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This paper is the most thorough and insightful deconstruction of car dependence I& #39;ve seen. Should be required reading for anyone working on sustainable transport.
Read @giulio_mattioli& #39;s thread below. A couple of my own thoughts to follow. [threadlet] https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1252334696580726784">https://twitter.com/giulio_ma...
Read @giulio_mattioli& #39;s thread below. A couple of my own thoughts to follow. [threadlet] https://twitter.com/giulio_mattioli/status/1252334696580726784">https://twitter.com/giulio_ma...
Biggest wake-up call for me: Capital intensiveness/economies of scale in car industry are at the root the problem. Inflexible modes of production privilege standard products, limiting room for innovation (including for sustainability). 2/x
The economics of manufacturing, the auto industry& #39;s "too big to fail" status in the economy, the cyclicality of the car market, and the industry& #39;s political clout contribute to its constant need for bailouts during difficult economic times. (Like, for instance, right now.) 3/x
The authors don& #39;t get into this, but the low margins of auto manufacturing and economies of scale seem to create incentives to "move metal" and to develop profit centers in financing, service, etc. - all of which hampers the transition to EVs and saddles consumers w/debt. 4/x
Sad head-nod moment: Recognition of what the authors call "opportunistic use of contradictory economic arguments." We& #39;ve seen this with boondoggle highway projects in the Rust Belt. Have industry? Need more roads. Want industry? Need more roads. 5/x https://frontiergroup.org/blogs/blog/fg/can-highways-heal-rust-belt">https://frontiergroup.org/blogs/blo...
Leading to the other sad head-nod moment: This paper might provide the clearest explanation of why policies that support car dependence are often bipartisan. Left and right both have rationales to support it. 6/x
Still, the paper shows what those of us working for sustainable transportation are up against. The bad news is that self-reinforcing webs of policy, finance and culture are hard to disrupt. But sometimes you can unravel a web by clipping the right string at the right time. 7/x
![And I& #39;d be remiss if I didn& #39;t call attention to the authors& #39; new Pentagram of Car Dependence, which I& #39;ll be getting a tattoo of when this current madness is over. [end]](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EWM0hYpXYAEWG7N.png "And I& #39;d be remiss if I didn& #39;t call attention to the authors& #39; new Pentagram of Car Dependence, which I& #39;ll be getting a tattoo of when this current madness is over. [end]")
