There's Something Wrong With Suburbia (The Orange Pill)
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- Опубликовано: 31 май 2022
- I'd like to thank my supporters on Patreon, who pay me to spend way too much time and money shitposting to RUclips. Apologies to the Wachowski sisters and Laurence Fishburne.
I'd like to thank these people for putting together this wonderful work of art:
Cinematographer & Editor - Broderick Steele
Assistant Camera Operator - Samuel Crick
This video was filmed on an actual CRT monitor, in an actual pile of garbage, at the side of an actual stroad.
go.nebula.tv/notjustbikes to get a discounted subscription to Nebula (and support this channel, too)!
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Includes licensed stock footage from Getty Images 
Развлечения
![How Suburban Development Makes American Cities Poorer [ST02]](/img/1.gif)
Yes, this was filmed on an actual CRT sitting in an actual pile of garbage at the side of an actual stroad in actual Michigan.
Edit: this was not edited or filmed by me. I gave my editor, Broderick Steele, a voiceover file and a budget, and with the help of Samuel Crick (Assistant Camera Operator) they came up with this masterpiece. 👏
This is mentioned in the description, but obviously nobody reads the description.
>9s ago
>comment is 9min ago
thank you
Michigan? That's my state! Ford Road is an especially bad stroad.
Critical Race Theory?
did you power the crt and play the video or just edit it on
it looks like it's just edited on so I'm slightly confused...
@@mq9demo it stands for cathode-ray tube. you know those old monitors that were like 50 pounds. yeah those.
"My legs, why do they hurt?"
"You've never used them before."
👌👌👌
LMAO 😂
Matrix!
"What are you trying to tell me? That I can dodge parking tickets?"
"No, I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to."
In my childhood I knew something was wrong. I HATED where I grew up because i couldn't go ANYWHERE without a car. I would see cartoon shows of "Hey Arnold" of kids taking the city bus to go places and I was envious.
Yep. Me too. I think there are literally millions of us who grew up this way.
I loved "hey arnold" too as a kid from the netherlands. I thought kids living like that was the norm over there. But already then, something felt off: in many other tv shows and films people lived in single homes with big front lawns, but... I never saw a bus driving there! Or people just casually having a stroll. Now I know about suburbs of course. But still, I'd like to see it for myself some day. Imagine that: a tourist in suburbia! 😆
@@poep85 What you see in those shows are the fantasy version of suburbia. In reality it's far worse. I lived in an area that was surrounded by corn fields in a small suburb development that consisted of 10 -20 homes. I literally could not visit a friends house unless I had my parents take me there because it was too far, and too dangerous to walk or ride my bike to. I couldn't even go into a "town" because that was 6 miles (9.6 km) away on highway roads with no shoulder.
I hated it. I hated summer because i was trapped in my house while my parents worked.
@@PikaPetey yikes.. I'm beginning to understand why I'm seeing more of these youtube channels lately, about urbanization, city planning and traffic. Hope things will change for the better, but it will be hard if not enough citizens see this as a big problem. So yeah, it's good to have channels like these
@@PikaPetey I could never understand how people enjoyed summer when I was a kid. Its too hot and humid outside and theres nothing to do.
Sometimes I wonder if thats why so many people in our generation, more so than others, want to be artists or animators. Nothing to do but stay inside and draw…..
Personally, I’m not sure I’d have ever done anything else, but you never know!
My car is orange. Riddle me that Neo
How do you do Medlife Crisis? Had no idea you watched this channel too
I don't think, the colour of cancer is significant. It'll still be cancer.
I love you, Rohit, but fuck your car! haha
“Local Doctor Becomes City Planner”
It is a Subaru.... isn't it....
It’s funny how, as a car enthusiast, I watch a lot of car videos, and then come back to this channel and agree with all the car hate.
Edit: it’s been almost a year since I posted this comment and I still receive notifications, so please consider that if you will defend about how it’s not about car hate but fighting car dependency, about 15 people already said it before you. If you will say that this same argument has been presented by NJB in other videos, I have seen plenty of his videos and never seen this argument being made, in addition to the fact that the way he talks about cars at any given time is always negative. So if such a video exists, please give me the title so I can watch it.
That said, I agree on the argument that car dependency sucks.
That's a point he has actually made. Car enthusiast don't want to sit stuck in traffic. They want to ride on a highway that crosses nature's most beautiful nature.
Its not really hate on cars. Cars are cool. Its hate towards the system that keeps us dependant on cars to move anywhere or do anything
ong bro I relate so hard
I like cars, i love motorcycles, but sitting in traffic is at the very least boring in a car and absolutely miserable in a motorcycle. Some of the infrastructure championed in this channel could make motoring way more fun and safe just by taking some of the cars off the road.
@@MashZ true. I like cars, not car-dependency.
This should be the channel trailer, I think its pretty accurate to the transformation that new viewers will go through watching this channel
This @Not Just Bikes
Exactly what I thought as I watched
💯💯💯💯💯
Change title to:
THE CARTRIX HAS YOU...
I dare you.
I checked his page to see if he made it his trailer... funny
I have been orange pilled. I simply cannot unsee or forgot how car dependency makes my city miserable. Now my friends are sick of hearing about bike lanes, train service, and walkable neighbourhoods, but it has actually become an issue I'm super passionate about now. All thanks to stumbling upon NJB
Right there with ya
I think there might be a silver lining to so many boomers becoming elderly soon. They will want an alternative to car dependent living, and might actually listen to us Millenials and Gen Zs once they are eventually sadly disabled by old age. They will want elder villages if they have the means to afford them, and for those stranded in suburbia with eyesight too poor to drive, maybe they will start E-scootering to the dollar tree 2 miles away in mass e-scooter/mobility chair caravans, assuming they have no relatives who wish to care for them, or cannot afford delivery fees of all material goods, groceries and prescriptions. Yes I assume that poorer suburbs are going to lead the way...rather than the gated suburbs with dedicated elder shuttles.
Move out of North America. Best thing I ever did.
@@Iquey Spot on, been asking people what the US is going to do when boomers get to old to drive.Hope that happens soon. Hate having to visit relatives in the US. I don't have a driver's licence and don't want to get one for my trips to the US.
same, except now I live in a neighbor that is semi-walkable and very bikable, at least by US standards
I never realized how bad the suburbs were until I looked back on my childhood and realized I couldn't have friends who lived too far away, I couldn't maintain high school relationships, and I couldn't go downtown or see anything meaningful without a car. It was just normal to me, but after seeing how other people live without car dependency has helped me to realize how much of a bondage we are used to here. We just casually accept that without a car you can't go anywhere or do anything. This sums up many kids experiences throughout middle and high school, since you want to go places but don't have a car and can't get your parents to drive you everywhere.
On top of that, the money you gotta spend on a car each year for new registration and maintenance is ridiculous (and if you have car payments....even MORE ridiculous!)
