The Anti-Mobility Playbook

We know that more trains, buses, bikes, and feet make for a more sustainable system for everyone to get around (or do we?) So why don’t we invest $1 trillion in these modes (or should we?)

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about a Medium blog post built from a Twitter thread written by Ethan Grey, since June 2022. This comes on the heels of another truism: modern content is fleeting—one outrage Xweet or thinkpiece overwrites the next, we ingest information at the speed of word bile, and we move on.

But this one stuck with me and I think its core argument applies to transportation and transport theory in general. Grey’s point is this:

Here is the Republican message on everything of importance:

1. They can tell people what to do.

2. You cannot tell them what to do.

His point centers on modern Republican Party “theory.” He posits, and I think he’s right, that any and all right-wing policy is read through this myopic idea shredder. It’s simple enough to meta-message and dog whistle, too. There are “right” people and “wrong” people, G…