Basic, affordable, public transportation is a defining characteristic of every serious city in the world. The absence of it is a certain indicator of economic and social deterioration. Poor people suffer, development is twisted, the common life deteriorates, people are trapped. Economic and social segregation increase. The disintegration of the economic city continues.
People become more afraid of each other.
Society goes backwards. This article was originally published in the February 1999 edition of the Richmond Hill newsletter.