True story. A few weeks ago a kid (11) from our village (pop: 5000) decided to run away. She was found a few hours later, 25 kilometers away, in the city of Arnhem... on her bike! That's how bike friendly The Netherlands is!
So why not use a train instead? And have a bycicle or electric scooter with you for the last kilometer(s)
@@lennard4454 from the US, so no train or reliable public transport
So far I've orange-pilled three people: My mother, one of my best friends, and a random internet stranger. This is becoming my life, and I am absolutely loving it. I'm planning to write to my city council soon, simply to try to make a change, though I know that most things I do will have little to no impact, but that's okay. I will continue to try to make a difference, any difference. I would like to thank you, Jason, for everything that you have taught me from the moment that I found your channel, and for everything else I've learned from research I've done myself, other channels that you have recommended to your viewers, and also interviews you have done with other people, as well as a couple of podcasts that you went on, most notably This Sustainable Life, and the Eric Norcross podcast.
From the bottom of my heart, thankyou.
Amazing! That's so great to hear!
this is fantastic. But seriously sometimes art can reach people when normal videos cant :)
Omggg it's Alan Fisher I'm fanboy-ing so hard :D
Great video, based on art (The Matrix).
We are told “art imitates life” but really life imitates art more so.
This is anti-mimetics.
Oscar Wilde believed in anti-mimesis.
This is because art represents beauty and thought and these have the power to move and inspire us.
We are emotional beings.
I’m not promoting censorship but for example we have to be careful with what’s on television.
Does tv show there’s a lot of violence against women (there is) or is there more crime against women because there’s a lot of it on tv?
This applies to everything.
Makes you think.
This is art.
Thank you Oscar Wilde.
Hi Alan. You two can unite over trains.
Help me convince my dad to follow his dreams and become a city engineer in the Netherlands, he's a civil engineer in the US right now and hates it lol
that is why we make memes. memes transcend understanding.
This opener, the phrasing from the matrix, all of it, is EXACTLY how I felt my entire life! I could never explain in a simple, single sentence why I hated the city I grew up in, and why I was always drawn to places like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Kalamazoo, etc, but there was always something wrong, and I couldn't figure out the core of it. I could tell you all the individual things I hated: the constantly empty parking lots that do nothing for nobody, the giant road-adjacent curbs they called a sidewalk, the antisocial and overly suspicious nature of suburbanites, the stupid driveway requirements in suburban neighborhoods which require you to drive over a LITERAL CURB AT THE END OF YOUR DRIVEWAY INSTEAD OF A GRADUAL SLOPE ALL IN THE NAME OF SOMEONE'S STUPID IDEA OF WHAT CURB APPEAL MEANS TO THEM!!!, etc. But this opening was my entire, depressed childhood with nothing to do, and nowhere to go.
I hated everything about the city I lived in, except for a few, tiny specs of land that made it feel... slightly more bearable...
It wasn't until I went, in May of 2022, to Greece where my wife is from, and saw how I could walk everywhere, that I started to figure out the nature of the problem: the car. And it was shortly after I got back into the US that I stumbled upon Not Just Bikes video telling me what a stroad was that I finally had words to describe what I always knew was wrong! Literally, everything clicked with the viewing of that video. I instantaneously became an anti-car urbanist, with a goal to destroy the car centric nature of the city I now live in.
I'm literally in the process of buying up abandoned properties that were turned into soul-sucking seas of asphalt and concrete and turning them into proper, person oriented land use. I'm working on acquiring a parking lot with an abandoned strip mall less than one tenth the size of said metal box storage desert, and turning it into a walkable mini neighborhood with office, retail, residential, and other use. It's also attached on the backside of the whole area, to a park that's over a mile long. If I can pull this off, it'll be on the RUclips channel I'm working on starting, showing actual land use changes.
Stay tuned everybody!
Woah, that's amazing to hear! Good luck with your project. The US needs more people like you! 👍
dammit I wish this comment was older so I could check up on your channel and see the awesome results I'm sure you're in the process of getting together. Alas, this is not the case, but huge props for putting so much work towards this, sounds like you're doing great stuff.
No way! I’m a teen living in soul-crushing suburbia, and for ages on my various trips to spain, I saw how easy it was to live car free. I chose then that I wanted to live somewhere without the need of a car.
And then I, too… discovered Not Just Bikes… and stroads… and Strong Towns
@@KnzoVortex Same hear!
As an American who lived abroad in Switzerland for several years, this channel has verbalized every single issue about American cities that I started to realize after living there. This has made me understand why America feels like a third world country with a gucci belt, as opposed to an actual functioning industrialized society.
Lol 😂 What an excellent and succinct metaphor for America. I will definitely remember that one. Cheers!
Gucci bag that isn’t paid off yet 😅
i'm from a "third world country" and let me tell you that is 100 more livable than the us, it's been just my bike and i for 6 years since i live alone and there's has maybe 3 situations when i said damn it would be nice to have a car. since a lot of people can't afford cars the city planning has accommodated so many types of mobility, you see a lot of people walking, cycling, using public transport (maybe it's a silver lining of being poor lol) for example i go to uni and most of the students don't need a car and just move on bikes or public transport because there's no need for one.
"Third-world pseudo-dictatorship" was how my parents described America.
@@__beinluv What country is it? Chile? Colombia? Bolívia?
This is absolutely hilarious, and a little creepy how well it actually works.
funny seeing you here
I can hear your voice while reading this reply 😄
major double take lol. Two essential channels 💛
Oh really, I just realised from the replies ... YOU ARE SOMEONE.
Wow, not just 101010100001011
...or is it?
this was most unexpected, and now i have a craven for canto food
Moves to Netherlands and makes fun videos about cycling and quality of life.
Flash forward. Welcome to the cult.
Welcome to the rest of your life.
Leave that car cult guff in the gutter where it belongs.
Stop it! We already have enough people living here ;)
I swapped out my black and fashionable city clothes to orange…I believe 🤣🤣
@@blueishsio it's not kings day yet.
Don’t worry, the amount of cars in the Netherlands is pretty bad as well. Totally safe for car lovers. The difference between the USA and NL is only relative.
Living in Tokyo was such an eye opening experience to what living can and should look like. It was the first time without a car for me in my life and after a year there I did not miss it. Not once. In fact I felt I had better access to food, culture, people than I had ever had living in suburban Ontario. Now we live in downtown Vancouver, intentionally, to experience the same things.. no car, my kids have more independence, access to events, nature, art, food that they could never have in barren Suburbia. When I leave the city core and come across a parking lot, it just looks so… wrong.
I lived in Chiba as a kid and it was so nice to just go to the grocery store by bike. I walked to school, and rode my bike to Japanese lessons, to train stations, to second hand stores. We bought big boxes of mandarins and peaches from the produce seller, and I'm pretty sure we figured out how to get it on a bike back.
I have lived in the Netherlands for all of my life. And I felt quite happy here. But it took some Canadian from Fake London to make me realize how 'lucky' I really am to have lived here all of my life. And apart from all the other things you explain very neatly and convincingly in your video's, I have to thank you for opening my eyes to that one fact. You make great videos that should be watched by city planners all over the world. Because we don't need cities that are in some kind of economic schedule; we need cities that people want to live in.
