of the city i think, where the public transport network is dense enough.

      • delirious_owl@discuss.online
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        7 months ago

        There are major cities that have “less car” zones in their center. Basically they just charge huge fees to bring a car into the area. It is definitely a step forward, but it would be nice if it wasn’t “no cars for thee but, yes, cars for me” from the rich.

        There are, in fact, some car-free places. But it’s largely due to logistic issues (middle of a rain forest or on an island without a bridge. or stupid narrow streets)

  • Rentlar@lemmy.ca
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    7 months ago

    I’m living a car-free lifestyle, despite holding a license to drive. It’s more freedom than I’ve ever had.

    • XTL@sopuli.xyz
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      7 months ago

      Been there at times. It’s great not having to pay and worry about a car (done that at times as well). Yet, if you need to move house or get somewhere difficult, you can lease or borrow a car or van. And you can be an extra driver on trips.

    • ProgrammingSocks@pawb.social
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      7 months ago

      I sometimes make the mistake of driving to college because it’s faster. I’m always way less happy and focused (and sad cause of having to pay for parking). Ebikes are the shit. It’s about 15 minutes driving and a 25-30 minute bike ride.

  • jonsnothere@beehaw.org
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    7 months ago

    Disneyland is a good comparison for some Americans: imagine having to drive to each ride and restaurant

    • coffeeClean@infosec.pub
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      7 months ago

      I don’t think a car-free city actually exists. The article mentions Copenhagen:

      “[London] has avoided the kind of outright car bans seen elsewhere in Europe, such as in Copenhagen”

      I’ve been to Copenhagen. There are cars throughout the city. There are some cycle-only paths that connect to intersections with cars. I cycled along side cars all over the city. Apparently Wired is calling car-reduced cities and cities with small car-free regions a “car-free city”.

      Exceptionally, Brussels is a car-free city but for only one day out of the year. And car-free day falls on a Sunday. On that day it becomes illegal to drive a car in the city center without a special pass after showing you have good reason to use a car on that day. But even on that day, the outer region of Brussels is unaffected.

  • Snapz@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    We don’t just want “car-free cities” for the sake of it… We want walkable cities with infrastructure and proximity to needs/wants built with pedestrians in mind

  • SSJ2Marx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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    7 months ago

    This conforms to my own experience. I first got on the “anti cars” train back when I was a lib, and I got on that train precisely because I worked a job in a place where I wasn’t allowed to have a car, but there was a bus that took me directly to work in the morning and everything else was walkable/busable and occasionally I would take a price-controlled taxi.

    Not having to pay insurance or buy gas, not having to find parking, not having to wait in traffic, being able to read or use my phone during my commute - it’s all so nice, I got converted before I had ever heard the word “urbanism” and before anyone had invented the term “fifteen minute city”.

    • max@feddit.nl
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      7 months ago

      Wait until you hear that some not only hate the ideas, but think they’re a conspiracy theory by some higher power to make people…… be able to walk to the shops? I don’t know…

      • RoabeArt [he/him]@hexbear.net
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        7 months ago

        Every time a new apartment or condo development gets built here, there are people in the local community forums who rabble about “15 minute cities” and how they are trying to force us get rid of cars and control our travel. In spite of the fact these buildings are built with parking lots and garages that are as big as, if not bigger than the buildings themselves.

      • protozoan_ninja@sh.itjust.works
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        7 months ago

        No no, the conspiracy is that by living in walkable cities, you’re easier to track, because nobody in city has phones and there’s no cameras anywhere in cities, and of course everybody in cities pays for things in cash…

        Incidentally, the people I know who’ve fallen for this canard also live in the countryside, make it a point to never go to the city, and also have phones and debit/credit cards and spend time online…

    • SSJ2Marx [he/him]@hexbear.net
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      7 months ago

      Always worth remembering that American-style suburbs were a deliberate political project in the postwar period. They didn’t “just happen”, the government spend billions making them happen at the behest of auto makers, property developers, and racists (but I repeat myself).

    • EatATaco@lemm.ee
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      7 months ago

      The article talks about it happening throughout Europe, and politicians getting death threats for it.

