54
submitted 6 months ago by Nyssa@slrpnk.net to c/urbanism@slrpnk.net

Why do alt-history people never focus on infrastructure or innovation? What would have happened had bikes been invented centuries before cars instead of around the same time? How different would the built environment and our culture have looked?

Personally, I think centuries of more established bike use would have created an infrastructure that limits how well cars take off. Cities would have entrenched themselves in a cheap, dense manner of transit.

I could be wrong, lots of dense cities were wrecked by the car when it was commercialized. I'd love to hear any thoughts :)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[-] JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 months ago

Definitely agreed it'd work well on footpaths. I think given what frost heaves and the city budget have done to local sidewalks, it might still be useful (I'm not sure they count as modern or well-paved). If I can find some more square tubing, and some mesh or perforated metal for the guard around the wheel, I think it could be a fun bit of welding practice. It's too bad the larger bike wheel sizes seem to be very expensive.

[-] poVoq@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 months ago

Maybe look for a modern horse-cart wheel. There are some pretty lightweight ones that are very tall.

[-] JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.net 1 points 6 months ago

That's a good idea, I'll see what I can find!

this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
54 points (95.0% liked)

Solarpunk Urbanism

1790 readers
24 users here now

A community to discuss solarpunk and other new and alternative urbanisms that seek to break away from our currently ecologically destructive urbanisms.

Checkout these related communities:

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS