I don't think it does, and I don't think bentonville is the ideal. I just think it's proof that it's possible to start mitigating and designing toward a better future with what we have.
Have you looked at what's happened in Bentonville in the last few years? The cycling infrastructure that's been built extends well beyond the core and does a remarkable job connecting the suburban style development with the downtown core.
They've built miles and miles of greenways and off street bike paths. I was there three months ago and rode all over town without once feeling threatened by auto traffic. Is it perfect? No, absolutely not. But I defy anyone to go there, ride their bike to commute around, and walk away thinking "getting around by bike in in the US is impossible."
I don't think Bentonville is repeatable everywhere, and it may even be a fluke, but it's certainly proof that it can be done.
Our suburbs are designed for cars. Our cities are retrofitted for cars.
That might seem pedantic but I’m not trying to be. The point is that we do actually have significant areas of population which are ready to be reworked to prioritize cycling without completely changing the way we live.
Suburbs can also prioritize safe cycling. Take a look at bentonville Arkansas. It has a tiny downtown but most of it looks and functions like a suburb. They’ve made it safe for everyone to ride their bikes to commute and for pleasure. It’s not a blueprint by any means, it’s a passion project by some rich folks, but it’s proof that the suburbs can be retrofitted with a vision and will.
The situation in Utrecht isn’t a function of “the [free] market” though. It’s distorted by significant taxation of cars and subsidization of biking. It’s legislation on both sides, and American legislation can change, especially locally.
On a 24k car they've either gotten the price of the body panels pretty low or this is a loss leader. my hope is the former. If this car can live up to its promise this is exactly what I want as a city dweller that drives 200 miles a week.
I hadn’t seen this before and I’m 100% going to steal it and use it for my next product/feature/business case pitch. At least as a start to prove value to myself.
I’m fully aware of the utility of jargon in writing a business case, it lets me skip over the difficult, the warts, and the questionable. I wonder if there’s a correlation between failed projects and how jargon heavy the initiation is?
I also really like thinking about milestones as exam points. Calling them exams for success more directly gets at the point- to check in and course correct.
I’m wondering what you mean by weighing in globally. Do you mean publicly, or internally within the global google employment base? Google is big enough that I’m not sure public/internal can really be teased apart, but I guess intention might matter.
Regardless, I’ve come to realize that not talking about politics and religion doesn’t make political or religious action and impact go away, it just stays insidious.
>this was just a way to pay employees with their loan
This feels like a more complex, insidious version of company scrip. At the end of the day, you’re getting paid in fake company money that’s worthless if they go belly up.