In a sustainable future, walking, biking, and public transit will form the backbone of transportation.
There are many reasons for Chicagoans — and all Americans — to move beyond our dependence on automobiles:
- Automobile dependence contributes economically, environmentally, and geopolitically, to everything from global warming to global terrorism;
- An automobile is a major contributor to a sedentary lifestyle, increasing obesity and heart disease. Reducing our dependence on automobiles is an important way to make our own physical activity part of the transportation solution;
- The United States spends billions of dollars annually to combat the negative impact of automobiles on air quality in urban areas. Tailpipe emissions are a major contributor to air pollution, and increase the risk of asthma, emphysema, and cancer.
- 42,000 people die annually in the United States in automobile-related incidents