You will never buy a bag of milk the same way again.
and Fake London isn't even that bad when compared to some Southern US cities 😂
Fake London 😅, that's funny
Urban planners already know this, it's the people and the politicians they elect that do not, and these politicians choose whether to listen to urban planners or not, based on what their constituents believe. It's the people we need to educate and influence, not urban planners.
@@Difdauf In the Netherlands, milk comes in gable tops!
The problem with the orange pill is once you take it you are constantly on the verge of outrage when you have to navigate any North American city without a car.
I mean that’s point right? Taking the red pill in the matrix isn’t the comfortable choice either.
That's my secret captain. I'm constantly on the verge of rage when I have to navigate any North American city _with_ a car.
On the verge of outrage when you have to navigate any North American city with a car too.
Finding your channel really was like a red pill / blue pill moment for me. I can’t unsee the absurdity and injustice of my car dependent city.
based and orange-pilled
non-problematic orangepill
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c This was 8 months ago. I don’t remember.
Oraaange, oooraaangeee 🤦🏻♂️
Two fish are swimming side by side. One says to the other, "Nice water today." The other replies, "What's water?" That's car dependency. We "swim" in it everyday in the US, but we don't know what it is until our mind has been opened. Thanks NJB for opening minds. I wrote a song years ago about car dependency in Sacramento. Sammy Rice on Sound Cloud and it's called "The Streets of Sacramento."
@@hexmachina5513 take what down?
I’m proud to be part of this cult
Edit: We must all make our pilgrimage to the holy land of the Netherlands
@@mourlyvold64 pro tip from a native. When you pop them in the microwave during the winter with a cup of coco its the best thing ever. Also, bring some cinnamon if you go to the market. Fresh giant stroopwafels and poffertjes are best with a hint of cinnamon.
@@mourlyvold64 boter, poedersuiker en kaneel. Als je slim bent doe je het kaneel in de poffertjes mix, maar als je het van de jan koopt en in de pan/magnetron doet heb je geen andere keuze. Als je rijk bent gebruik leur-pac, smaakt wat lekkerder (al helemaal de zoute) maar gewone boter werkt ook.
Oh, en een beetje vanielje extract/aroma helpt ook heel erg. Ik doe het in mijn pannenkoekenmix, its duurder, maar het is de prijs ZO waard
En grappig genoeg, ijs en slagroom hoort er ook bij. Choco moet ik nog testen vandaag, en ik heb al caramel, dus ik ga caramel+poffertjes ook testen. Als youtube niet irritant is zal ik ook een update in het engels plaatsen
@@MrMoron-qn5rx No worries, the auto translation seems pretty good.
"like everyone else you were born into a prison that you cannot escape (without a motor vehicle)"
Wonderful adaptation!
I believe it is put best like so, “wagey wagey,, get in cagey”
.. and then you escaped with a motor vehicle you slaved to buy, just to realize that you were still in prison
This definitely speaks to my experience growing up in Texas. My first childhood home was on a 30 mph residential street. It was never safe enough to play in front of the house or walk anywhere in the neighborhood. My second home was on a cul-de-sac, which was extremely safe, but buried in an endless maze of single-family zoned houses bordered by stroads. My third and final childhood home was on a 20 mph street with rigorous speed limit enforcement... but was still separated from nearly anything worth going to by stroads that enforced car dependency. No bike paths. No buses. No trains. No sidewalks on many streets. I didn't realize anything was wrong, but I wasn't happy, especially as someone who couldn't afford a car until they were 18. I figured Houston's suburban sprawl and car-dependency might have been due to the heat - summer lasts 6 months here - but then I moved to a college campus in Alabama where the climate is equally warm and was surprised to find so many people using alternative modes of transit. I could walk, bike, or take a bus to class, work, or commercial areas, and I often did. I miss that, and it wasn't until I took the orange pill by watching this channel that I realized how human-scale urban planning and alternatives to private transportation is the NORM many other places (and used to be the norm here, even in the United States), not just a "diamond in the rough" sort of thing that only appears in some college campuses and old New England cities. I have just gotten back from my first trip to Europe and got to experience the sort of good urban planning that this channel highlights on a first-hand basis. I could walk, bike, ride a scooter, take a bus, tram, or train wherever I wanted to go and never felt unsafe. I was in awe of how the places people live, work, and enjoy life were not separated by stroads and freeways. I hope so many more people start watching channels like this, take the orange pill, and begin advocating to anyone who will listen on behalf of human-oriented urban planning. I'm so frustrated back here near Houston, surrounded by streets with no sidewalks, in a town with no bike infrastructure or public transit of any kind. Car-dependency is a dream I very much want everyone to wake up from. The places we live in can be so much better than that, and this channel helps articulate and explain so many of those frustrations about the environment in which I grew up.
By age 8 and up, I would walk or cycle from my home to my school, 850m away. High school was 1.6km cycling, every morning and afternoon. Every day as a child and teenager. I cycled to friends & shops all within minutes up to 15mins away. We would even go around cycling as kids thru the suburbs and parks. I played sports and the club I chose (despite many closer) was the furthest I routinely cycled to, as a kid with friends, 7.7km away a half-hour cycle. We did that 3 times a week as 12-18 year olds for years.
As a university student, I would cycle to the train station, take one stop, take a metro, and walk the remaining 300m. All-in-all 30-40mins as commute. I have lived in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, and apart from moving big furniture or some vacation trip, I never had a need for a car. Heck, I live 5 minutes walking from Amsterdam Central right now, I got a parking spot to go with my apartment yet got no car. I still use the same bike as I did at 16, thing is almost 20 years old.
@@koffiegast That's awesome, thank you for sharing your experience! How do you think growing up in this environment helped you develop into the person you are today? Do you think your life would have been different if you had grown up in a place like I did, without these kinds of freedoms?
@Neil Bhattacharya It's really neat that you moved to Poland, because that's the European country I just visited! My Polish friends seemed to imply some embarrassment that their transit system is not as developed as some Western European countries, nor are biking and walking alternatives as optimal as they are in the Netherlands, but Poland is still so far ahead of the United States in terms of offering safe, sustainable options to car dependency. Frequent intercity trains, lots of wide safe walking and cycling paths, very few wide arterial roads, plenty of buses, trams, and even major road closures to auto traffic after major events... there were so many aspects of urban planning I really enjoyed there. I'm glad you get to experience Poland's improved urban planning every day, I only had 8 days in the country. Thank you for sharing your experience!
It's too late for America to reverse this. You're best option is to just live somewhere that has all those things.
I was “orange pilled” in 2017 when I went to Taiwan… I have never been the same since just seeing the free flow of people and transportation without vehicles. Coming back to America had never been so depressing. You really have to experience the other side yourself to fully understand what we’re missing.
