Article Correctness Is Author's Responsibility: CityLab Daily: The Lessons of Holiday Traffic Congestion

Author: Andrew Small Category: Feed

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What We’re Following

Talk turkey: Last week, leading up to the Democratic primary debate on MSNBC, a libertarian think tank ran an ad with all the hallmarks of a suburban scramble to Thanksgiving dinner—until the punchline: Instead of driving, the whole family rode scooters while hauling turkeys and pies to grandma’s house, triggered by the price of gas under the Green New Deal. In the commercial’s telling, this was a dystopian future. But couldn’t this be a future people actually want? This year, the overwhelming majority of the 55 million people traveling more than 50 miles for the holiday will be traveling by car, facing bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Most of us find it stressful, in addition to its toll on the environment. The annual holiday gridlock exposes America’s utter dependence on automobility like no other holiday—and the failure of the American imagination when it comes to other transportation choices.

Read my take on CityLab: The Lessons of Holiday Traffic Congestion

—Andrew Small

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What We’re Reading

The Paris Agreement needs to be five times stronger to actually work (Grist)

Is American sprawl already bankrupt? (The American Conservative)

What it’s really like to give up plane travel (Curbed)

These robotic dogs have been put to work by at least one police agency (Washington Post)

FEMA’s hurricane aid to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands has stalled (New York Times)

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