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> The wisdom of local communities can be seen in angry letters to the council about how bike lanes are satanic

This is such a stupid dismissal and a provides a great example of what the article is trying to point out. This paternalistic ultramodernist and nearly authoritarian "we know better" mentality.

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Okay, to put it differently, hyper-local community decision-making, in isolation, might make decisions that are good for that particular community at the cost of the rest of a city. People don't want bike lanes on their street because it means less on-street parking and more difficulty pulling out onto the road, even if they broadly think cycling is a good idea. People can make reasonable decisions that are in the interests of the "community", and it leads to dysfunction. Doesn't mean "we know better" it means coordination has to happen on a higher level.

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