“We have built a whole system around cars; car culture is prioritising cars above everything else on the street, whether that’s people, buses, bicycles or children playing,” argues the young man. “All of those things have become secondary to the fast movement of cars,” he adds.
Sitting forward in his chair and clear in his message, Patrick Miner, PhD candidate at the University of Edinburgh, outlines his findings from his research examining how cars and car-centric culture harms human wellbeing.
Inspired by a desire to imagine sustainable future cities, Patrick’s interdisciplinary research provides a comprehensive go-to document on the multi-faceted impacts of car culture: the prioritisation of personal vehicles for transportation over other modes like public transit, cycling and walking. His analysis, published in the Journal of Transport Geography, reveals how nearly everyone, whether they drive or not, is harmed by car culture.
What is car culture?
From saloons to 4x4s, pickup trucks to taxis, the private vehicle is treated as the default way to get around in thousands of cities, towns and suburbs worldwide. This culture prioritises speed over safety, so travel by trains, buses, bicycles, wheelchairs and even our own feet is considered ‘alternative’. Patrick’s study focuses on the harm that car-based societies cause, which goes beyond obvious examples such as traffic crashes, to include health, social injustice and environmental damage. As Patrick says, “It’s a grim read.”
Health
Since their invention, vehicles have killed 60-80 million people — roughly equal to both World Wars combined. Road crashes cause 1 in 34 deaths globally, making it the leading cause of death for children over 4 and adults under 30.
The damage goes far beyond collisions. Over 90% of people are exposed to unsafe vehicle pollution levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and ozone. This toxic mix has been linked to heart disease, lung cancer, cognitive impairment, developmental issues like autism and higher risks of conditions like asthma in children. All citizens must inhale this air, whether they own a car or not. While regulatory improvements have been made to reduce these emissions, they have been offset by an ever-increasing number of vehicles being purchased and driven.
Social Injustice
Car culture’s burden is not shared equally. The most privileged tend to drive more, while impacts like air pollution disproportionately affect underprivileged groups – the economically poor, women, racial minorities and disabled individuals. For example, children, people with disabilities and the elderly are more likely to be killed or injured by motor vehicles despite lower levels of car access and higher levels of public transport use. In Brazil and the US, crashes disproportionately kill Black and Indigenous people. Vehicles and related infrastructure are even designed with an average male body in mind – when women are involved in crashes, they are 47% more likely to be seriously injured.
Car-centric infrastructure restricts space, raises costs and limits access to essential services for those who don’t drive. Cars consume a vastly disproportionate amount of public space. A single driver takes up the road space of roughly 20 bus passengers.
The privileging of cars creates financial burdens as well. One off-street parking spot occupies an area larger than the average person’s living space in many countries including India, Brazil and Mexico. At supermarkets with parking lots, the costs of constructing and maintaining that car storage are baked into product prices – meaning pedestrian customers subsidise infrastructure that does not benefit them.
Beyond marginalising non-drivers economically, car dependency increases distances between homes, workplaces, schools and amenities, making car ownership necessary to access basic needs. This auto-centric design also creates mobility barriers for the disabled community. Cluttered sidewalks with obstacles like parking meters, driveway ramps and bollards installed for vehicle safety impede physical accessibility.
In these ways, our prioritisation of cars over more equitable transport systematically marginalises vulnerable populations without auto access or accommodating infrastructure.
Environmental Harms
The transportation sector accounts for 23% of global CO2 emissions, with 70% coming from vehicles like personal cars and trucks. These emissions continue to climb rapidly due to rising vehicle production and use. Car-dependent cities also drive up emissions in other sectors through excessive sprawl, where homes, workplaces and amenities are spread too far apart for sustainable shared systems like community heating/cooling.
Beyond climate change, the global estimate for animals killed by road traffic is likely greater than 1 billion annually. Mining for metals used in cars and building roads fragments, pollutes and causes habitat loss into our land and water systems.
What is being done to mitigate the impacts of car culture?
Here in Scotland, while national budgets still tilt towards roads over public transit and active travel, some cities are pushing back against car dominance.
Edinburgh residents have long resisted efforts to turn the city into a car-based one. Edinburgh has one of the lowest rates of vehicles per household in the UK, with about a third of commuters using public transport, and a robust walking culture: two-thirds of people travel by foot or wheel five days a week. The city has introduced 20mph zones and a Low Emission Zone to curb crashes and pollution.
Temporary traffic calming areas are being tested to reduce traffic in the city centre and improve conditions for pedestrians. In the 2030s, the city plans to extend the tram network further.
While pleased with Edinburgh’s initial steps, Patrick stresses bolder actions are still needed from policymakers and individuals alike. As individuals, we can challenge the current status quo by writing to elected officials to prioritise people’s safety, active travel and challenge vehicle dominance.
As he sits back in his chair, Patrick retains his focus and urges, “Cities have only been organised around cars for about 70 years.” He adds, “In that same period, we can reorganise them for sustainability, public health and equitable mobility.”
Perhaps, in 70 years, we will look back and cringe at our current car culture.
Patrick’s research is funded by the UKRI Natural Environmental Research Council through the E4 Doctoral Training Partnership. Follow Patrick’s research here.