Speak for yourself. My car opens up the world to me. Without it I would be stuck in urban areas all the time.
Urban areas provide the potential for lots of human interaction and culture.
Rural areas provide nature and solitude.
Suburban areas give you a three mile walk to a convenience store without sidewalks.
Mainly for those with money.
On the other side, every C level/director person I've worked with consulting for the bigger companies around here and elsewhere in the US are almost always from a major urban city. I can tell as soon as I meet them. They speak (I don't mean accent) and handle themselves very differently. There's a certain confidence that comes from having broader social experiences and the opportunities and networks that naturally arise from that.
Do you know any multihome millionaires from nowheresville Mississippi? How about Chicago, New York, or LA?
Again, my 2c, and I almost consider this obvious.
But your car closes the world down to other people, children in particular. We have reached the point where children don't walk or cycle to school because it's dangerous... due to all the parents dropping off their kids rather than walking or cycling with them. A classic tragedy of the commons.
you get whatever it is that you want, and those of us who actually enjoy urban areas get a safer, cleaner existence
In a congested urban area, the time range of a bicycle is better than that of an automobile, let alone transit. I.e. the radius where you can be by a certain elapsed time.
You are equating your body to a piece of metal and rubber. Your car is not your body. It is something external to you. Not only that but is also something that apart from being financially taxing on you, also leads you to destroy the planet and contribute to respiratory issues as well increasing rates of obesity by significantly reducing what's arguably the main source of human physical activity.
This reminds me of the tobacco industry trying to defend a dependency on something that is clearly bad for you. And please note that I am talking about private cars here.
And note that my response was to your "My car opens the world to me" which is not too different to alcoholics being unable to enjoy the world without unhealthy use of alcohol.
It is possible to have a city where amenities are within biking or walking distance. Those cities already exist. But the car first mentality will definitely go down in history as one of the leading factors in the poor health outcomes in the US. People think that fitness implies gym when it doesn't. For most of human history, there were no gyms. People engaged in casual walking
Eating and sleeping are needs. Gambling regularly, smoking regularly or using your car regularly is more of a dependency.
I am not telling you to stop using your car but that you use it when you NEED it. And if you are needing it too much, just like the person smoking or the person drinking too much, you should evaluate your decisions. Every time you use a car you chip your health a little bit and everyone's health a little bit. Visualise it.