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Yeah most people i come in contact to don't have this strange obsession with "walkablity" "urban" areas... and aren't scared cars and highways like man people on this forum are... the car centric lifestyle is just normal to us, we are used to it.
Well, personally I don't like having to commute via car. Both the roads and drivers here are terrible. Also, the building where my office is just added in about 4 new businesses since the 1st of the year so there is not enough parking. I like nice cars and going on road trips, but driving to and from work, sucks, to put it mildly.
On the flip side, my parents are both terrified of public transit, or even taking a taxi. I could say the same about 90% of my extended family. I honestly know people who would simply never leave their home if they had to take a bus to get somewhere. They would quit their job and become a shut in.
By the way, when I search "Berlin Metro Area" it brings up the whole Berlin/Brandenburg area, which is very densely populated. When I search, for instance, "Los Angeles Metro Area" it brings up a huge area that encompasses many smaller towns, just like the search for "Berlin Metro Area."
You are very good at running searches on the Internet... but it looks like you don't know how to read the data you come up with.
As I have already written Berlin is much smaller than Brandenburg.
The "Agglomeration Berlin" is only 3,743 square km (1,446 square miles) large and has a population of roughly 4.4 millions. The resulting density is 1180 ppl/km^2 (3055 ppl/sq mi).
The remainder of the "Metropolregion Berlin/Brandenburg" is 26,632 square km (10,287 square miles) large and has a population of 1.58 millions. The resulting density is 59 ppl/km^2 (153 ppl/sq mi).
Therefore more than 85% of the Berlin /Brandenburg area ( everything outside the Agglomeration Berlin) has an average density of about 60 people per square km. Such figure shows us that most of Brandenburg (nearly all of Brandenburg) is very very very far from being "very densely populated". If anything, it's quite the opposite.
That's because most of them live in the Suburbs. I assume now that you means areas like Stroget in Copenhagen. You will see them occasionally here but no, the reality is that in most places you walk with cars.
I've been al over Europe and most of your downtowns are really really old and cars don't fit. Our cities are newer with room for both.
Here is a section of Boston called Quincy Market ..
It's correct that they didn't have cars thousands of years ago(or hundreds more commonly) Is it true that many American cities were first built around a cable car?
Not going to lie, Public transport in my area is terrible. On the other side of Orlando 40 miles away near Disney it is better.. It's about 3 miles to the nearest bus line.
To be honest I wouldn't want to take a bus on my American vacation I just prefer to have that option where I live.
Hey, drop the personal insults or I won't continue the conversation.
Meanwhile, I will say that of COURSE it's difficult to compare US and EU cities - because they ARE so vastly different across the board. Believe me, I'm very capable of understanding logic and reasoning.
But on one hand there are people on this thread saying, "WE HAVE TO COMPARE CITIES ONLY - ON THEIR POPULATIONS." Then someone else pops in and says, "NO, ON METRO AREAS." Which is it?
The bottom line is that EU and US cities are laid out very differently, generally speaking, with many differences in population density per square mile/km. This means that the populations have different needs and different lifestyles.
Let's not be mean to each others
I just wanted to point out that comparing Berlin's population to Los Angeles's population is almost impossible. Maybe the "metro" would be the most honest number, but I doubt there's an international standard to calculate that one either...
How much time have you actually spent walking around American cities?
American cities didn't develop like European cities. Most American cities developed roads in a grid pattern, and many American cities, unlike many European ones, were built specifically to accommodate vehicle traffic. Since our cities are relatively new, they often didn't develop of centuries around a town square or one particular city center. Many may have a courthouse in the center of the town but the town's streets are laid out in a grid around that courthouse. Outside the northeast (where the oldest US cities are for the most part), you will rarely see US cities with the tiny, narrow streets that are so common in European cities. Our cities were usually built with cars and parking and traffic in mind - rather than as an afterthought. So we don't have to have "Fussganger" areas, because we have wider streets and wide sidewalks in many of the city centers.
This is my experience with American cities. Let's not argue about this anymore, I'm aware that there's some expections and many people are very happy with the American style too.
People drive to work not because the cities and downtowns aren't walkable. They drive (or take the bus) to work because the downtown areas and nearby neighborhoods are too expensive. Some people have to live outside the city, where rents and real estate are cheaper, and commute in. Walkability is very desirable, and some people are willing (and able) to pay extra to live in the city in walkable neighborhoods.
I've never heard of any American city that didn't have a "proper" downtown. I think that's very rare. And fyi, many cities have bike lanes, so that bicyclists can commute safely, without riding among all the cars. People certainly do walk to work (I did, for about 12 years), and bicycle to work. Many people commute by transit.
Majurius, your posts tend to sound like your understanding of life in the US comes from a Soviet textbook. That was then, this is now. Things change.
Have you been to Moscow? Real estate there is super expensive but they built this huge and efficient subway network decades ago. People can easily live 20km away from the city centre and still commute there every day without a car, so there's if one has will
People just don't seem to think of downtown as their "a public livingroom".
Downtown of one of your largest cities:
A $3.00 co-pay, and than a $0.00 co-pay, if I remember correctly. And five days at 440 mg (my dose, second phase of treatment) retailed at over $5,000 in the U.S.
However, let's not ignore the dark side of it - I went several months without a job simply to remain qualified for MinnesotaCare, and the financial side of cancer (for me, being eligible for the programs while at the same time being honest) has been nothing but a constant source of anxiety and hindrance to my personal success in life.
$5000??? So in America drugs are freakishly expensive? No wonder people without insurences can get in trouble.
But I'm glad you survived What if you had like a regular $40k/year job without an insurence? An imminent bankrupt?
Quality of life, IMO, is being able to live car-free. When I was in college, most students rode the bus, because few had a car. I don't know how in these days of astronomical tuition rates and high student debt so many students can have cars at college...?? It's hard to believe that they do. Maybe they just live close enough to campus to walk, and don't travel around town much, except by bike.
This. I'm happy with my situation, I have a car but I can choose to use metro/tram/bus if I like(when I'm drunk mostly)
My son lives in Austin. Austin's downtown is very walkable. Prior to moving out of town a bit, he lived about six blocks from his work. Now - he's not lazy at all. He hasn't got an ounce of fat on him, either. He could have caught the bus, or walked to work, every single day. But he bought a moped (they're very common in Austin), and puts up with having to lock it up every time he gets off it - after he got the first one stolen, he learned the importance of locking it up - rather than ride the bus, which he could easily have done from either place he's lived in Austin.
Many Americans simply do not want public transportation. I have said this so many times on this forum I am nearly blue in the face: we like cars. And we have the room for them - and the cheap gas.
I wonder what's going to happen when gas hits $10/gallon
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Is it true that many American cities were first built around a cable car?
I just prefer to have that option where I live.
