combining my knowledge of urban planning with the hours of video essays on horror i’ve consumed to come to the conclusion that the real monster is car culture
ok so let me explain. an oft repeated saying in urban planning circles is that cars are the dominant species on the planet. this is based on a 1960s cartoon that satirizes the north american obsession with cars, how much space we devote to them, and how we design our entire cities and lives around them. in jacob geller’s video in the architecture of alienation he talks about the fear created when a space we expect to be built and designed for us subverts those expectations and becomes hostile or incomprehensible. to many people who can’t access vehicles or proper documentation to be able to drive this is exactly what the car-centric city becomes. it is a place that should be designed for people but is not and is hostile towards those who are unable to drive, think about suburbs with no sidewalks or urban food deserts with no grocery stores within walking distance. not to mention the danger imposed by cars themselves, especially when car manufacturers are locked in an arms race to make the biggest, bulkiest vehicle in the name of supposed safety for the driver with very little regard for pedestrians and cyclists. altogether, a car centric city is a horror unto itself.
“We walked all around this big museum. A museum is a place where you can see art or animals. This museum has stuff like Jesus and I saw a statue of somebody cutting a head. I’ve been drawing the statues but I’m not good at drawing lips, and the hands have three fingers instead of five because that’s easier. I probably shouldn’t show you this one because… I don’t want to say it. You can see their… their… their…. BUTTS.”
