A new study out of Arizona State University finds that Americans have a tricky line to navigate when it comes to cars: Being able to get in one and drive somewhere tends to increase life satisfaction. But having to get in one too often can have the opposite effect. The survey of more than 2,000 Americans found what Oliver Milman of the Guardian sees as a "tipping point" when it comes to cars and happiness: Those who have to get behind the wheel for more than 50% of activities outside the home generally report a decrease in life satisfaction. That's especially true for those who drive more than 200 miles a week, writes Kea Wilson at StreetsBlog USA.
"Car dependency has a threshold effect—using a car just sometimes increases life satisfaction but if you have to drive much more than this people start reporting lower levels of happiness," says lead author Rababe Saadaoui, an urban planning expert at ASU. "Extreme car dependence comes at a cost, to the point that the downsides outweigh the benefits." The researchers acknowledge that many Americans have no choice but to drive everywhere, given the way most municipalities have been designed. As Wilson puts it, "in car dependent contexts, trying to get around without one can be a miserable, deadly, and demoralizing undertaking—and typically, only those who truly have no other choice even dare to try."
And Milman of the Guardian brings a UK perspective to this, describing the US as "one of the most car-dependent countries in the world" because of "its enormous highways, sprawling suburbs and neglected public transport systems." What to do? Saadaoui emphasizes that the researchers aren't pushing an autos-are-evil message, but they do think city planners and designers can and should mitigate the problem. In study-speak, they advocate "multimodality and land use patterns that may help to reduce car dependence and its potential negative effect on subjective wellbeing." (More cars stories.)
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