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This is why we can’t have nice things

We can’t have nice things because people in the US live in an almost continuous band of mid-density urban agglomeration from Boston to DC, and it’s hard to reach most of the population through just a few stations.

The most noticeable thing about European cities, to my American eyes, is how they just... end. Drive from Munich airport to the city, and it’s farmland in between. Drive from Dulles to DC, and it’s strip malls and suburbs the whole way.

I noticed that on the Eurostar from Paris to London. Less than 30 minutes after leaving Gare du Nord it looked like I was in the Tennessee countryside. Except for the bend through Lille, it stayed that way until we entered the tunnel.

Urban planning...green belt laws.

Land value tax and carbon tax!

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