To some extent, cars are fantastic inventions that make it easy to get to faraway places and open doors to new places to live, work or play. But there is a tipping point when the built environment and our lives are structured around motor vehicles, where the benefits begin to be reversed. Building to give priority to space-consuming cars comes with a long list of negative externalities.
In Greek mythology, the god Dionysus granted King Midas his wish to gain the power to turn everything he touched into gold. Midas enjoys the effortless wealth: objects, furniture and even the ground beneath him turn into gold. The Midas touch was great until he wanted to eat or drink or just hug his daughter.
There is a King Midas aspect to motor vehicles, this technological gift that promised and delivered abundance until it became a curse.
Personal cars expanded possibilities like never before. Post-World War II America saw car ownership explode from 25 million in 1945 to more than 100 million in 1970. Access to a family car made remote places viable to live, work and play, fueling an expansion of the middle class in previously rural areas. A whole car-oriented ecosystem emerged.
The promise of freedom and wealth endured until cities and suburbs began optimizing for vehicular transit rather than local access and mobility.
When everything turns to asphalt
Just as Midas discovered that he could not eat golden food, we discover that car-dependent places cannot support the human activities for which they were intended. The same infrastructure that promised connection is now isolating. What started as freedom turned into obligation.
American cities now devote anywhere from a third to a half of their land area on streets, parking lots and garages. In downtown Los Angeles, parking takes up more space than all the buildings combined. We paved so many of the destinations that cars were supposed to help us reach.
The economic costs of car dependence are enormous at the household level. Transportation is often the second largest expense after housing, taking up to 30% of a family’s income. The “drive until you qualify” phenomenon pushed families toward affordable housing in the suburbs, only to burden them with commutes that ate up time and money. Defaults on car loans have increased by 50% in the past fifteen years and in 2024, car seizures will reach the highest number since 2009.
Meanwhile, the infrastructure itself requires constant funding. Roads, bridges and parking structures are deteriorating faster than municipalities can maintain them. The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates there is a multi-trillion dollar backlog of deferred transportation maintenance. Every mile of road requires ongoing investments that property taxes in sprawling development patterns often cannot support.
The isolation paradox
Car dependency promised mobility but delivered immobility for anyone who did not have a vehicle or could not drive. Children lose their independence because there is nothing within walking or cycling distance, and the elderly face isolation when they can no longer drive safely. People with disabilities, people who cannot afford a car and people who simply prefer not to drive, find themselves stuck in places without practical mobility alternatives.
The distances themselves became barriers. When convenience stores give way to major retailers located miles away, when schools require driving instead of walking, when social spaces exist only as isolated destinations instead of chance encounters, the community itself weakens. Neighbors pass each other at 45 miles per hour on six-lane arterials, instead of 3 miles per hour on sidewalks. The ‘third places’ that anchored community life (cafes, parks, squares, etc.) disappeared into the car-oriented strip centers and shopping centers.
The health toll
King Midas’ curse extends to our bodies. Vehicle-oriented development is strongly linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease and respiratory diseases. When walking becomes impractical and driving becomes mandatory, physical activity disappears from daily routines. Air pollution from vehicles contributes to asthma, especially in children who live near major roads.
Traffic accidents kill 40,000 Americans and injure hundreds of thousands every year. Larger vehicles, faster vehicles and inattentive driving create an increasingly deadly environment.
Breaking the curse
King Midas eventually begged Dionysus to reverse his wish and wash away the golden touch. Like Midas, our situation is solvable.
People are rediscovering that neighborhoods can be planned and designed on a human scale that welcomes motor vehicles without undermining the good life. Zoning reforms that allow for mixed-use development are the most important starting point. When someone can walk to a store, cycle to work or use public transport to social activities, the car becomes a useful tool again rather than an iron requirement. But that only happens when a local government legalizes a variety of land uses in neighborhoods.
Cars are fantastic inventions. The Midas problem arises when we optimize everything around it, when we mandate its use and when we eliminate alternatives. A city where people can choose to drive, walk, bike or take public transportation depending on their needs is fundamentally different from a city where driving is the only option.
The Midas story ends with the king learning wisdom through suffering. We have suffered quite a bit from the built environment. But even in real life, things can eventually get better.
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