Americans are notoriously car dependent. Anecdotal evidence ranging from newspaper reports to memes on social media and the writings of that incomparable observer of societies Bill Bryson would suggest the American obsession with the automobile has reached possible disorder levels. What a car crazy America perhaps does not realise ~ or does not care about even if it does ~ is just how beneficial reducing dependence on cars would be for lower emissions, creating safer streets, and unlocking financial savings.

And now we don’t have to depend on anecdotal evidence to make this argument: Experts Adie Tomer and Caroline George have published a comprehensive report based on real-world data to estimate the travel patterns of residents in the 110 largest US metro areas. The transportation sector is America’s leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, represents a top cause of bodily harm, and requires an overly expensive infrastructure to maintain. As the report’s authors iterate, no developed country makes greater use of private vehicles and their incredible ability to cover long distances in relatively little time. The problem is that all those vehicles come at a real cost to society: Growing environmental damage, unsafe roads, higher household transportation spending, and rising costs to maintain all the infrastructure.

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Even though electric cars promise to reduce the climate impacts of driving, they fail to address car dependency’s other persistent costs to society. Tomer and George’s findings are that ‘building for proximity’ could offer a more holistic solution. Which is to say helping people live closer to the centres of economic activity, from downtown hubs to local Main Streets, should reduce the distances people need to travel for many essential trips. Shorter trip distances, in turn, make walking, bicycling, and public transport more attractive and improve the quality of life. As a consequence, officials too would feel empowered to build complete streets that include lower speed limits, protected cyclist/ pedestrian zones, and other amenities.

These recommendations offer a more universal solution than just electrifying vehicles ~ shifting development to promote proximity within and around established activity centres. People who live near multiple activity centres not only travel far fewer miles, which is enough to engender a massive cut in transportation-related emissions even if people still drive, but those kinds of neighbourhoods naturally support more mixed housing, promote safer streets, and reduce household expenses through greater transportation choice. If the learnings from the pockets of each US metro area studied are absorbed by America’s policymaking establishment and its private sector, rules that promote shorter-distance trips and proximity at the same time will have to be codified. It’s time for America to stop polluting. But to try and wean Americans from their car addiction is not for the faint-hearted, especially not as the US presidential election cycle begins. Detroit rules.