Natural Capitalism

“Most people believe the alternative to cars is better transit—in truth, it’s better neighborhoods.” 71

Singapore’s prosperity could have turned it into another bumper-to-bumper Bangkok, whose congestion—gridlocking the average driver the equivalent of forty-four full days a year—is estimated to reduce Thailand’s entire GDP by about one-sixth. Yet Singapore is rarely congested, because it taxes cars heavily, auctions the right to buy them, imposes a

“Can you imagine when we reach a point where not owning a car becomes the ultimate luxury and its own kind of status symbol?”28 This transition has started.