Americans keep asking me what is, in my opinion, the major difference
between life here in the United States as opposed to Europe, from
where I came. Generally, there are a lot of differences -- major and
minor -- but not all of them are so clear and so easily seen as
difference in our cities. Most European cities are still desirable
places for people to live and enjoy an urban lifestyle. They are not
like cities here, where the word "city" in an American context means
something very bad, ugly and dangerous. Most American cities today are
like visual symbols of this "cutthroat society" in general. I lived in
New York for a while myself, and I know what I'm talking about. As a
writer working here in the United States on my new book about this
society, I feel like a qualified observer of American culture and
lifestyle.

Two years ago we moved to the Pacific Northwest from the East coast.
The main reason why we chose Eugene was that we heard a lot about the
good reputation of this town, and about its being somewhat "different"
from the rest of America. Eugene seemed to be quite an attractive
place for living. Especially after seeing photos of the downtown
pedestrian area, including those two nice Willamette Street blocks
that are now doomed to destruction.

So, we came to Eugene and we settled here. Unfortunately, as we can
see now, the reality in this town is far less attractive than it
looked in those pictures.

One of the worst disappointments for me here was that this community,
like everywhere else in the United States, is too dependent on the
automobile, even in spite of having one of the better mass transit
systems in this country. It must be said that among the reasons for
our moving to Eugene, one of the most important was our desire to live
without having a car. We were already sick and tired of day-to-day
driving just to get around in New Jersey. Now, we have lived here
intentionally without an automobile for two years already, and we like
it. So, as you can see, I walk my talk. Not like some "environmentally
conscious" folks who like to hold forth against the evils of the
automobile, but at the same time drive their Volvos to local "health
food" stores. Even if it is only few blocks to walk.

In my opinion, the tyranny of the automobile is now completely and
irreversibly destroying this country's quality of life. Instead of
providing freedom and mobility, the car in the United States has
become like a form of enslavement. This, I think, is the single
greatest tragedy of Americans today. If somebody asks me what I
dislike in America and American society most, I always answer that it
is their addiction to the automobile and their indebtedness, their
total dependance on bank credit. In fact, these two things are very
tightly correlated with each other. People here are forced to spend a
big chunk of their incomes for an obligatory form of transport, which
is the private automobile. Very few can afford to buy a car without
taking some kind of loan. Financing automobile ownership keeps most
Americans permanently in debt.

American cities and towns have already lost all feeling of humanness
and warmth because facilities for cars, not the environment for
people, dominate. The more the space devoted to cars, parking lots and
busy traffic streets, the less the livability in a city. Huge parking
garages and countless parking lots, gas stations, overpasses and
underpasses, dangerous-for human-being streets dehumanize the
landscape, creating ugly zones to which anyone with four wheels can
have access, but which create no rest, beauty or satisfaction. Just
look around. See how ugly and dangerous they are, streets dominated by
the automobile. This all proves my point: the American lifestyle, with
its total fanatic dependence on motor vehicles, makes this country
more and more unlivable.

Eugene, so far, is still among the very few cities in this country
where the downtown hasn't completely surrendered to the cars. And
those two carless blocks of Willamette Street, in my opinion, created
one of the nicest pedestrian malls in America. However, this is going
to change. Ignorant citizens of this town have decided to destroy
their last little island of beauty and to surrender to the monster
automobile. When I see the destruction of Willamette Street in
downtown, and especially when I see those beautiful trees cut-down, my
heart starts bleeding. And I understand very clearly what kind of
mentality prevails in today's America. In all honestly, I am not very
optimistic about the people's common sense here.

In Europe we don't have yet such ugly and soulless shopping malls,
located on outskirts of cities, with huge parking lots around, like
here. People go downtown for shopping, for entertainment, and for
social life. So, city centers in Europe are full of life all day long
and even at night. People can stroll on a vast network of pedestrian
streets, lined with a variety of stores and cafes. What is most
important is that many people use public transport instead of driving
to get there from the suburbs. The private automobile is still used by
many Europeans more for recreation than for day-to-day transportation
needs. People haven't yet become a slaves of the automobile like
Americans. That, in my opinion, is the most important factor in why
the quality of life in Europe is still much better than here in the
United States. The use of the automobile is the major difference.

People here must first of all change their car oriented behavior and
their mentality in order to have a better life, and to make America a
livable place again. The drive-through culture and lifestyle will just
make things worse and worse...