I can’t even begin to explain how depressed I felt coming back to Maryland after vacation in Europe.
Lol, could be worse. Try coming back to Phoenix.
@@GeorgeOneEleven Hahaha ..... that just made me incredibly sad
@@GeorgeOneEleven I did just come back to Phoenix from Europe…. To a car that broke while I was gone. It’s really taught me how impossible it really is without one.
@@edilasyrhc ouch, best of luck with that. At least it isn't summer anymore!
@@user-gu9yq5sj7c I think you misunderstood my comment lol. Of course we should be improving transit everywhere, I'm simply poking fun at how even though someone in the US can think their city is rock bottom for public transit, there is always somewhere worse.
"Unfortunately, nobody can be told what the solution is. You have to see it for yourself."
Yes yes yes! Every time my wife and I ride across an overpass and see thousands of people stuck in soul crushing traffic, we ask: why? Why would anyone subject themselves to that day after day after day? Sometimes there's no better alternative, but by and large it's just all people have ever known. We can preach all we want, but people have to see the solution for themselves, and this is why we as a society need to make it easy. Build infrastructure that lowers the barriers, and allows people to live it. The lower the barriers, the more people will try it, and the more people will unplug.
That's what they're afraid of. Not a shadowy cabal "they", but rather reactionaries and the like. The vast majority of people were born into or raised in car dependent neighborhoods, so out of a cognitive bias towards maintaining the status quo they are comfortable with this perversion of urbanism and see any effort to deviate from the "norm" as unnatural and an effort to sow discord and chaos.
Fortunately however this tendency in the most extreme is fairly rare, and thus lots of people are open to being orangepilled. Hell, here's a protip: frame it in terms of "economic freedom" to right wingers and conservatives and they will have a harder time justifying why they support the idea of centrally planning an essential part of the economy, considering that large parts of their ideology are based on exactly doing not that. It doesn't hurt that several conservative political leaders (like Larry Elder in California) have also spoken in favor of rewriting zoning laws, so even there you're covered. You need to basically frame the answer as a continuation of their own beliefs, and people will be more open to your message.
The tech monopolies wont like that one bit.
@@nil981
I hate megacorps as much as the next person, probably even more in fact, but big tech has the least to lose from that kind of societal change. Now oil companies? Oh baby even just the last Koch Brother has been publicly opposing building more public transit.
But really even many of those smaller owners of capital, including land as capital ie landlords, will oppose that sort of change. It wasn't big tech or big oil that lead to affordable housing to be nixed in liberal, democratic voting Californian neighborhoods. It was simply the result of a common cognitive bias left unchallenged and unresolved in the community.
The solution is to show them this YT channel and make them aware that life doesn't need to be like it is. We need to spread the word and start a revolution to reclaim the suburbs for ourselves. Many of those creatures of habit hate it too, but just telling them isn't going to do anything. You need to show them how people live in other parts of the world.
@@camthesaxman3387
No, youtube videos aren't as effective a tool as talking to someone in person. It might work for some, but most people are likely to just ignore random video links. But once you get to someone's dinner table, they are basically obligated to listen to you.
It's not a fun answer because it means a lot of real world work, but it's necessary work, good work. I dunno about y'all, but I know I'm not too good for hard work.
Are you ready for hard work?
NJB: All I'm offering is the truth
Side effects may include:
- Existential crisis
- Deep desire to move to a walkable city
- Hate for car-dependent infrastructure
- Love for bikes
- Anything else?
love for rails and trains
love for... socialism? *gasp* *clutching the pearls*
@@666Tomato666 where did you get that!?
Car dependency has no political preference.
Nuh-uh!! socialism is when no cars so it's political.
/j
Love for proper city/urban planning
I didn't realise how non-car dependent the Netherlands was untill I saw your video's.
I live on my own and always cycle to my gymn, supermarket and nearby train station. I suddenly realised that I'm 23 and whenever I throw a get together or party with friends everyone just takes the bike, because it's a viable option here (which in turn also helps reduce DUI cases).
Its not Netherland, its all major cities in europe.
@@Netsirk96 What are you on about? I just pointed out that the "non-car dependent city" isn't exclusive too Netherlands.
Bro. You, and Charles Marohn at Strong Towns, have completely changed my outlook on literally everything. It's like I grew up knowing something was wrong and there HAD to be a better way, but didn't even know where to begin, not even knowing if it all had a name. But now that I've seen it, I will never be able to unsee it. It's staring us all right in the face and we don't even know it. How are we supposed to keep teens from retreating into their phones, becoming depressed and anxious, and potentially erupting in violence when they're under house arrest until they're 16? Or foster unity among ourselves when we only ever see each other fighting it out on death traps we call "roads" that kill and injure us daily, corral us like animals at "stoplights," and drain our community resources until our cities are filled with blight. I'm not optimistic we can turn things around, but if enough people orange-pill, who knows.
Until I found this channel last summer, I couldn't put my finger on why I hate American cities so much (having lived here my whole life.)
I never knew what to call the hellscape where the businesses congregate, so I just called them commercial districts. Endless asphalt and pedestrian hostility as far as the eye can see, dotted by every soulless fast food joint and bank institution you could dream of.
I couldn't take it anymore, and moved to a lesser populated area. Yes it's still stroads here, but with less congestion and high blood pressure.
Many intersections are extremely dangerous in the US, and 2 years ago, I nearly had my car totaled at no fault of my own.
Stroad, stroad, go away, come again some other day.
American cities or suburbs? I'm a city guy and bike, bus and train everywhere. Cities are EXPONENTIALLY better than suburbs, that can trap people and make them destitute and homeless if they don't have a car. American cities should be vastly, VASTLY differentiated from suburbs. The difference is shocking.
Stroad, stroad, go away and don't be the road that lays my way.
Can't relate. I fled suburbia for a city, and I've discovered that shopping doesn't have to take 1-2 hours and buses don't have to be _completely_ useless.
Just hoping you didn't move to a 'less congested area' just to make driving easier. To twist a phrase: " _Don't_ be the congestion you _don't_ want to see in the world."
@@anewagora I think many American cities are bad, even in the downtown, because of the suburbs surrounding it. Yes, they may have more transit and somewhat more pedestrian friendliness than the suburbs near them, but many (not all) still suffer from car dependency, and that it partially due to suburban people driving into the city and taking up all the space for cars, which in turn causes heavy congestion in the downtown areas
@@anewagora for example, my city currently has rules against biking within the downtown, although they are starting to make some major improvements that will hopefully change that
It is impossible to unsee. After spending a month in France last fall, I still can't get over how much worse transportation and city planning is in the US. I live in an above average part of the US for walkability, but there's still so much improvement needed.
And still we also have a lot to do in France to make it better.
@@manapany_6392 It seems like France at least can do things. The fast pace of changes in Paris to reduce cars is impressive. The US seems to be unwilling to learn from other countries and people will try to block any change even if it is an improvement.
Where do you live in the USA?
