@Godfrey642@fuckcars You raise a really good point — it's not just the size and weight of the massive SUVs and pickup trucks that's the issue.
It's also that they encourage the people who drive them to be far more reckless than they would be if they were driving — say — a small sedan or hatchback.
Since the early 2000s, the Australian free-to-air networks have churned out an endless stream of low-budget reality shows.
There's been nothing really worth watching for the past 20 years on FTA, and better shows online. So everyone under around 40 tuned out long ago.
So the FTA networks have responded by pandering to the tastes and views of older viewers.
That's not just on social or political issues. That's in terms of the shows themselves, and the talent who host and appear on them.
And so any younger viewers that tune in end up tuning out. That leads to lower ratings, and fewer and dollars, which leads to more shows pandering to older viewers.
And so what you end up with is this self-perpetuating death spiral.
@naevaTheRat@fosstulate Am I being overly cynical in thinking that it's no coincidence the CEO of Woolies steps down, just as the talk of inquires and regulatory reform heats up?
After all, if there's a public inquiry or a Royal Commission, and the head of Woolies is called to testify, they'll now honestly be able to say that they only just stepped into the role recently, and have no idea about the decisions their predecessor made.
@Jakra@fuckcars@Fitz There was a "dry area" law that prevented licensed premises opening in a number of Melbourne's inner-eastern suburbs (around Camberwell).
It was on the books from when teetotaling was all the rage a century ago (note Australia didn't have US-style prohibition laws) until 2022.
@uis@milicentbystandr The architect you're thinking of is a guy by the name of Victor Gruen.
The short version is that he was a socialist from Austria, who wanted to basically recreate the great walkable streets and plazas of Vienna indoors in Minnesota.
His views on cars, ironically, wouldn't be out of place on a @notjustbikes video: "Suburban business real estate has often been evaluated on the basis of passing automobile traffic. This evaluation overlooks the fact that automobiles do not buy merchandise."
He hated cars, and saw this as an antidote to car-dependent development:
"But Gruen had a grander vision. He wanted to re-create in microcosm the walkable, diverse and liveable town centres he so loved in Vienna.
"Part of his motivation was seeing how reliance on the automobile was affecting cities. In his classic book, Shopping Towns USA, Gruen rails against the development of drive-by shopping centres focused on catering to passing motorists.
"The original plan was for commerce to be broken up by numerous attractions like aviaries, fountains and works of art. The mall itself would be surrounded by residences, offices, medical facilities, schools and everything that made a community.
"The mall was inward-looking, not to keep people focused on spending but to shelter pedestrians from cars and away from their fumes and noise.
"Here’s the first painful irony, then. Rather than developing the new mixed-use centre envisioned by Gruen, the only thing built was the mall and car parks. The grand vision was reduced to a monoculture of big shopping brands surrounded by massive car parks, all accessible only by automobile."
@Brendanjones@urlyman@fuckcars You need to keep in mind we are talking about a country here where a not insignificant proportion of the population thinks walkable neighbourhoods are a deep state conspiracy...
@BernardSheppard@fuckcars If you're within walking distance of a good shopping street with a supermarket (Fitzroy St definitely counts), I think it's fair to tick off that box...
Add Tasmania and various offshore territories, and that rises to 7,688,287 sq km.
The land area of the contiguous US (so excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, etc.) Is 7,663,941.7 km.
Add them in, and you get 9,147,420 sq km.
So comparing like for like (mainland to the contiguous 48 states), Australia is slightly smaller.
The only way you get to "Australia is slightly larger" is if you include non-contiguous and island states for Australia (Tasmania), but not the US (Alaska and Hawaii).
@Godfrey642 @fuckcars You raise a really good point — it's not just the size and weight of the massive SUVs and pickup trucks that's the issue.
It's also that they encourage the people who drive them to be far more reckless than they would be if they were driving — say — a small sedan or hatchback.