You sound (write) like you live somewhere where the weather is always reasonably pleasant enough to be out on a bicycle. Here in Scotland, that kind of weather is rare. In fact it's so rare that we tend to remember the nice days. We just had a week of pleasant spring weather (actual sunshine and blue skies!) but it was still bloomin' cold as the air temperature was still low. Snow and icy conditions forecast for this week.
Also, not everyone can cycle 15-20 miles from their home to their place of work and back every day - especially in the usual wet & windy conditions we have here. Nor would families be prepared to uproot from one of your proposed living pods to another one closer to any new place of work.
I'm quite adamant that I will refuse to take part in your proposed Dystopia, for that's what it will turn out to be.
I moved from Ireland, which is quite like Scotland weather-wise and where I cycled everywhere every day, to a place with much harsher winters and where I still cycle most days. Not everyone can, but most can. And you can cover greater distance with e-bikes if you insist on living that far. We could be subsidising those in addition to EV subsidies but we don't.
This person isn't demanding that you live in their "dystopia" but asking that we stop forcing everyone through policy to live in the current one. I have to go out of my way and put my life in reckless drivers' hands just to cycle places. Maybe we could change the incentive structure of modern living so that my option is easier and driving is harder. Then everyone can still do whatever they want but there is less friction to doing the "right" thing.
The video you cited made me feel both ill and annoyed. The smug proclamations from some guy who judges everyone else was nauseating. It's also based on urban life within a city. Cities with invariably flat landscapes with no hills. The Netherland you cite is basically flat compared to Scotland.
Scotland is _very_ hilly. And cold. And _rainy_. Your proposals would NOT work here. Apart from Glasgow and Edinburgh, most towns, villages and other cities here are not suitable to forgoing cars in favour of cycles - electric or not - and that's not down to a lack of cycle lanes or tracks, it's down to the practicalities of life here.
Your Utopia cannot happen, and in fact would eventually turn into a dystopia.
Most populated areas of the world are also not suited to having everyone living in rural areas being herded together into an ultimately dystopian pod-life hellhole.
The facts are that whoever is advocating for this have not thought past their subjective experience and are exhibiting a serious lack of empathy for the majority of human beings they quite obviously are unaware of who are living in many environments which are completely different from the ones advocating.
> Most populated areas of the world are also not suited to having everyone living in rural areas being herded together into an ultimately dystopian pod-life hellhole.
Most people in the world don't live in rural areas, and where they are the majority, you wouldn't want to live like that because they're subsistence farmers living in undervedeloped countries (think Somalia, Afghanistan, etc).
In developed countries and developing countries people are being "herded" in to cities, and they like it because the alternative is worse. And they are the majority.
The fact that you don't know this basic fact kind of says all there is to be said about this conversation...
One of the greatest triumphs of civilization is urbanization. All the cradle of civilizations are called like that because they built great cities, for their time.
The “Not Just Bikes” guy is well loved by a certain age of cycling and city enthusiasts who don’t have any idea what it’s like to be older or who have to deal with real world non-idealized city apartments.
Neighbor noise (and other issues) is a huge issue that these threads always ignore.
Neighbor noise can be an issue depending on location, but many of us write it off because we currently live in cities and find that neighbor noise is not a problem and is not something we care about given how minor of an event it is when we do experience it at all.
I suspect that your experiences and expectations may differ from others in this thread. What are your expectations and experiences in this area?
I dealt with neighbor noise in 3/5 apartments I rented.
It is why I will _never_ share walls again.
What you're really saying is that you are a person who is not bothered by neighbor noise. That's fine, you've self-selected into an environment where tolerating that is necessary. You should realize that most people find neighbor noise to be a stressor, especially as they get older.
Also, as an aside, everyone I know who below the top economic tier and lives in SF _commonly_ complains about neighbor noise. I think you might just be insensitive to it.
Also, not everyone can cycle 15-20 miles from their home to their place of work and back every day - especially in the usual wet & windy conditions we have here. Nor would families be prepared to uproot from one of your proposed living pods to another one closer to any new place of work.
I'm quite adamant that I will refuse to take part in your proposed Dystopia, for that's what it will turn out to be.