>> We hear so much talk about urban congestion, with cities ranked by the hours drivers “lose” being stuck in traffic. How much should we care about congestion levels?<p>> I would say almost not at all.
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> All the cities that have solved congestion have only done so because it’s a city where nobody wants to be.<p>Maybe no one has really "solved" congestion, but the places with the worst congestion are objectively worse places to be because of it. Mumbai, New Delhi, Lagos -- places in the developing world where there was never really even an attempt to reduce congestion.<p>In terms of world cities, New York and Los Angeles aren't even that bad. Compared to New Delhi, commuting in LA is a delight. And LA is still definitely a safer place to be a pedestrian. And even if you don't drive to work, congestion harms you, because you rely on services that use roads.<p>A more nuanced take would be that easing congestion matters, but we shouldn't design meta-cities with the idea that everyone should drive to work every day.