Why Do Americans Drive Everywhere? Cars, Trains, and the Geography of Everyday Life

In much of the United States, getting through an ordinary day without a car can be surprisingly difficult. In Tokyo, Paris, or Amsterdam, however, millions of people routinely live without one. The difference isn’t simply that Americans love cars—it reflects decades of decisions about housing, highways, zoning, public transportation, and where people are allowed to build. Even something as ordinary as buying groceries can require completely different transportation depending on where you live. In this episode of Same Planet, Different Rules, we explore how the same basic human need—getting from one place to another—produced radically different lifestyles around the world.