Yes, the US is 32 times the size of Italy, and Houston has 132 times the population of Siena. We build infrastructure to accommodate the conveyances people find useful in such a large country.
Now, the ragebait loser who composed this bizarre scale comparison might compare Houston’s interchage to some found on the Autostrada A1, or to the city center of Rome or Milan instead of the 124th-most populous city in Italy, but they needed you to be angry
The idea here is not to dick-fight countries. It’s to highlight the sheer amount of space that is wasted by infra-structure made for cars instead of people. The example would still work if both areas were controlled by the same government.
Is this clear now? Side note 2.3M / 53k ≃ 43, not 132.
Houston MSA is 7.8m, when you talk about houston freeways you are necessarily talking about the burbs as well.
Regardless, its an inane ragebait comparison - the land isn’t wasted, most of Texas is empty. Houston has high density urban core (and even a metro) - probably much larger than this tiny Italian town’s city center.
That explains the number. Point still stands, though; it isn’t just a ragebait comparison, it highlights the amount of space needed for car infrastructure. You argue the space in Huston would be otherwise wasted because the rest of the province is empty, but remember when you mentioned Rome in another comment? Well, Lazio isn’t exactly a desert. And you might not see something as egregious as this, as it’s split all around the city, but it’s still space being used for cars instead of something else.
Another thing this comparison highlights is the amount of resources that goes into car infrastructure. And that still applies even in an otherwise empty province.
Yes, the US is 32 times the size of Italy, and Houston has 132 times the population of Siena. We build infrastructure to accommodate the conveyances people find useful in such a large country.
Now, the ragebait loser who composed this bizarre scale comparison might compare Houston’s interchage to some found on the Autostrada A1, or to the city center of Rome or Milan instead of the 124th-most populous city in Italy, but they needed you to be angry
Didn’t I just read how Houston no longer has well-defined rush hours; its highways are congested all the time now.
“Useful.” Uh huh.
Kind of like Rome 🤔
Choked with cars, I reckon?
You’re missing the point.
The idea here is not to dick-fight countries. It’s to highlight the sheer amount of space that is wasted by infra-structure made for cars instead of people. The example would still work if both areas were controlled by the same government.
Is this clear now? Side note 2.3M / 53k ≃ 43, not 132.
Houston MSA is 7.8m, when you talk about houston freeways you are necessarily talking about the burbs as well.
Regardless, its an inane ragebait comparison - the land isn’t wasted, most of Texas is empty. Houston has high density urban core (and even a metro) - probably much larger than this tiny Italian town’s city center.
That explains the number. Point still stands, though; it isn’t just a ragebait comparison, it highlights the amount of space needed for car infrastructure. You argue the space in Huston would be otherwise wasted because the rest of the province is empty, but remember when you mentioned Rome in another comment? Well, Lazio isn’t exactly a desert. And you might not see something as egregious as this, as it’s split all around the city, but it’s still space being used for cars instead of something else.
Another thing this comparison highlights is the amount of resources that goes into car infrastructure. And that still applies even in an otherwise empty province.