I was amazed when I travelled to the US at just how pedestrian hostile it is. I was travelling to a conference in San Diego and it was just impossible to walk safely between where I was staying and where I was going to because this was the road:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/G2PeVbEzQyqbgDTN9
Only because you chose to walk through the port instead of through town. Google Maps' walking route is shorter than the route that goes through that road, entirely on sidewalks, and only requires crossing one road wider than one car lane per direction (and said road has a signalized crosswalk). There is also a pedestrian bridge across that road that could be used instead, but Google didn't pick it, likely because it connects with "private" property (the convention center's path).
It has a lot to do with many Americans relationships to cities, and dare I say, wanting to be away from "those people" in the cities.
Some Americans can be hostile to increasing city density, arguing it will increase car traffic. Yet the whole point of dense cities is to help people avoid driving as you live next to everything.
Meanwhile development out in the hinterlands continues unabated, and the only way to get to the city if you live there is with a car.
When you ask the same Americans why they like visiting a resort or European city, they will talk about being able to walk around without a car to get everything they need.
> When you ask the same Americans why they like visiting a resort or European city, they will talk about being able to walk around without a car to get everything they need.
To be fair, you're looking for different things at a resort than you are at home. At a resort, you're not looking to do weekly food shopping, or buy supplies to do work around the house, or etc, etc. That's not to say things can't be organized to make doing so more reasonable, but living in an area where you drive to get everything and wanting to _visit_ (but not live in) an area where you can walk to everything (because you don't need major things) is not unreasonable.
I was at a conference years ago in Burbank, wanted to walk during lunch break as I was tired from all the sitting and was stopped by the cops also. They were super friendly, offered me a ride but couldn't understand why I'm walking (especially without some destination). It's a really different mindset from Europe.
