Balanced Transportation

Although I have two cars, I'm a little uncomfortable about using cars for everyday tasks, like commuting to work or running errands. I walk or bike to work, but I still use cars too much for errands—we tend to get forced into it in this country due to a lack of transportation options and the horrendous land-use patterns that have developed through many years of automobile dominance (promoted by conscious policy decisions rather than "free-market" choices).  If you're forced into it, you might as well try to do it in style, so I've got a couple of air-cooled Volkswagens.

If you're interested in organizations that advocate alternative transportation choices (alternatives to the automobile), there are some links to balanced-transportation groups from the web site of the National Association of Railroad Passengers. Locally, there's the North Carolina Citizens for Transportation Alternatives.  A good introduction to the problems of our screwed-up land use patterns is an article by James Kuntsler, author of Geography of Nowhere, entitled "How to Mess Up a Town," from the Planning Commissioners JournalKatarxis is a European webzine devoted to "classical and traditional architecture and urbanism."

A few good books:

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markt@duke.edu
Last Update: 18 June 2004 22:45
http://www.duke.edu/~markt/balanced.htm