Hear me out. I live in San Francisco, Chicago before that, and view modern cars like this:
· More surveillance than an actual surveillance camera
· Require hyper-KYC
· Are the most common point of contact between people and law enforcement
· Are part of the fiat debt trap with loans
· Require a perpetual expenditure (capex) of resources like mining with none of the benefits, wether it's gas, repairs, insurance, washing, parking, or just theta
· Swell city budgets, from more police to annual repairs
· Are increasingly dependent on a subscription-based model for features, which makes me almost violent
I mean, where's the freedom that the Ultimate Driving Machine is selling me? Maybe I'm built too Ford Tough. Of course none of this applies if you live outside the city, but for the major population center dwellers, why not allocate the streets to restaurants for al fresco dining instead of Tesla's four-wheeled spyware? Or build parks. Allow gyms to use the space in the mornings, endless farmer's markets, gardens, micro-trans, bars, general event space, whatever. Return it to small businesses, communities, churches.
It's social. It's active. It's healthy. That seems like the new thinking, new possibility Hyundai always talks about.
This isn't like the pedestrian scourge I've noticed. Let me explain: one of my biggest complaints in the cities I've domiciled is that they've made a terrible mistake trying to combat homelessness by removing all the benches and areas to sit. Now when you walk about the city, you feel rushed, there's no place to sit, you're funneled into businesses or in and out of parks, thusly, you walk shorter distances, stay indoors more, etc. It's bullshit, and frankly I'm not sure why it hasn't been brought up in cultural discussions. Has it curtailed homelessness? No. In fact, they should've done the exact opposite, and built significantly more loiter space.
Humans need that.
I dumped my car during the pandemic. Sold it for about as much as I bought if for, then bought bitcoin, and an e-bike. This bike gets 70 miles per charge, charges in under an hour, goes 35mph, parks anywhere, weighs 45lbs, and costs about $50 total in yearly upkeep. I get to work and back in less time which makes me more productive, I'm healthier, and have more disposable income as a result. Micro-trans (e-bikes, scooters, etc) is exploding. A parabola of investment, consumers, and city pathway allocation is meeting its demands. I just feel that getting rid of cars throughout large blocks of a city is a boon. It's more efficient in all ways contending, proffers a better quality of life, reduces healthcare costs, brings communities closer and so on. I just don't see Tesla's self-burning car software with built in NSA sensors based on a subscription model for features (fuck I hate these), and subsidized by taxpayers playing a role in future city affordances.
I'd like to hear some rebuttals. Satoshis for hi-rez replies, as always.