New Book on Cars' Decline Gets it Wrong!

Fifteen years after NineShift accurately predicted trains replacing cars and driving, two new books this year are reporting the same thing.

But even when they 'get it right,' they get it wrong.  

One of the two books is "Street Smart: The Rise of Cities and the Fall of Cars.'' (Published by PublicAffairs.) The author is Samuel Schwartz.  According to his interview in the Chicago Tribune, sent to us by NineShifter Michael Garamoni (thank you Michael !!),

Schwartz says part or all of the reason young people are driving less is that they heard their parents complain about commuting.  This is ridiculous. This is wrong. 

A whole generation does not change the economy because of griping parents.  Yes, parents griped about commuting.  But those same parents did NOT gripe about living in suburbs - - they loved it.  The parents did not gripe about obtaining material things.  And yet Gen Y has also rejected both suburbs and accumulating material things - - despite their parents not griping.  

Schwartz is so wrong.  The reality is what NineShift noted 15 years ago.  One cannot work and drive at the same time.  Time is so precious knowledge workers in this century cannot afford to waste 2 hours a day, 25% of their productive time, driving.  

Comments

[David Lubic]

http://www.streetsblog.org/2012/03/09/gridlock-sam-on-traffic-tolls-and-big-ideas-for-nyc-transpo-policy/

[David Lubic]

Why would Millenials make such a decision based on their parents' griping? I would think they have enough gripes about traffic and the expense of driving of their own!

Having said that, Mr. Schwartz has an interesting history:

http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20120408/TRANSPORTATION/304089971/gridlock-sam

http://observer.com/2012/05/may-the-schwartz-be-with-you-gridlock-sam-wants-to-turn-new-york-traffic-on-its-head-the-same-thing-hes-done-for-40-years/

http://www.samschwartz.com/white-papers/a-traffic-engineers-lament/