For me it was Germany. I bike to the grocery store in the morning for work and instead of a 5 minute bike ride along the street that goes straight there I have to go along a mess of streets that zigzag back and forth repeatedly. It takes around 10 more minutes than it should just because the main road there is car only.
@@darkhelmet12e47 You could move there. A quick Google search proves that living in Germany is 13.5% cheaper than the US. You've got nothing to lose, once you're ready financially.
As a guy who has been living near a busy street since 4 years old,
I would *kill* for a walkable footpath.
some university of memphis fan with a trailer from mississippi would kill you first
I lived for 2 decades in a Seattle area "bedroom community" (suburb)...there was only ONE shop I could walk to...and it was a GAS STATION.
I wanted some Chinese food. It was a Wednesday tradition, before the great plague. Sometimes I like to remember those days, so I place an online order at the Chinese restaurant in the downtown of my 170k population city (itself a suburb of a larger regional capital, which is just yet more suburbia)
I always have pleasant thoughts thinking about this downtown. Cute cafes, homemade ice cream, an independent movie theater, and almost authentic Chinese food. I hop in my motor vehicle and drive to the restaurant, because it's a deadly bike ride and I have no choice. There's no parking. I drive around for 5 minutes, keenly aware of the extra smog and nose I'm emitting. I park blocks away and walk (the fate we were supposed to be spared from -- walking! Oh no!)
I wait at an intersection. I have to cross to the opposite corner. Half of my entire walk is spent waiting here, for the slow, steady line of cars, all looking for parking. The street looks idyllic, cozy old businesses next to newer chic hipster architecture. On some days, they close the street, and it's truly a joy as the sounds of happy children (and adults!) ring out. VROOM! I'm reminded this is not one of those days, as an oversized vehicle belches at me.
I look around. I noticed nobody is out enjoying the sun. Though the businesses are full, the sidewalks are empty. The sidewalks that I've seen teeming with life, but only when the city deems it to be a special day.
I see things different now, and think, "How did I never notice this before?"
I get in my car, and I take a highway home. I begin to eat dinner, and look at my phone. You've posted this video. Coincidence? Or is it a sign? 😉
+
Good story! Usually I avoid long comments but your writing style kept me going
@@kai663 Thanks, that makes me happy. :)
This is so incredible. Will this be the intro/overview video for your channel now?
Oh hey fancy seeing you here
And after just spotting you taking about kettles with Technology Connections!
Turns out Dev is also just a guy who watches RUclips sometimes. It's a useful thing to remember.
Hey Dev, why haven't you appeared on the Well There's Your Problem Podcast? Hang on I'll just tweet you both.
whoa, what up Dev?!
I've been watching this channel for a couple of years now and appreciate what it shows us. I am fortunate enough to have chosen to move to a neo-traditional neighborhood in Oregon 20 years ago that was totally walkable and on a bus line, 3 miles from my work. Now my husband & I live south of Portland Oregon and have the perfect walkable neighborhood, next to parks, trails to town and a slowly re-emerging old fashioned downtown. We also can walk to the light rail. All is not lost in America, we just need to keep pushing for better cities.
What are you trying to tell me? That I can drive a car?
- No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to.
underrated
I already hated car dependency and the lack of walkability within my area for years. Then I found your channel and it only further upset me that we live like this.
I'm moving to Norway this year. Not quite as walkable as the Netherlands but a HUGE upgrade over the USA.
Are you getting Norwegian citizenship? As a fellow American, may I ask what path you’re taking to move there?
Good on you. Have fun in Norway
@@Userboi25 I'm not sure about Norwegian citizenship yet. I'm pretty sure you have to reside in Norway for like 6 years before becoming eligible so I'm not concerned with it right now.
As for my path to Norway, I'm a dual citizen between Germany/USA. EU Citizens can move to and starting working in Norway without visas. Just have to register with the local police once settled. Sorry, I know that's probably not very helpful.
@@Vaaluin Thanks for sharing! My ultimate goal is to settle down somewhere I don’t need a car. Such a financial and mental crutch that’s too engrained in American society.
@@Userboi25 I'm right there with ya. Haven't had a car in about 3 years now. I'm aiming for Bergen. While it's not completely walkable, there are grocery stores and public transit everywhere. Lots of electric scooter and bike usage as well.
I’ve taken the pill. I just wish that my fellow citizens and residents would do likewise.
Ignorance is bliss
One can only hope, but I doubt they'll ever see the light.
@Rare one let's be honest, who asked?
@@Elemhnt That was a bot. Try to report instead of interacting with it.
You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it. Were you listening to me, Neo, or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?
When you think about it, the way the city is designed can definitely affect a person's mood and overall life. This is part of the environmental aspects that can make you either the worst version of you or the best, depending on what country you're living in. Netherlands has been and always been one of my top countries to not just go and visit for the sake of travelling places but to also hopefully permanently reside for the rest of my life. And then there are other countries like Denmark and New Zealand, which are also one of the best countries i think i'd potentially be content in living in, just knowing who and how i am as an individual and how you want to live your life the way you want your life to be
Yep. Since being orange-pilled by this channel (I'd already been thinking similar things since childhood, but the lightbulb everything-makes-sense moment really came together because of NJB), I can't stop thinking about all the ways the built environment shapes everyone's lives. How much it affects health, mood, productivity, relaxation, socialisation, etc. How many problems are caused by bad environments? Anxiety, depression, obesity, poverty, crime, stress, isolation, loneliness, breathing difficulties, monotony, social disintegration...I'm a history and politics student and so much of my degree has coincidentally involved studying sources of old cities in early modern empires. It's amazing how much thought went into them, and how many descriptions we have from people who intuitively knew how much it mattered that this city's streets were just the right width, that the roads were well paved, that the trees provided relief from the shade, that there were public water fountains (in medieval cities!) and waste collection, that the market streets were thriving, and so on. Modern living and cars has detached so many of us from that intuitive understanding of our environment and connection with built surroundings. It's tricked us into thinking it doesn't matter what happens to the public spaces in between our own privately owned little bubbles. And we are all suffering for it.
New Zealand is almost as bad as the US when it comes to car dependency. Perhaps take it off your bucket list for residency.
This channel did increase my awareness. Growing up in California USA, I blindly accepted that it is normal and expected for adults to have a car. I no longer believe that.
I had never thought about car dependency that much before watching this channel. Mostly because I live in Brazil, where suburbia is not that common, even though it's starting to be. But the lack of quality transportation makes car dependency a real thing round here. I took the orange pill and now I get mad about it everyday that we're fastly becoming more of an USA than a Netherlands.
USA has a grip on the entire America's. As a Canadian we have basically adopted all of their stupid policies. Well not all of them we are luckily a tiny bit more socialist
The same applies to South Korea too. I was shocked to so many large SUVs in the country where space is a premium.
Good. More people like yourself need to start getting mad and speaking up if your city or town starts sliding towards NA-style suburbia. It can't be allowed to spread more than it already has.
