Australian researchers have found that tire wear and tear is a major contributor to urban waterway pollution, producing particulate matter that includes microplastics. But, they also found that there are effective ways of reducing this type of pollution, which can affect the health of the…
TLDR: Reducing car dependency helps drivers too by reducing traffic and getting bad drivers off the road.
A lot of people, like me, live in the US in similar environment so we are well aware of the issues. Super car dependent design like that is pretty hard to undo. I don’t blame people for buying houses in these areas because it is often the best location and best financial decision. When I bought my house, it was the best location for reducing the amount of driving. Non SFH in more dense parts that aren’t rentals are pretty much non-existent.
So, steps taken to reduce car usage help people that have to drive due to reduced traffic and hopefully getting people off the road that shouldn’t be driving.
The best you might be able to do in the near future is maybe lobby to rezone a property that goes up for sale to allow a small general store or other micro businesses that won’t draw in much outside traffic.
It won’t be a fast or easy process, but car dependency at the scale it is in the US is not sustainable.