In movies I often see cars used for long distance travel and not trains. I can’t imagine having to always drive for a long time everytime I need to commute long distances. Sorry for the shallow question, I’ve never been to the USA.
In: Technology
It’s a complicated problem with a lot of factors. I am only going to mention some, as they are the ones I am aware of.
The root of it can be traced back to the car boom in the mid-late 20th century. Cars were very effectively marketed as a luxury item that everyone wants to own, and the idea that cars = freedom was a large part of this.
Fairly simultaneously, the American Dream, brought to you by suburbia was born. This pushed single family’s homes to the population. These were incredibly cheap to produce, as land was dirt cheap, and the timber framing used is quick and efficient for 2 story homes, but less so for multi family developments.
As Suburbia was being built at the same time as the car boom, they were built in a very car dependent way, with no shops near homes, no pedestrian access, and little to no public transport considerations.
This eventually became enshrined in US zoning law, meaning that this type of car dependant development was the only thing that could be built, which meant that housing populations around cities are incredibly low density, and so public transit options such as busses and trains become incredibly inefficient.
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