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Comment by rayiner | Hacker News Reader

> Would people in Dhaka prefer cars or just a better walking and public transit experience

Nobody wants to walk or take public transit in that heat and humidity. Especially not with two or three kids, or carrying tiffin containers of leftovers after a dinner party. My family members who came over from Dhaka to the US moved to places built around cars as soon as they could afford it. My cousin just moved to Texas (after studying in Queens) and is loving all the open space, the houses with pools, etc.

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Walking in heat and humidity is unpleasant but the climate and population are what they are so you work with what you have.

I can't speak for all environmentalists but I'd like people to live pleasantly wherever they like if they can do so sustainably. Probably most Dhaka residents, like most people anywhere, would prefer to stay in their home city and country if possible, just improved. In any case giving everyone in the world a Texas-sized house and pool is not on the table no matter what until we invent personal fusion generators and matter replicators.

Having climate-controlled walkways or more comfortable transit options specifically for people with kids should be available in every city, "impoverished" or "third world" or not. The world certainly has the resources for it.

> Walking in heat and humidity is unpleasant but the climate and population are what they are so you work with what you have.

Bangladesh has about the same population density as the Houston metro area. So it would be totally possible for most people to have cars and houses if it became an advanced service economy.

> I can't speak for all environmentalists but I'd like people to live pleasantly wherever they like if they can do so sustainably.

It's not really up to environmentalists in the first world.

> Probably most Dhaka residents, like most people anywhere, would prefer to stay in their home city and country if possible, just improved. In any case giving everyone in the world a Texas-sized house and pool is not on the table no matter what until we invent personal fusion generators and matter replicators.

I think that's an accurate reflection of what people's end goals are, yes. Using technology to increase the standard of living, just as in western countries.

> It's not really up to environmentalists in the first world.

We are also predominantly complaining about people in the "first world" disregarding the environment due to minor convenience and unfortunate economics.

(But we only have one planet for now, and as things are, nobody is entitled to a free pass to be environmentally irresponsible anymore.)

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