One of the bigger issues is that being car-free simply is not an option in large swaths of the US and other places. I've lived in places with zero public transportation. One town had taxis: You could not schedule them to get to work on time. The company would not give reasonable call-ahead times: They would simply say it might take 5 minutes or 2 hours. This same city wasn't walkable.
One city had buses, which mostly served the college campus. The busses didn't run on Sunday, late enough at night for second shift workers to get home, nor run to the edges of town (where some factories were).
So many places aren't walkable (or can be easily cycled). One place I lived... the quickest route was on a state road, and didn't allow cycling/walking and wasn't safe for it either. The police would stop you, especially at night. The route that you were allowed to take was much longer.
I am now in a place where I don't need a car. (and I forgot to transfer my license while moving to another country, so I don't drive). Walking is safe. Cycling is safe. There are 'shortcuts' for walking/cycling. Public transport is pretty robust, though the overnight hours could be improved. I can even go to other cities - including some not-so-big-cities - using public transportation (trains or busses). It is wonderful and definitely feels like some utopia. It is so freaking wonderful to have such an option.
One city had buses, which mostly served the college campus. The busses didn't run on Sunday, late enough at night for second shift workers to get home, nor run to the edges of town (where some factories were).
So many places aren't walkable (or can be easily cycled). One place I lived... the quickest route was on a state road, and didn't allow cycling/walking and wasn't safe for it either. The police would stop you, especially at night. The route that you were allowed to take was much longer.
I am now in a place where I don't need a car. (and I forgot to transfer my license while moving to another country, so I don't drive). Walking is safe. Cycling is safe. There are 'shortcuts' for walking/cycling. Public transport is pretty robust, though the overnight hours could be improved. I can even go to other cities - including some not-so-big-cities - using public transportation (trains or busses). It is wonderful and definitely feels like some utopia. It is so freaking wonderful to have such an option.