I liked the walkability when I lived in Rio de Janeiro. It seemed a very common thing to walk.
This is like central Canada except we have a 50 year head start. My medium sized hometown that had a downtown full of shops and live music and restaurants and was somewhat livable in some areas until they started widening roads and turning farmland into sprawl and adding expressways but no transit lines to build around. They built huge malls on the edge of town and absorbed more farmland and even neighboring towns while the downtown died out.
I've been trying to articulate why I hated the suburbs since the early 80's. I'd say "Suburban Hell" to my friends and they'd look at me like I was some alien creature. But I could never quite put my finger on why I felt that way. I'd like to thank you for making my feeling manifest as coherent arguments and ideas as to why I've always hated the suburbs. BTW most people would never get why you changed the red pill to orange, can't tell you how many conversations I've had about what country owns the colour more, Ireland or The Netherlands (groans simultaneously in Celtic and Dutch).
You're very entertaining, I thank you for being informative and lighthearted in your videos, your sense of humour is appreciated.
I get that crazy look from my friends and family too lol. One time recently I suggested we just walk to grab some Thai food because it was 5 minutes away by walking. Everyone just stared at me as if it was crazy to not drive there. Despite the fact that hitting the light and searching for parking was going to take way more than 5 minutes 🤣
It's easy: The Netherlands owns orange more. The orange in the Irish flag is actually there because of the Netherlands (and the Orange family, who were protestant and ruled England for some time)
Really? I thought Ireland was all about green, not orange, with the football kits, the clover, St. Patrick's day, etc.
The Irish now want to own both green and orange? Is there no end to their greed?
@@Pelsjager to make things even more ridiculous, the official color of ireland is actually blue in honor of st. Patrick.
I’m a student in the graphic design industry who never fathomed being converted into a transport and urban planning addict 😭 love your channel’s top notch video editing and visual communication! ❤️ keep doing what you do
The hilarity is how true this really is. In my 20s I grew to loath suburbia, it's generica lack of center, no sense of place, slaves to giant box stores filled with more stuff to wedge into ever larger homes filled with lonely people. I loved cities and the country but suburbia always seemed "fake" I couldn't really explain why I didn't like suburbia until I left. Now living half my year in Europe suburbia just seems like a bad expensive joke.
It was really a mind-shattering moment for me when I realized that this weird feeling I've always had is a feeling many others are beginning to comprehend, too-- how do you build relationships in a community that only gets around in isolated metal cages? Why did I feel so much more in tune with the people around me in European and Asian cities, even though I'm not European or Asian? Thanks for waking me up Jason, love you man.
@@laurie7689 That's great and all, but it's literally illegal in a lot of the US to build anything other than suburbs. No one minds some less dense areas, but when the government borrows and spends billions on extended roads and infrastructure while banning the productive, profitable downtowns and denser, more walkable areas, it gets very annoying.
@@laurie7689 It really depends on how far and long you have to walk. If you have to walk 45 minutes to the nearest supermarket, yeah I wouldn't do that either. But if it's only 10 minutes away, it's much more doable. And really people should have the choice. The current situation might be perfect for you, but it's terrible for many other people, and they should have the option to live in the way that's best for them, too. But currently, these types of suburbs are too often the only choice they have, and that needs to change.
@@laurie7689 Looks like you totally missed my point, but it's not like I fully expect suburbanites to be able to see a viewpoint beyond their little white picket fences. I don't think anyone here is trying to say you shouldn't be living in your suburb-- if you like it, that's fine. Many people are just advocating for an actual say in the matter, rather than being practically forced into sprawled R1 zoning.
And to take a page out of your playbook--- not everyone is so bothered by warm weather like you are. Plenty of cities around the world have climates much more humid than you do in the south, and there's plenty of walking/biking.
@@laurie7689You are right, there is no affordable housing in the US because suburbanites, which comprise anywhere from 70% to 95% of most cities, refuse to allow the development of mixed housing with NIMBYism. The concept people are pushing for is called "missing middle" housing. Like you said, some of the only apartments being built/sold is in city centers. And the ones that aren't, are "five-over-ones" being marketed as luxury apartments, both of these options way out of the affordability of most Americans. We are critically missing affordable middle-class housing such as rowhomes, duplexes, townhouses because of archaic zoning laws being purported by you.
Like I said, nobody is coming to bulldoze your generic suburb next week-- people are trying to advocate for more affordable, dense housing options by either building these in new developments, or like Seattle and Portland is doing, by re-zoning current single-family houses to allow multiple units.
All you care about is keeping your property values high, with zero consideration for how the following generations of Americans are going to be living. Idk why you are even on this channel.
@@laurie7689 it's OK, you can have your opinion. Just be aware that suburbanism is making your life miserable. It is the very reason you wish to live in a remote place - because the suburbs have no identity, no hospitality, no flair. It's just an endless lineup of houses and cars.
By the way, many places in the world are hot an humid. Almost everywhere, people still walk a lot of places.
This man has done more for The Netherlands than the VVV has for the last 50 years.
But please don't all move to the Netherlands now, we already have a housing shortage
@@maxachterweust there's a housing shortage everywhere
He really hasn't done anything though he's just showing why The Netherlands is better then most countries in terms of walkability
@@RobertDoornbosF1 Like I said; Which is in fact more than the VVV has done in the last 50 years.
ps. It was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek comment but a mostly accurate statement never the less.
@@forkless They've only been "ruling" since 2010.
Either you have a very strong hate for the VVD or I just don't understand your humor
Jason is raging against the machine(of car culture) and I love it.
I feel so calm seeing and hearing that Dutch street at the end. All the background noise is people and the tram (which fades as it pulls away). Very little sound of rolling tires (which is the majority background noise in my home of Edmonton, Canada).
The Matrix is a good metaphor. Stumbling on your vids has been an eye opener. You don't realize how bad your infrastructure is when that's all you know and all you've ever experienced.
“Yet many people are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it.”
You can never unsee it.
A bustling city street... and it's so quiet... so quiet.
I guess this makes me having been born in Zion, like Tank or Dozer, as I'm Dutch. I took the orange pill about a week ago and went back home for that week. Amongst other things, I visited Utrecht, which is a great orange pill city. I highly recommend a visit; it's sooo pretty.
I got to live in Amsterdam in 2016. Ever since then, I have been a huge advocate for establishing similar infrastructure in Germany. Subbing your channel has made be become increasingly anti-cars because I now understand all the planning errors which led to the current situation.
This is actually fantastic! I think there should be a card or something at the end of the video to your first Strongtowns episode to really pull people down the rabbit hole. And make it your channel trailer. Perfection!
That's what I expected as well
I also would like it if he put his intro slate at the end.
I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would. It made me realize so many things of what people think they hate about cities isn't cities. It's cars.
Well, cars and the cost of rent. However, policies that would make for more walkable cities, including mixed use neighbourhoods and more dense zoning, would also make for more effecient use of land for both commercial and residential use and thus lower the cost of rent.
