I see the following problems as at least partially caused or sustained by the urban automobile. The automobile has isolated the young, the elderly, and others who cannot drive. This problem is particularly acute in suburban areas where there is no other means of transport. Social Insulation People in cars are not part of the landscape through which they pass. They don two tons of glass and steel armor from which they gaze out upon the scene.
Drivers have no investment in what is happening and no sense of responsibility.
This has led to toleration of appalling conditions in the inner city. People on foot or bicycle or public transport cannot so easily deny or ignore the conditions around them and are more likely to feel a sense of responsibility for the environments in which they find themselves. This tends to make deterioration in social conditions a self-correcting condition. Death of Street Life Studies have shown very clearly that as automobile traffic on a street increases, social life on the street dies. The noise, danger, and pollution slowly drive people from the street.