Richard Register

Over the past century, our cities have been shaped – literally – by the demands of the automobile. Today, with global oil reserves declining irreversibly, it’s time to face the challenges of the imminent post-oil reality.

Over the past century, our cities have been shaped — literally — for the benefit of the automobile and oil industries. Today, with global oil reserves headed toward irreversible decline, we need to face the challenges of the imminent post-oil reality.

Striking in its omission is debate about the largest creations of our species: cities. Could it be the most basic solution is redesigning them for people instead of cars? Presto, both [global warming and peak oil] solved in the same stroke and in a more fundamental way than by just trying to tune up the same old infrastructure, always trying to get a little more juice out of the planet, a little more sprawl-inducing mileage out of our cars.