Comment by kelsey98765431 | Hacker News Reader

Comment by kelsey98765431 | Hacker News Reader

I remember almost 10 years ago, maybe 8 i first saw one of these up in the city. It was parked and the technician was outside of it with an ipad, and i happened to strike up a conversation with the gentleman. I was just curious and at first he was remarkably cagey, i was quite confused and just continued to be friendly and express hope for the projects success and for automation in general.

I got the feeling that man had been accosted many times by angry locals and I may have been the first to give a word of encouragement, he was very polite after the initial tension wore away and he felt my shared enthusiasm. He must have been one of the early engineers, I had never seen or heard the name waymo but I was aware google had been competing in the level 1/2 dessert tests.

The man was very friendly and i was surprised how his behavior must be a reflection of society's view towards technical automation. Seeing the videos of people kicking food delivery robots and now my own tendency to flip off elon musks tesla cameras all these years later I am starting to get why he was nervous.

Cheers to the future I suppose, but hopefully the future has less cars and more walkable cities.

In the future, when you're old and quite possibly disabled, you might rethink the whole "walkable cities" thing.

I mean, it's easy to say "just walk (or ride a bike)" when you're 22 years old and in prime health, but the population in most First World countries is rapidly aging.

A walkable city doesn't preclude driving. In fact it often improves it. If almost everybody is walking or biking or using transit that means there are few other cars and driving becomes much nicer too.

Old and handicapped people have lived before cars, and in less car-centric cities forever. Walkable cities mainly mean that things are close to you so you _can_ walk to them.

Actual car-free areas, like the access-controlled dense old towns in Europe, are possible (if built-out where they don't exist), but not necessarily to be walkable.

"Walkable cities" doesn't mean that everyone is forced to walk everywhere. It means that there are destinations (grocery store, restaurant, pub, library, cinema, hospital etc) you can reach within walking distance without having to play frogger on a highway. They are absolutely a boon to someone old and disabled. They can use assistive devices, public transport, and even cars to get around.

I think you have the wrong impression about what "walkable cities" mean.

The biggest reason people loose muscle mass as they age is due to lack of use, so a built environment that encourages walking is going to help keep people in shape to walk as they age.

> a built environment that encourages walking is going to help keep people in shape to walk as they age

It's the reason New Yorkers live longer [1].

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/04/29/health/life-e...

Many things incorrect here.

Better driving can only get you from 1 curb to another. You still have to walk to your actual destination whether it’s to the other end of the mall, or to your home’s door. In no way is this any worse in a walkable city which will not only allow you to walk everywhere when you’re able, therefore delaying any loss in walking capabilities, but will also include better and more accessible public and private curb to curb transportation.

A walkable city will also make the curb to actual destination far more walkable.

A walkable city will also mean a lot more options are accessible to the disabled through their wheelchairs, etc.

Yeah I wonder what people do, and have done, around the world in walkable communities predating the car. Perhaps people in these communities are on average more mobile into old age because they frequently walked?

> when you're old and quite possibly disabled, you might rethink the whole "walkable cities" thing

Manhattan is incredibly senior friendly.

NY is an AARP top-10 most livable city alongside other pedestrian-centric cities like Boston and San Francisco. Orlando and Tulsa conspicuously absent. Aging in car cities sucks.

Many more disabled people are disabled in a way that prevents them from driving a car than in ways that prevent them from walking. There is also a huge class of people who are physically capable of driving but legally barred from it.

> In the future, when you're old and quite possibly disabled, you might rethink the whole "walkable cities" thing.

I am disabled, and like many other disabled people, I can't drive a car. Often times as people age they also lose the ability to drive a car safely.

That is precisely why walkable neighborhoods are so important to old and disabled people.

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