For the past six years, I’ve been living in an automobile suburb in Dallas in Pennsylvania. Dallas has a current population of roughly 8,000 people. A vast majority of residents travel to Wilkes-Barre, a city with a population of around 41,100 people for work, which is at least 10 or more miles away for most Dallas residents. The majority of residents get their licenses at 18 years old or younger, driving is the main method of transportation. Personally, I really enjoyed the privilege of driving around everywhere. Although I’d rather live in a pedestrian-oriented city, a lot of conveniences did come with driving a car. While living there, I made a lot of personal connections and built relationships to the community that greatly influenced my life.

At over 8 million people, New York City is the most populated city in the United States, making it easy to use for comparison to other cities and areas due to its diversity of its neighborhoods. In New York City, most people rely on public and pedestrian transportation to get around, however many still own a car due to its size. Personally, I think I would try to own a car if I lived there, but not use it as my main method of transportation, but rather for more less frequent occasions. I also feel that main transportation methods are deciding factors for residents in the United States due to both the finances tied to getting a car or transitioning to a pedestrian-oriented area in an environment such as New York. Dallas can learn from New York by increasing the population density of developing areas of the town and push for an increase in business opportunities within nearer distances.

The discussed town that compared to Dallas the most was Rochester, NY, where most houses have driveways and backyards, making the area an automobile suburb. Most streets don’t have sidewalks and most residents mainly commute to where they need to go. In my opinion, this lifestyle has its benefits, in regions like Dallas, streets and water bodies are cleaner. The residential development of these areas allows for open air areas, preserve the surrounding natural environment and avoid congestion, which makes up for it being a driving-oriented area. Open spaces also promote agricultural and more “green” practices.