      It’s not limited to Americans. But hey, it’s mindless shitting on Americans, so let’s upvoted it even though the article makes it clear the point makes no sense! We’re so much better than those Americans who don’t even bother to educate themselves.

  • robocall@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    I love living in a car free city. I can’t believe America doesn’t build more cities like mine.

        • PowerCrazy@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          SF and Oakland aren’t car-free, they are car outsourced. You don’t drive, you have someone drive you. Other then a very narrow stretch of Down Town SF to Oakland, most of that metro area isn’t served by public transit. Unlike say NYC where most of the metro area IS served by public transit. (It’s still not car free though.)

        • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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          7 months ago

          Huh, weird that when I was there, there were literally thousands of cars. Probably just hallucinated it

            • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              For years I’ve somehow missed this. Cars driving on nearly every street and somehow that “car-free”, yeah makes perfect sense.

              • BakedCatboy@lemmy.ml
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                7 months ago

                I think it’s because the bar is so low, just the ability to choose to walk for everyday commuting, errands, and leisure qualifies as car free. Ie, you can choose to be car free if you want.

                • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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                  7 months ago

                  Oh. So you mean the places where you have to be rich to live at a nice place, while everyone else has to live in a tiny apartment in a huge building that’s been borderline uninhabitable since the 1970’s?

                • TrickDacy@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  Yeah I don’t understand that at all. I thought car free meant a place, usually a part of town, where cars are not allowed. Those places exist. So to call places nothing like that “car free” seems pretty useless imo

              • Turun@feddit.de
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                7 months ago

                I guess that’s one way to understand that word.

                Colloquially it is used to refer to the capability of a place that allows its inhabitants to live car free.

                Completely banning cars is rarely a demand because it makes no sense. A car is not a problem, hundreds of them are. Especially if they are used and required for everyday mundane tasks.

          • robocall@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            The only city that I know of that fits that definition is Venice, Italy. I’ve been able to live car free in SF for 10 years.

  • Lenny@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    I dream of the day I can bike safely to my places. Right now I basically have the supermarket and two bars in distance, and then it’s a mess of double lane roads and highway ramps before I get to any bike friendly paths to go further afield. It really sucks.

    • Scrollone@feddit.it
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      7 months ago

      Send an email to your local council. Attach photos, explain what could solve your horrible situation. Nothing will probably happen, but if many people start asking those things officially, in the long run it may help.

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          7 months ago

          Never really put tobacco in a joint, but i do love to spliff my blunts. The tobacco really smooths out the weed and is calming.

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        7 months ago

        So you don´t like blunts? Why do you even mind how others enjoy their weed, just let people do their thing, smh …

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          7 months ago

          If that’s what people want to do on their own, that’s fine. My issue is when they hand it to you saying it’s a joint, only to be surprised when it’s basically a cigarette with a tiny bit of weed sprinkled in. I hate smoking tobacco.

          I’ve quickly learned to always ask what is actually in it before accepting.

          • Nakedmole@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            My issue is when they hand it to you saying it’s a joint, only to be surprised when it’s basically a cigarette with a tiny bit of weed sprinkled in.

            Agreed, that is in fact pretty disgusting. I was thinking of a 1:1 ratio at max, with less tobacco than that it should not be called a joint.

            • delirious_owl@discuss.online
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              7 months ago

              If I use any tobacco at all, its just pure tobacco at the tip as a filter. You dont really smoke it if you dont want to, but it prevents wasted flowers

          • Matengor@lemmy.ml
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            7 months ago

            To be fair, that’s just what’s called a joint in Germany. Maybe a 70/30 ratio of tobacco to weed.

            • slouching_employer@lemmy.one
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              7 months ago

              Yeah, I’ve been living in Germany. Learned quite quickly to never trust a “joint”.

              Ya’ll should learn the word “spliff”. That’s what it’s for.

              • Matengor@lemmy.ml
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                7 months ago

                Well that’s just from my perception in the Rhineland region in the 90s and 2000s.

                Of course, we used mainly other terms like Dübel, Tüte or Sportzigarette.

                How would you differ?

