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You who question the video and so on: The video is a joke! But I'm still claiming that this joke has a point.
Every major American city I've been to (10+) has a deserted downtown area compared to any Major European city. People in America tend to take their car everywhere! Probably because of the distance and lack of bike/pedestrian roads. I think it's sad. Go Europe!
NYC don't count!
Preferring Europe being this way is fine, but it doesn't really have to mean anything to anyone else.
It might upset you, but maybe many Americans actually like suburbs and cars even. Our culture tends to be more individualistic than Europeans going by surveys. So maybe we want to be in our own cars, with our family perhaps, and have our own yards. That our culture leads us to prefer that over being packed in buses, subways, and the like. And maybe that's not a big deal. I mean sure it means more land usage, but I have trees in my yard so I don't know if I'm really screwing up the land any more than a city person in Europe. (Although I'm rural rather than suburban, but I think they have trees in suburbs)
Although I would agree more Americans should walk and use bicycles. Bicycles are fairly individualistic too. And I would like it if the streets and sidewalks are better for wheels as I use a wheelchair. Still I fear/feel you're doing some "let's look down at Americans, except New Yorkers" deal and that bothers me. Many of us in the US admire things about other nations, but don't necessarily want every city to be like NYC or London or Brussels or Paris. Maybe our cities can be like Melbourne, Toronto, or Osaka. Or just our unique thing. Who knows?
Uploaded on January 4, 2007 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/98368586@N00/archives/date-posted/2007/01/04/ - broken link)
by lewakow3
Uploaded on August 4, 2009 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/vagabondvistas/archives/date-posted/2009/08/04/ - broken link)
by Vagabond Vistas
Uploaded on March 17, 2008 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazbabe21/archives/date-posted/2008/03/17/ - broken link)
by crazbabe21
Uploaded on May 23, 2010 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/geoman78/archives/date-posted/2010/05/23/ - broken link)
by James Wellman
Also I think it should probably be "Why are American cities deserted." I really loathe criticizing anyone's grammar, but how to use is/are is such an easy one to learn it grates on me. (Foreign language isn't entirely an excuse as I think I know when to use "suis" versus "sommes" in French, even if I did type "allons" at first)
Compared to European cities, America is deserted. How come?
What a stupid-ass video.
Here's your first clue, Epsilon: if you want to compare cities, try getting footage of a park in an American CITY. The "American" footage was obviously taken in a low-density suburban or possibly even rural area. Try filming in a park in an actual, you know, city. Then get back to us.
You who question the video and so on: The video is a joke! But I'm still claiming that this joke has a point.
Every major American city I've been to (10+) has a deserted downtown area compared to any Major European city. People in America tend to take their car everywhere! Probably because of the distance and lack of bike/pedestrian roads. I think it's sad. Go Europe!
NYC don't count!
You posted a video of two parks and now are talking about downtowns, which is a complete fabrication.
Preferring Europe being this way is fine, but it doesn't really have to mean anything to anyone else.
It might upset you, but maybe many Americans actually like suburbs and cars even. Our culture tends to be more individualistic than Europeans going by surveys. So maybe we want to be in our own cars, with our family perhaps, and have our own yards. That our culture leads us to prefer that over being packed in buses, subways, and the like. And maybe that's not a big deal. I mean sure it means more land usage, but I have trees in my yard so I don't know if I'm really screwing up the land any more than a city person in Europe. (Although I'm rural rather than suburban, but I think they have trees in suburbs)
Although I would agree more Americans should walk and use bicycles. Bicycles are fairly individualistic too. And I would like it if the streets and sidewalks are better for wheels as I use a wheelchair. Still I fear/feel you're doing some "let's look down at Americans, except New Yorkers" deal and that bothers me. Many of us in the US admire things about other nations, but don't necessarily want every city to be like NYC or London or Brussels or Paris. Maybe our cities can be like Melbourne, Toronto, or Osaka. Or just our unique thing. Who knows?
I think the individualism angle is something that shouldn't be ignored in all of this. A lot of the design is based on social behavior and values of the majority.
I also think belittling people and areas for how their cities are designed is non-productive and possibly counter-productive. When it happens I could see a significant number feel more convinced of the way things are is best and entrench more in their views as it is felt that it is assulted.
Please, really? An empty water bottle on the ground? I'm sure you cound never find any trash on the ground in Europe. I've been in European parks, and they have trash on the ground too. GEEZ!
The American lifestyle and the European lifestyle are different, and thats a good thing.
I sorry but that OP video made me laugh. Question! What city and what park was that? And some how that park suppose to represent American parks? LAMO. Yeah parks in American cities normally are that empty "Cough cough" normally............. normal... as in usually ) that video was an extreme satire.
Ok yall this piedmont park in Atlanta, he's driving through midtown so go 2 mins in.
Not so, here in the Twin Cities. In my neighborhood, you'll always find lots of people strolling, running or biking on the River Boulevard, summer or winter, night or day. Even more so around the Mpls lakes.
Being from the Duluth area, I've been to Minneapolis a lot in the summer (including to Minnehaha Park and the Grand Rounds), and this is true, but I don't think it's representative of the country as a whole.
Interestingly, I've heard from at least two sources that immigrants tend to make use of parks much more often than natives in the United States. There are virtually no immigrants in Duluth, but from my time spent in Minneapolis, I can say that is probably true, although there isn't much of a foreign-born contingent (compared to other cities) there either.
Again, I think it is partly a land-use difference and partly a cultural difference. Many, if not most Americans DO NOT like to walk for recreation or utility purposes (I've told of anecdotes about this in other posts on this forum), and in addition, most seem to recreate in private spaces where they cannot be observed by the general public.
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I'm sure you cound never find any trash on the ground in Europe. 
I've been in European parks, and they have trash on the ground too. GEEZ!
Why is American cities deserted?