It’s weird how suburbanites complain about cities’ noise and pollution when they drive their SUVs and giant 4x4s and sometimes literal monster trucks with giant exhaust pipes into our cities; like don’t complain if you are helping to the problem
this is insanely good for a channel trailer, love it
I've been watching your channel for a while now. Thank you for showing us that there's another way to get around. I'm in the US. I've started riding my bike around my town instead of driving. I have to say, "I really love riding my bike!" I'm so happy to not be driving a car. I take inspiration from your channel.
I took the orange pill a year ago and it’s rough! I’ve now written several of my own episodes on how bad various car infrastructure is (not released yet). I’m seriously struggling with remembering to go back and write about other topics!
Wouldn’t trade it for the world though. Seeing a new release from NJB reliably always gives me hope that we can make the world better despite how much it exposes me to our current pile of garbage.
P.S. glad to hear the “bag of milk” joke come back!
Nice channel!
Heya!
@@biblestudy2312 thanks! I got tired of seeing people incorrectly argue that fighting climate change cost too much money. Eventually decided to make a channel dedicated to why its actually in our financial best interest both at the personal and community levels!
Easy to see how I got infected by the “orange pill” haha
Is it really a joke if many Canadians actually buy their milk in a bag
@@clark523 good point. But it just brought back memories of his banter with Rollie in the Suburbia video. Guess that’s why I think of it as a joke hah
This is the kind of marketing that will ACTUALLY get to the masses
I think a nice movie after watching this could be Falling Down with Michael Douglas! The road rage, being stuck in traffic and because of construction work as well, is really best shown in the start of this movie!
Thats the first minute of the movie
You’ve made a really, really, really amazing thing here.
The borrowing from Morpheus was immediately recognizable, like immediately!
It’s not only genius and hilarious, it works completely accurately in this context.
Because, yes, we are addicted to the car. We are car-slaves.
I’ve lived in Belgium just about my whole life, 55 now, except for 1 year in the jungle in Myanmar (not even gonna go into traffic in Myanmar, it’s purgatory!) And I regularly drive to the Netherlands. The difference is enormous, just so much better.
But then I also spent a month in LA. Coming back to Antwerp, Belgium after that cured me instantly from my displeasure with Belgian road infrastructure and Belgian (non-)investment in public transport. It certainly is far from perfect here (and getting worse, more and more disinvestment in public transport and talk of privatizing city bus and tram routes).
But after LA, I have to recognize that our public infrastructure isn’t bad at all.
Anyway, to stay on-theme : you can only show us the door, we’re the ones who have to walk through it 😉
This is so well done, the film and narration is impressive!
I just about thought I was the only one, this video is genuinely kinda epic
Taking the Orange Pill as well as the Train Pill and I will become UNSTOPPABLE
It’s like a Chrysler building... on top of a Chrysler building!
This channel is melting my brain in the best possible way!
I was raised in the middle of nowhere until age 11, when we moved to a car-infested, fast-food-infested, middle American town. My new neighborhood had no sidewalks. The closet park was miles away. My bike, which I used to ride daily, rusted in the carport. I no longer played outside. Nobody played outside there. I never walked; there was nowhere to walk TO. I used the computer more and more. I watched movies and videos of other people enjoying life in beautiful places. I gained weight. I got depressed.
I escaped from that town as soon as I turned 18. My entire adult life, I thought, "I will never raise kids in a place like that. I will become a radical whacko who moves their kids away from all civilization before I let them grow up in a place like that." I was never sure exactly WHY.
The depression of my adolescence, which hit hard after such a happy childhood, was multi-factorial. But the issues you highlight on your channel were actually serious influencing factors that *I never recognized before.* Keep up the good work fam! Future generations deserve better.
The intro ist genius because it's both hilariously overdone and eerily accurate... the ubiquity of cars and how you're a slave to them. How every aspect of life is dictated by car dependency. And how there's often a feeling of stress or unease but I rarely reflect that the reason is noise, pollution, lack of greenery, dangerous traffic situations, or forced waiting times due to car infrastructure.
Man the way that scene at the end unfolds perfectly like everyone's an actor trying to play up the comfort of a non-car dependent road...but it's just TRUE. Incredible.
matrix references are always top tier, i was hoping the end would have a little call to action like "let's get started" lol
This has to be the best channel trailer. Is there an award for such thing? Give this editor a medal.
"Like a splinter in your mind driving you mad..." Best line of the year, so far.
When I'd walk around my neighborhood I would always talk about how I hated parking lots, how certain streets were incredibly uncomfortable to walk down and would be annoyed at how loud the cars were.
You've given me a language and understanding of why.
Thank you!
Because of this channel, I decided to walk as much as possible while discovering my new neighborhood. Didn't touch or think about my car for 2 days and literally got towed because signs popped up for construction next to it and everyone was shocked I hadn't noticed. Because obviously I'd drive every 2 hours. Stupid car dependency.
There are lots, Neo. Endless lots where cars are parked.
Only lived in a far-flung suburb for a couple of years. It was really a country village with few blocks. It was nice, with some cute old shops. Great for evening strolls. Last time I saw it, it was block after block of houses, a gigamall, and stroads covered in heavy traffic. How vomitable.
I do hope this is a start of a series, the level of work put into this alone would be great. One thing i really want to see more of is not complaining but actual practical ways on how to change cities/towns/suburbs intro nice safe livable/walkable areas. Thanks for the great content again!
that's this entire channel yeah? how the Netherlands does it and why it's better than the US, so the solution is the premise
Watch Bicycle Dutch, he explains the details of what things do and why
He has visited other places to explain what could be done better too.
There are also plenty of practical explainers on individual aspects all over the internet. You can even read books
There are explanations of methods as in "here's what the city could change to make it more walkable", but there aren't explanations of "here's how you petition your local city council to make these changes," which is what I want to see. Admittedly that might get too specific for a channel like this, but it would be great to know where to even start.
I watched a case study recently about a city trying to get rid of a stroad, and it gave me a better idea of how these things are changed. Content like that would be really helpful!
@@MissPoplarLeaf Let's be fair here, if he knew how to do that he wouldn't have fled Canada. He's said that on many occasions.
@bananana and each location would have different ways to petition and stuff.
I think he had a video about paris and how they are starting to do it.
But it's a whole culture shift. Away from cars. That's a hard sell in the us. I mean the problem is that when people in the US see this sort of thing they are thinking we're saying get rid of cars. But that's not the case. What's being said is cars good for longer trips, not just short ones. Because the us tends to be extremes, most people can't get past that its not a one or the other. Or worse don't like any inconvenience.
Also ruclips.net/video/bnKIVX968PQ/видео.html talks to zoning, which isn't just complaining but pointing out something you could do. There are lots of other urbanist channels that may give you more pointers as well.
After watching your video for two years, I made up my mind and moved to Amsterdam from San Jose. You are right!
You really did ?
Think most people would try a vacation first. 🤗
Welcome!
