At least here in Illinois rural towns have okay train access and can easily accommodate bike infrastructure. Many rural towns with a university have decent bike networks already. It’s North American suburbs that are more hopelessly designed around private vehicles.

I recommend getting some bright lights. I have a 350 lumens rear light that makes my bike more visible than most vehicles.

Mapping is hard. My city is close to a perfect grid so mapping apps generally do pretty well here. My biggest frustration with Google Maps recently is how deceptive it’s estimated times are.

For walking, cycling, and transit Google calculates the entire trip. Unfortunately for driving directions it only tells you the optimal time not including parking, getting settled in your vehicle, or getting to your final destination from your parking spot. People see these ridiculous estimations and assume driving is always faster but at the end of the day its faster to take one of the alternatives most of the time in my city.

Love to see it but can’t help but be disappointed bigger projects aren’t planned from Chicago. I don’t understand why it will take me twice as long to take the train to New Orleans than drive or why there is only a single running east per day.

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I agree with a lot of people that suggest voting and holding your representatives accountable and the mass pollutors responsible will be the most important part but I also think there’s no reason not to lead by example in this situation. Reduce your carbon usage when you can by buying fewer consumer goods, eating less meat, avoiding single use products, and more frequently using public transportation, walking and cycling to get around.

There is ideological diversity within the democratic party, especially at the local level. As part of a representative democracy, the electorate needs to be engaged with their representatives. You should start looking closely at your most local representatives.

Roads aren’t funded by fares, why should public transit?

It sounds like you might have misunderstood them. To me, it’s sounds like they are telling you to just BIKE. I’d suggest a used bike from a reputable manufacturer, in my city that will set ya back about 200, less than you’d pay for JUST insurance. On a simple bike like this any problem you might experience will be easily diagnosable and self fixable or you can go to a shop and pay a little extra. If you live in an area where things are far apart you might want to look into an e bike, those range from about 1k or more. They can go from 20-30mph and should be treated more seriously as you ride as on a regular bike you will probably only achieve 10-15mph averages. That will have the negative tradeoff of being harder to work on, more expensive, and perhaps frowned upon by “sport” cyclists. Check out this resource for more safety information.

I used to think automated cars might be a good thing because I expect them to behave more predictably than unqualified human drivers. Over time I’ve changed my mind. In the USA we currently have no way to stop harm from major companies like the ones investing in electric cars. A situation that feels incredibly likely will be that instead of facing jail time like an individual would, companies will receive trivial fines that they will price into the cost of the vehicle for harm caused by their fleets. This will prevent any sort of accountability for vehicles causing harm to living things.

They also acquired and still run the business previously done by Monsanto known for things like agent orange and eliminating corn biodiversity. Their legal department is also infamous for bankrupting small farmers.

Automobiles. Especially in the USA they are causing a public health crisis, environmental crisis, qualify of life crisis. I grew up loving them and they have uses but I’m fully convinced in the future they should be a luxury used for specific tasks or trips rather than the only form of transportation available.

Chicago has great transit, two major airports, is the primary rail hub of the US, and has substantial bike infrastructure. We also have affordable neighborhoods although you will need creativity to bike them safely. A lot of our streets aren’t that wide so cars are limited in how much they can speed. There’s a really active biking community and we have some great resources like mellow bike map for getting around neighborhoods not yet connected by formal infrastructure.

Loved this stuff back in the day as well. I still do. I got to see Slipknot live at a festival a few years back and they put on one of the more impressive shows I’ve seen.

Yup the fediverse is the best it’s been since social media consolidated online discussion and independent forums faded away. I still strongly suggest developing relationships within your real world community because it is very easy to be deceived and exploited online even if the technology isn’t doing it intentionally.

This already exists it’s called face to face communication. You can do it in private spaces like living rooms or bars. You can also find public spaces like parks and transit. If you’re shy look into activities related to hobbies.

I’m optimistic about my city. It’s not perfect but we’ve had substantial political victories recently, growing demand as well as some investment in better cycling / public transit infrastructure, and great existing amenities. We have a ton of diversity and affordable neighborhoods.

I’m conflicted on Airbnb. Their product really is superior to corporate hotel chains and they’ve opened up areas previously unserved by traditional hotels. In my city corporate landlords, foreign investors, and disinvestment in public housing seem to be much bigger problems than Airbnb.