Food for the degrowth imaginary

They paved a paradise
Put up a parking lot
— Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi

The brightest night I ever saw
across an empty parking lot
no stars
— Silver Mt. Zion, Babylon Was Built On Fire / Starsnostars

Cars are a technology of convenience that uphold the modern way of living currently destroying the planet. You might be familiar with the Frederic Jameson quote: “it’s easier to imagine the end of the world than it is the end of capitalism”. I disagree. Degrowth has provided the conceptual tools to imagine a world beyond capitalism. Since cars are tightly woven into society, imagining the world without them changes absolutely everything, especially work, consumption, and urban and rural form. Taking a holistic approach to reimagining transportation is a crucial step toward societal transformation. World Without Cars plucks away at the question of how we can continue to have a human society that contributes to the flourishing of life on Earth.

Graham Janz is an avid post-work, car-free society advocate with a BA in philosophy and a MSc in Spatial Planning.