Dying!! This is absolutely hilarious and equally accurate.
2006. That’s when I got “orange pilled”.
"Apologies to the Wachowski sisters and Laurence Fishburne." Nah. Knowing them, they probably love this. You done good. Good channel.
lmfao, this was perfect! It really nails that feeling too, of knowing there's something off about the suburbs that's better in the city (I never learned to drive, so I always thought it was just me), and only being able to put your finger on it once you've taken the pill.
"Neo, sooner or later you're going to realize, just as I did, that there's a difference between driving the path and walking the path"
ok, this was just gold. I hope you do more stuff like this in the future!
Ever since I started learning how to drive, I discovered that it was impossible to live where I live without a car. I knew something wasn't right. I didn't want to drive every time I had to go somewhere, but I had no choice. The car has always felt like a prison. Everything is just SO far away from each other. I had a feeling that having to walk an hour and a half to get to a friend's house, who lives in the same small town as me, just didn't feel right. Something just wasn't right. For the longest time, I just thought this was life. This is just how things had to be, and how things will always be, but now, I'm getting a glimps that there IS an alternative. There is something better.
I feel this so deeply. I had to drive through two cities of stroads for work today and it really bummed me out. It’s such an isolating way to organize society.
@@laurie7689 Just because you like isolation doesn’t mean everyone else does, Laurie
@@laurie7689 Isolation is fine for uninhabited places. If a city is isolating, something is very, very wrong.
This has to be one of the most creative channel trailers I've EVER seen. :D
It's not one, but I wish it was, because it definetly feels like one!
When I bought my current home in Fake London, I was thrilled that there was a bus stop a 5 minute walk from my front door. This bus route went straight to the center of downtown. I imagined taking the bus downtown to catch a movie, have a few drinks with friends, and then safely return home. On my first trip downtown I grabbed a schedule and found out that the bus only came once an hour, and stopped running at 11pm. Oh well, I had a schedule, so I could just plan my trips. Within a year, the city eliminated that route, and to let us know that it was permanent, removed every bus shelter and stop all along the way. I found myself trapped in a suburb where NOTHING was less than a 20 minute walk along a busy road (stroad). The nearest bike path was 10 minutes away through heavy traffic. The bike path was for recreation, so it really didn't go anywhere useful. There is only ONE neighborhood in Fake London that has walkable streets, and businesses and shops within walking distance of homes. It is the oldest neighborhood in the city, and the ancient houses in this area are highly desirable and expensive. City planners don't seem to be aware of WHY this is so. They need to watch your videos.
THIS IS AMAZING!!! Love this format and the aesthetics were nicely done!
I’ve been saying all this time that channels like this one have red-pilled me on cars, so I’ll eagerly adopt this term.
based and bike-pilled
The datamoshing with hidden bicycles at 0:52 was perfect!
Thanks to you, I have been able to put that car-dependent frustration into words. I had a lovely discussion with my grandma today about how hard it is to bike anywhere and she told me some of her own experiences almost being hit by cars while riding a bike back in the 60s and 70s.
God...I took the orange pill earlier this year and now my surroundings depress me more than they already did T_T But I'm glad I know more, so thank you for making such easy to follow and understandable videos about car dependency and city planning!
Same it's put me in such a depression I'm so much worse that before I knew because I am in a situation where I won't be able to move away for 5+ years
damn, feels too true. could never put words to what i was feeling.
the one that really was an orange pill for me was the "Cities Aren't Loud: Cars Are Loud" video and when you talked about loud noise causing stress
I'm actually visiting Europe for the first time starting in Amsterdam in about 10 days.. I keep having little moments of panic that we're not renting a car, and we're not going to be able to get anywhere. It's crazy that my wife and I are having anxiety about not renting a car for $50/day and then having to figure out where to park it and pay for that too. $20 per person for a 3 day public transport pass is blowing my mind.
In Germany you can get a pass for 9.00 euros now, which gives access to all public transport for a month (except the ICE trains). The action runs from june until august, and might be worth looking into if you go to Germany on your trip.
the dutch OVclip card (that spelling is wrong) is really good, only confusing thing about it is you need to keep a certain amount of credit on it to use regional trains.. but it works on EVERYTHING.. so no fretting about how to use busses etc... see a tram heading the right way, jump on. done. If you are coming to London, dont bother with the card, just tap a contactless bank card on the yellow readers.
Whatever you do, do not use the bicycle lanes as side walks. This will get you a lot of angry bike bell ringing. And watch before you cross them, in case you get run over. Eat your fries with mayonaise. And have a lot of fun and a safe trip!
@@mralistair737 I'm actually going straight to the UK after! Thanks for the advice. Does a tap card work in Edinburgh and Dublin as well? And will we be able to get around to those places as well without a car? I assumed there's some trains that go in-between?
Car rental prices have gone up immensely recently. 100euro or more per day. Car parking in the The Netherlands is also deliberately expensive, so good on you choosing public transport.
It was thanks to your channel that I got a bike recently. I can't go many places, due to the total lack of bike infrastructure. But just being able to bike through the neighborhood to get to my local grocery store has been exhilarating. I used to hate going out of the house, and avoided it wherever possible. Now, I look forward to chances to get on my bike and ride.
I'm not new to this channel, having watched videos on and off whenever they pop up in the list on the right, but I am a first time subscriber as of now. It's been really cool learning about urban planning, and seeing what pieces of it my hometown makes use of, and where there might still be improvements. Cheers for that!
Here's to the Orange Pill.
This would've been so cool as a 360 video, especially in the final scene.
I'm lucky not to live in a cookie cutter suburbia like many others here in the US, but I recently went driving to a park near my house, when I realized, why the hell am I not riding my bike or walking?? It's only a mile away an it's nice outside. I've always driven there; I don't know how I haven't realized that before. I'm going to start riding my bike or walking there whenever I can now.
I don't know why "You take the orange pill... You stay in the Netherlands" killed me
Love it too. The Netherlands is one of only a few countries associated with a single colour. Others are New Zealand (black) and Ireland (green).
“If you take the blue pill you have to stay in Michig…”
*Snatches the orange pill and gulps down without water*
I don't get why anyone needs water to take pills. I take 'em every day and I don't need a drop of water to do it. Just toss it in and swallow.
This was so incredibly well done.
*insert slow, impressed clap here, leading to a standing ovation.*
My wife and I are about to buy a house that is only one mile from a supermarket. There is only one stroad that requires crossing and if you time it right, you can catch it before it gets super busy. I'm planning to get a bike with a cargo trailer and using it for all our grocery shopping. There's even a bike rack at the store. For now, I've been working remote for the last two years. I can't remember a point in my life where I've driven so little. It's pretty liberating. I get a full hour of my life back every day from not commuting.
Orange is my favorite color... I grew up on US Army bases, which were designed to mostly be walkable. Also lived in Germany for 5 years and saw walkable cities and cultures, there. But even on Army bases, protected by US soldiers, half of Americans refused to let their children walk the quarter mile to school.