                • Nakedmole@lemmy.world
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                  7 months ago

                  I did not refer to the name but to the ratio. It very much depends on the scene imo. It reaches from pure weed in the reggae scene, a 1:1 mix in the hiphop scene, to almost pure tobacco in “weekend weed smoker” scenes and also just depends a lot on the individual who rolled. That is of course only my personal experience.

  • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Meh, I’ve spent time in walkable cities. Months of renting small apartments in the EU on a work trip.I still prefer cars.

    I didn’t think you’re going to convince these people.

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      We don’t have to convince them to give up their own cars; we just have to stop catering to them by providing so much subsidized road and parking space.

        • delirious_owl@discuss.online
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          7 months ago

          You can convince someone to not like cars in many ways, such as the inconvienece or waking up to slashed tires a few times per year

          …especially the very, very expensive cars and SUVs

          • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Just don’t be surprised when you get fucked up 🤷‍♂️

            You think an insurance claim is going to change anything? Delusional stuff.

            • delirious_owl@discuss.online
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              7 months ago

              The purpose is the inconvenience. Its the same reason people block traffic. Our infrastructure should he designed to make car travel the least convient mode of transportation.

              We should use many tactics to achieve this, bothoth urban planning and direct action to achieve this.

              • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                Lololol I LOVE dropping my Porsche off at the dealership. I get free food and take home a boxer convertible for the day.

                You ain’t doing shit other than putting yourself into danger and making someone think you’re an asshole.

                Go ahead tough guy one day you’ll run into violence or a dash cam 🤣. I’ll be sitting in my boxer rental.

    • sweetpotato@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      Yeah you’re right, who likes no pollution, no noise, strong communities and third places to bond with people, kids having public spaces to play in their neighborhoods, green, sustainability, healthy, active people that don’t sit in front of a wheel all day long… Who likes all that seriously?

      • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I get privacy, AC, and I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day, and I still live in a small neighborhood with a lovely park within walking distance.

        I’m fucking crazy right!!!

        • Loki@feddit.de
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          7 months ago

          Privacy… in a car… in 2024…

          I was going to only comment that but seriously,

          shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day

          that just means you’ll only have fresh produce for a week at most, any bread you buy will be unusable after 4 days and if something you need is not in stock you have to wait another two weeks.

          • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            We’re GF. The vast majority of veggies are just fine for 2 weeks with little care. The only freshness issues we run into are potatoes and lettuce type greens. If we have to we always have the ability to make a second trip.

            What is important to you may not be to others. I don’t understand how the folks in here don’t get this. You’ve already converted people who want to be converted. It’s an uphill battle. You are sitting here trying to prove my preference is wrong. I’ve experienced both and make a choice to live semi rural and it suits every single one of my preferences.

            • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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              7 months ago

              Your preferences are asinine to a sustainable society. Which part of that can you not understand?

              • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                Again, I’ve done more than you unless you’ve gotten mostly off the electric and gas grid as I have. As pointed out elsewhere I have done quite a bit to reduce my footprint. Good luck convincing the other folks with comments line that 🤣. Y’all just have resorted to personal attacks.

            • Loki@feddit.de
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              7 months ago

              What is important to you may not be to others.

              Honestly, genuinely, being able to get fresh produce daily and good bread - gluten free or not (there’s gluten free bread???) - and being able to be spontaneous and take a quick 5 minute walk to the store because I’ve unexpectedly run out of eggs in the middle of baking or whatever aren’t things that are at all important to me, they are just facts of life. What’s important to me is not being inconvenienced by people who think it’s their god-given right to own a car and make it everyone’s problem.

              My issue here is that you’re saying

              I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day

              like everyone should obviously agree that only going once every two weeks is the better experience and just stopping by on the way to or from work or in your lunch break is somehow an inferior experience.

              You are sitting here trying to prove my preference is wrong.

              I don’t care about you, I care about other people possibly reading this and want to make sure - since they’re interested in the conversation already - why we think living car-free is better. The top level comment on this chain is you stating your opinion that cars are better, with no explanation at all as to why. I know that people like you are a lost cause.

        • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          Yes, you are. Also a liar.

          privacy

          How is that important in a commute?

          AC

          Busses and trains also have AC. If you’re walking or cycling, the wind will be more than enough to keep you cool.

          I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day

          You can do the same in walkable neighborhoods, only the sane thing to do is to buy less more often. As a bonus, you’ll be healthier and your food will be fresher.

          • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Yes, you are. Also a liar.

            Okay? I guess I’m a liar? What are you referencing if I might ask? I’m not sure where I’m lying here.

            privacy

            I didn’t have to hear you. I don’t have to touch you. I can blast tswift quite loudly and sing with my daughter as much as I want. I can also enjoy the quietness.

            Busses and trains also have AC. If you’re walking or cycling, the wind will be more than enough to keep you cool.

            🙄👌👍 I love it when the zealots start telling me how much I sweat. It’s giving insane deranged shit lol.

            I get to go shopping once every two weeks instead of smaller trips every day

            You can do the same in walkable neighborhoods, only the sane thing to do is to buy less more often. As a bonus, you’ll be healthier and your food will be fresher.

            You most certainly do not walk with a family sized trip. I fill a literal full size us grocery cart. Not a chance you are doing that walking without some insane system.

            • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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              7 months ago

              You need to use ">" to quote someone.

              🙄👌👍 I love it when the zealots start telling me how much I sweat. It’s giving insane deranged shit lol.

              I suffer from severe hyperhidrosis, meaning I literally can’t stop sweating and sweat way more than the average person at any given temperature. Public transportation does just fine for me.

              You most certainly do not walk with a family sized trip. I fill a literal full size us grocery cart. Not a chance you are doing that walking without some insane system.

              I literally do. Maybe all that sitting around in a car has caused your muscles to atrophy.

                • Loki@feddit.de
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                  7 months ago

                  are you realising how petty and mean you’ve become in this comment section? is this the person you want to be? is this the person your daughter would be proud of calling her parent? exercise is proven to be good for mental health, maybe you should take a trip to that park you’ve mentioned and leave the internet be for the day.

    • exanime@lemmy.today
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      7 months ago

      It’s awesome you didn’t provide a single example about why you prefer unwalkable cities

      • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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        7 months ago

        I didn’t find it easier. I didn’t like summer commutes and being hot. I didn’t like dealing with other people on public transportation. I prefer my 10 minute drive to my local store in AC with my music in my quite car.

        • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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          7 months ago

          In other words, you’re antisocial and quite possibly narcisistic. Yeah, I don’t think you’re the kind of person cities should cater to.

          • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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            7 months ago

            Nope. I have a loving family, am married, have a kid who is in soccer, dance, etc. we have some other parent friends. Just had a nice DnD night and hit up the recent local adventures league.

            I’ve also spent nearly 90k converting my roof to solar, buying a PHEV, installing a heat pump and fully offloading my net usage. I ripped up my grass put in clover, planted wildflower, and spend hundreds of hours and dollars beekeeping. You can fuck right off with your little narrow judgments. I’ve likely done more than you’ll ever do to reduce my consumption. Outside of giving up a car.

            You have invented an entire persona and story because I have stated how a large population feels about vehicles and living more rural. You have invented some evil character on a paragraph. It’s insane and counterproductive.

              • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                Blah blah blah, I’ll ignore this guy using less resources than me and pretend I’m not some ass arguing on the Internet.

            • Gabu@lemmy.ml
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              7 months ago

              If you enjoy rurality so much, simply fuck off to nowhere - emptyville. Why are you even taking part in a discussion about cities?

              • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                More suburban light, but yeah I did.

                As for why I’m here, 🤷‍♂️ I thought this place was about conversation. I stated a common preference and prefer a small city and driving. You all lost your mind at the audacity of me expressing that option. Being .ml a ban is probably next 🤷‍♂️.

                It’s insane you are attacking me, someone who uses less resources than most of the people in US or EU, and you are screaming at me to fuck off because I have a preference for a vehicle. It’s this insane all of nothing attitude that is 100% incompatible with democratic systems. Jesus Christ my man, you are screaming at a guy you 75% agree with.