Any favorite articles/essays? (Especially around how cars reshaped rural places)
Hi, I'm working on a collection of resources to make writing solarpunk easier and I'm currently putting together a page about exurbs, basically how they came to be, why they're unsustainable, how they might reshape in the future if supply chains break down.
Solarpunk has a lot of 'fuck cars' elements and I've picked up a lot of that over the years, but as I research this one, I'm realizing I don't have specific examples as close to hand as I did for the other topics. I haven't spent much time in communities dedicated just to these discussions and I'd like to make sure I don't miss any community-favorite articles/essays on stuff like how cars reshaped rural places, the complexities of automobile manufacturing supply chains, and the car-size arms race.
If there's anything you think should be included in that discussion I'd be very happy to add it!
11 replies
The high cost of free parking by whoever
Thanks, I'll try to find a copy (or just read the internet archive copy) - it sounds like it's long enough and covers enough that there should be something on rural areas
https://libcom.org/article/social-ideology-motorcar-andre-gorz
This is a great fit, thank you!
I like Roderic Day's The Case for Socialized Ownership. It extends beyond cars, though, and is focused on the inherent problems with individualist-focused solutions for societal problems. It's included in my introductory Marxist-Leninist reading list. It isn't solarpunk, though, but Marxist.
I'll take a look! I'm aiming to have more sections on library economics so it might tie into that too
Hmmm, not quite the same. To rip an example from the article, the advantage of trains over cars is that you can essentially fit more people into them in less space, where they can exist comfortably and without risk of traffic accidents. A library economy with cars, for example, might serve as an addition to this, but not the backbone.
Just came across Elly Blue's book Bikenomics. It's fantastic!
Thank you! I'll take a look!
I realized I never shared the resource page I ended up putting together but here's what I made with the links and info provided: https://wiki.slrpnk.net/writing:exurbs_in_the_solarpunk_transition
It's an ongoing project so we're always happy to add more content
I'm slightly reluctant to recommend "Strong Towns" because of "libertarian" leanings... But they're ok. I feel like they focus more on ex-urbs and small towns.
Thanks! I found them over on the subreddit and have started digging through their articles. Good to know about any bias.