this post was submitted on 12 Aug 2023
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Fuck Cars

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A place to discuss problems of car centric infrastructure or how it hurts us all. Let's explore the bad world of Cars!

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[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 65 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

Pros of yacht-centric development:

  • If you own a yacht, it means you are rich and therefore better than others.
  • If you're in a car, some homeless guy could just walk up to your car and beg for money (so awkward!). In a yacht, what are they gonna do, swim?
  • Waterfront access is the American dream. Building roads instead of canals is literally communism.
  • Yachts and canals are great for home values. Gotta keep those prices going up!
  • Cars just aren't sufficient for your average person to haul 20 friends to their weekly parties on their private islands. People need their yachts to go about these basic necessities of life!

Pros of car-centric development:

  • ???
  • There are no pros of car-centric development.
[–] TurboDiesel@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Pros, cont'd:

  • The increased emissions from the yachts will accelerate climate change, making MORE waterfront; it's a problem that solves itself!
  • More waterfront = higher property values; yachts also lift everyone out of poverty, ezpz
[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

I like how you think. We should invest in all that soon-to-be waterfront property and resell it for huge unearned profits in 10 years when it becomes waterfront!

[–] blackbelt352@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

Just one small problem Ben! Sell their houses to who? Fucking Aquaman?

[–] pizza@midwest.social 14 points 1 year ago (2 children)

car centric development keeps taking away my parking lachts 😡

[–] TheSaus@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

That has to be the best pun i’ve ever seen lmao

[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

God-tier pun

[–] zephyreks@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 year ago

You can fit more food from your Costco run on a boat than a car.

[–] buckykat@lemmy.blahaj.zone 16 points 1 year ago

Yachts are the cars of water

[–] Erika2rsis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I once wrote a semi-satirical short story for a writing contest about Norway in the future, and I haaaate how much I had to trim that story down for word count, because I had a ton of ideas for it. I was going to write at length about how rising sea levels and more frequent flooding due to extreme weather had encouraged a shift to canal-centric reconstruction of Norwegian cities. These canals were known to locals as "moats", because their primary purpose was not to facilitate transport, but rather to hinder it: traveling around cities now required either a fancy boat, or crossing one of a limited number of drawbridges, which frequently broke down for extended periods of time in poorer areas, and universally prioritized boat traffic over foot traffic.

The growing underclass of Norway still found some use for the canals, though, as they could fish for drift-litter in the contaminated waters, which they would use for crafts and gardening and such. Meanwhile in other areas, the canal water had been purified: the parks and plazas of Norway's cities had all been transformed into public swimming pools, leaving would-be protestors with virtually no choice but to don their favorite bikinis and swim-trunks while holding up water-proof signs.

[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Do you have it somewhere to share? That actually sounds really good.

[–] Erika2rsis@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 1 year ago

Well, in the version of the story that I actually sent into the writing contest, I basically had to scrap the canals idea entirely because the maximum word count was too short for that kind of worldbuilding, so the canals unfortunately never got past the notes stage. All around I was pretty dissatisfied with how the final draft of the story came out, so I've been thinking of having another go at writing a full-length version of the story that goes in-depth about all the crazy worldbuilding ideas I had.

[–] ComplexLotus@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago

This story is amazing. I personally thought about canal development in a more positive light, as cargo transport over seas is the most fuel efficient form of transport known to men, beats even trains. Rowing in boats is also fun! Also most landlocked countries are poorer and have less freedom, because they have 0 access to the open oceans to trade and flee opressors and neighbors.

[–] TwigletSparkle@lemmy.world 11 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[–] SLfgb@feddit.nl 5 points 1 year ago

Are you quite sure about that?

[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

But what incentive will there be to buy yachts -- something any moral, upstanding citizen needs! -- if there is no threat of drowning??

[–] Shriukan@sh.itjust.works 9 points 1 year ago

Seems to me we’re just gonna transfer the car problem to boats. People worried about all those sports boats mowing over us poor kayakers and row boaters, and even worse, disregarding paddle boarders crossing at designated points, but it’s our fault because they have big boats that can’t stop, forcing us to row down small canals or risk being stranded on a narrow river arm with a hole in our hull and no flex tape to at least get to a repair shop. But maybe we’ll start getting protected rowing lanes and not just a line of buoys that tell us where to be.

But I do like the idea of the Venetian solution from another comment. Build bridges low enough to block boats from coming through but high enough to let rowers and paddlers through. And if we need a place to pass on foot on busy places, we can always build drawbridges, but those would get pushback due to the danger they’d cause distracted boat drivers.

The future is wet, but not so different.

[–] redcalcium@lemmy.institute 8 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Ah yes, B.O.A.T. (break out another thousand). Perfect replacement for cars (according to boat dealers).

[–] Dagwood222@lemm.ee 3 points 1 year ago

I like the line 'a boat is a hole in the water you throw money into.'

[–] pmarcilus@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 1 year ago

This will happen as the climate crisis deepen

[–] CookieJarObserver@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Why not just live on a yacht?

[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I need to possess a gaudy McMansion to store all my yachts. I've got dozens!!

Do millionaires drive around in expensive Caravans?

But a yacht is probably cheaper than a house nowadays...

[–] Scrof@sopuli.xyz 4 points 1 year ago

Ye fond of me lobster! I've seen it!

[–] dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net 3 points 1 year ago

Now where did I put those naval mine schematics?

[–] jesterraiin@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

Silly OP.

You don't want to take it to waters, because there's where Deep Ones live and Cthulhu dreams his everlasting nightmares embraced by the walls of R'lyeh.

[–] Izzy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Just make the yacht big enough to build roads on for cars. That way you can contribute to climate change while contributing to climate change.

[–] VanillaGorilla@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

To be honest, I'd be down to a canoe or a row boat to get to and from my house. Or a floating house with a small electric motor to change neighbours from time to time.

[–] Roundcat@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago

Orcas: *deep breathing

[–] scala@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

Have to make sure the island city floats, when the inevitable polar icecaps melting floods their property value increases!

[–] ComplexLotus@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Ships are more fuel efficient in transporting large mass anyway. shipping is the most energy-efficient form of freight transportation. Replace all roads with river ways!! All trucks with cargo ships... and some Yachts for public transport.

[–] Fried_out_Kombi@lemmy.world 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

I unironically think we should have more canals and barges in cities, at least those with the topography and hydrology for it. Dense urbanism centered around the canals, the barges could transport cargo instead of trucks, and the water would combat the urban heat island effect. Bonus points if there are overhead wires (like for trams and trolleybuses) for powering the canal barges.

[–] ComplexLotus@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Are there any real world examples of trolley canal barges, thought electric wires and water do not mix well? But yeah there are some ship based public transport networks, which I think should be explored more seriously. In India there are some water Metro networks like Kochi...

[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

And while we're at it, we can make all the sidewalks water slides. That would rule.

[–] Tb0n3@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 year ago

Literally bought a sailboat because it doesn't need gas.

[–] Fedizen@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Ever been to Venice? The plumbing is a major issue. More docks and water housing aren't a bad idea per say (the earth's surface is mostly water) but it needs to be done in a way that makes sense.

Maybe instead of dense single person vehicles infrastructure we just make cities dense?