It's not the 1960s anymore, most people's work transit is not a bus ride to the factory complex. I'd ride a bike to work and be all Eco Andy if my job wasn't 30 miles away in a town smaller than mine. America isn't built for the sort of utopian public transit Europe enjoys and I hope most Americans are capable of making their peace with it.

Were it that it was, but alas.

We have built a society that is unmaintainable, and we're watching it break down

If cities are the answer to sprawl and excessive commuting (give or take WFH) they are mighty expensive places to live. In CA, I estimate 4X, 5X or more than the valley.

How many cars that amounts to depends on the differential, and of course, CA invites travel, being so wildly diverse.

Rent homes? Rent cars? Build urban housing when tech companies bid up property values "to Mars?"

We recently replaced our 23 year old car with a new one. Seems to me that modern cars are overladen with gratuitous tech. Not only does it make them more expensive to buy, but then to maintain and service. I used to service my cars as a teen, but now I just marvel the engine bay and give up at the thought of even changing the engine oil.

I fear that with the millions of lines of code lurking in dozens of ECUs it might end up being more like a cheap smartphone.