I'm not anti-car but I do think we need to spend more time building our cities around people and natural spaces. In the typical city cars ands roads take up one fifth of the urban environment. Roadways and parking spaces cost a ludicrous amount of public money to build and maintain. Meanwhile fossil fuels are filling our air, soil and water with harmful pollutants affecting our health and well-being. Then there's global warming...
When not making a film where I'm forced to live out of a van. (Although my van consumes far less energy than the average household) I think about my need to get places and do my best to walk, bike and take public transit whenever possible. What's beautiful is that such a small move can have such an extensive effect. In making this effort, I find myself more in touch with my community. I find I meet people at neighborhood bakeries, shops and grocers. And somehow, in getting out of my car, I find there's an increased stake in the businesses making up my local economy, and together, it feels we are building a healthier more vibrant urban living space.