This book was a long read on where some key international cities stand on the issue of public transportation. The author travels the world looking firsthand at different approaches to transport, and as a travel writing fan I enjoyed this aspect of the book the most.
The idea in the beginning is to contrast cities that have handled public transport well with those that depend on cars and freeways. But it goes deep into the reasons behind each city’s design, the history that dictated that design, and how it may work out for the future.
The author clearly states at the beginning that they prefer living without a car, and so that point of view certainly carries through the entire journey. While he had his mind made up, I felt like the choir that he was preaching to – one of the nicest things about living where I am now is that I don’t really need a car. Walking to the supermarket or reading books on my train commute are some of the best parts of my day.
Because the author clearly has a lot of passion on the topic the history and detail offered on the history of each city can sometimes go long, and it took me quite a while to finish this book. But I did learn a lot, especially why American cities are mostly car-dependent, and how far they have to go before that changes.
My only real criticism of the book is certainly not the author’s fault – this experience was done about 10 years ago, and I am sure that many things have changed since then. I do hope that someday in the future he’ll go out there and see what happened since his first visit to these destinations.
Next I am reading A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green.
