"Cars ruin everything." That's the bold opening line of Life After Cars, the new book by celebrated transportation media figures Sarah Goodyear, Doug Gordon, and Aaron Naparstek. The writers make a case for that initial assertion, detailing the various ways cars-or, more specifically, car culture as we currently know it-ruin childhoods, destroy wildlife, perpetuate societal injustices, and kill people, to name a few particularly negative effects.
Car-centric planning has hollowed out our cities. Zoning regulations, freeways, and cheap fuel gave rise to sprawling suburbs and isolated communities, dependent on personal vehicles for even the most basic tasks. It's a system that punishes the poor, marginalizes the elderly and disabled, and makes public life thinner and more precarious. The car promised freedom, and delivered debt, pollution, and dependence.
Deutsch-Gross has been Transform's Policy Director since 2022. During that time, he has spearheaded campaigns that led to major advocacy wins, forged powerful coalitions, and helped craft a bold vision for a more just, sustainable, and connected California. His leadership has played a central role in ongoing discussions about regional and statewide policies to preserve funding for affordable housing, save Bay Area transit from fiscal collapse, and move our state transportation policy beyond highway widening.
"Despite decades of harm, the Department of Transportation is pushing a plan to widen the Cross Bronx by adding another highway structure over the Bronx River and Starlight Park."
"We had to respond to the ecological question raised by the youth - and at the same time, this response could not be to the detriment of the most fragile groups who can have the feeling that any new ecological initiative is punitive.", said Freche. "We decided to propose measures that would ultimately reconcile environmental protection with increased purchasing power, and [the answer] was the gratuity of public transportation."
"We're going to double the sidewalk space, shorten the sidewalks, so that the avenue is safer to cross, green the avenue with more than 230 tree planters and adding new seating and better lighting."
