Design is Dangerous

Traffic jam on Los Angeles highway. Photo by Atwater Village Newbie

The car.
It was designed to make our lives easier, give us more liberty and freedom so that we could rely less on the train, bikes, buggies, etc. We could get places faster and do it on our own schedule, not when the conductor shouted "all aboard!" The car was a luxury item, not  truly a necessity, and it has become a danger to our society for two main reasons.
The first being a direct effect to society and the way we interact. Since people drive places, we are less likely to see people walking down the street or biking by if we are all cooped up in our cars with the music blaring only thinking about when the light will turn green instead of enjoying the nice day outside. It also forces us to be places less often, and going to or getting to places longer. When the city is designed around the car, nothing is close and people are forced to drive and commute by auto, especially when public transportation is not promoted or thought of as a waste of money which in some areas is a true problem.
The second major danger is to the environment. It is no new fact that cars pollute, and that our supply of oil is not infinite, so why do we build cities around something unsustainable? Not only is the physical act of driving harmful to the environment, but the resources to build roads and freeways takes a lot of maintenance and is not friendly to the earth. The more paved roads we create, the less rainwater can be reabsorbed into the earth and less plants can be planted to filter our polluted air. I should not like to end up like Mark Altshuler's short film "Logorama" where we let corporate america take over and design everything purely for financial gains. Yes, the car can help us and be an easy alternative to walking or biking, but when does it go too far? When does the convenience of driving become a necessity because we MAKE it one, not because it actually is one.
While smaller and more efficient cars are great, they are still cars. And thats a fact.

image of a mall parking lot from http://www.makingthishome.com/tag/green/page/3/