--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Roads get wider and busier and less…" description: "\"Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to pedestrians. And all of the development based around cars, like big sprawling shopping malls. Everythin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg" --- # Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to… ![“Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to pedestrians. And all of the development based around cars, like big sprawling shopping malls. Everything seems to be designed for the benefit of the automobile and not the benefit of the human being.” quote by Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg) > “Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to pedestrians. And all of the development based around cars, like big sprawling shopping malls. Everything seems to be designed for the benefit of the automobile and not the benefit of the human being.” [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urban design prioritizes cars over people, reducing walkability and community. **In simple terms:** Cities favor cars, harming pedestrians. Key Takeaway Advocate for human‑centered design. Themes urban planning mobility environment Mood concerned hopeful Type activist informative When to use this quote - city planning - transport policy - community health Key Concepts sustainability public space Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals influence city design? - What alternatives improve walkability? A Different Perspective Changing infrastructure is costly and slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Automobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Malls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/malls/) [Shopping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shopping/) ## Related quotes > [Everything seems to be designed for the benefit of the automobile and not the benefit of the human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/everything-seems-to-be-designed-for-the-benefit-of-the-automobile-and/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked-2/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [America is a great disappointment to me. As I said in one of my books, other societies create civilisations; we build shopping malls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/america-is-a-great-disappointment-to-me-as-i-said-in-one-of-my-books/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Des Moines is like your typical American city; it's just these concentric circles of malls, built outward from the city.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/des-moines-is-like-your-typical-american-city-it-s-just-these/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [We used to build civilizations. Now we build shopping malls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/we-used-to-build-civilizations-now-we-build-shopping-malls/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Where I grew up, in Des Moines, Iowa, there is hardly any downtown economic activity now. Everybody shops in malls - you don't find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/where-i-grew-up-in-des-moines-iowa-there-is-hardly-any-downtown/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“the older you get, the busier you become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-older-you-get-the-busier-you-become/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you think you don't have any time for prayer, and can't find any time, then ask God to forgive you... The Pope isn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-peterson/if-you-think-you-don-t-have-any-time-for-prayer-and-can-t-find-any/) James Peterson > [Actually when we stopped New Order I was busier than ever. The only gaps have been while we've been writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hook/actually-when-we-stopped-new-order-i-was-busier-than-ever-the-only/) [Peter Hook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hook/) > [The busier we are the more leisure we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-busier-we-are-the-more-leisure-we-have/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I'm busier than a busy person. People aren't scared to play this raucous, harsh music over radio speakers, so I think it's the perfect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-newsted/i-m-busier-than-a-busy-person-people-aren-t-scared-to-play-this/) [Jason Newsted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-newsted/) > [I am no busier than I have ever been - I have always been a busy guy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-algieri/i-am-no-busier-than-i-have-ever-been-i-have-always-been-a-busy-guy/) [Chris Algieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-algieri/) > [I was busier than a beaver in a coffee lake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-adams/i-was-busier-than-a-beaver-in-a-coffee-lake/) [Scott Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-adams/) > [I miss singing very, very much, but the best thing is I have never been busier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-miss-singing-very-very-much-but-the-best-thing-is-i-have-never-been/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [Then all this started to pick up because I signed with ForeFront when I was in seventh grade. It got a lot busier and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacie-orrico/then-all-this-started-to-pick-up-because-i-signed-with-forefront-when/) [Stacie Orrico](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacie-orrico/) ## More by Bill Bryson > [Most big companies don't like you very much, except hotels, airlines and Microsoft, which don't like you at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/most-big-companies-don-t-like-you-very-much-except-hotels-airlines/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“But Welsh spellings are as nothing compared with Irish Gaelic, a language in which spelling and pronunciation give the impression of having been devised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/but-welsh-spellings-are-as-nothing-compared-with-irish-gaelic-a/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Pantaloons were often worn tight as paint and were not a great deal less revealing, particularly as they were worn without underwear. . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/pantaloons-were-often-worn-tight-as-paint-and-were-not-a-great-deal/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If you go out on the Appalachian Trail, you have to bring so much more equipment - a tent, sleeping bag - but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-you-go-out-on-the-appalachian-trail-you-have-to-bring-so-much-more/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“The dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use, and was perched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/the-dining-table-was-a-plain-board-called-by-that-name-it-was-hung-on/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“From almost nothing, France in four years built up an aircraft industry that employed nearly 200,000 people and produced some 70,000 planes. Britain built…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/from-almost-nothing-france-in-four-years-built-up-an-aircraft/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“Every twenty minutes on the Appalachian Trail, Katz and I walked farther than the average American walks in a week. For 93 percent of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/every-twenty-minutes-on-the-appalachian-trail-katz-and-i-walked/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“A diarist named George Templeton Strong recorded in the winter of 1866 that even with two furnaces alight and all the fireplaces blazing, he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/a-diarist-named-george-templeton-strong-recorded-in-the-winter-of/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Tune your television to any channel it doesn't receive and about 1 percent of the dancing static you see is accounted for by this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/tune-your-television-to-any-channel-it-doesn-t-receive-and-about-1/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [As a rule of thumb, I would submit that if you need to call your floss provider, for any reason, you are probably not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/as-a-rule-of-thumb-i-would-submit-that-if-you-need-to-call-your-floss/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [Nobody gets excited about the future at all, ever. The future is something we find depressing and worrisome.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/nobody-gets-excited-about-the-future-at-all-ever-the-future-is/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“What made this particularly interesting is that John Howard is by far the dullest man in Australia. Imagine a very committed funeral home director…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/what-made-this-particularly-interesting-is-that-john-howard-is-by-far/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [I would make a genuinely terrible guide. I can't remember things. I would get half way through telling a story or explaining something and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/i-would-make-a-genuinely-terrible-guide-i-can-t-remember-things-i/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [“In the mystifying world that was Victorian parenthood, obedience took precedence over all considerations of affection and happiness, and that odd, painful conviction remained…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/in-the-mystifying-world-that-was-victorian-parenthood-obedience-took/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) > [If this book has a lesson, it is that we are awfully lucky to be here-and by 'we' I mean every living thing. To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/if-this-book-has-a-lesson-it-is-that-we-are-awfully-lucky-to-be-here/) [Bill Bryson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) [Explore all 656 Bill Bryson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/) ## More Automobile quotes > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [So the poet, who wants to be something that he cannot be, and is a failure in plain life, makes up fictitious versions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-tate/so-the-poet-who-wants-to-be-something-that-he-cannot-be-and-is-a/) [Allen Tate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-tate/) > [Having spent years ruining the housing markets with their interference, leading to a housing meltdown that has taken the whole economy down with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/having-spent-years-ruining-the-housing-markets-with-their/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There comes a day of public ceremonial, and a chance to make a speech… A million voters with IQs below 60 have their ears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/there-comes-a-day-of-public-ceremonial-and-a-chance-to-make-a-speech/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [The power of branding, particularly when it comes to automobiles, is overwhelming. You go back to the seventies and eighties with the General Motor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-power-of-branding-particularly-when-it-comes-to-automobiles-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Democrats are going to proudly run on the fact that we turned the economy around. It was our policies under President Obama's leadership through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-wasserman-schultz/democrats-are-going-to-proudly-run-on-the-fact-that-we-turned-the/) [Debbie Wasserman Schultz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-wasserman-schultz/) > [... in spite of being happier than I ever dreamed I could be, I'm also soberer. The fear that something may happen to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-webster/in-spite-of-being-happier-than-i-ever-dreamed-i-could-be-i-m-also/) [Jean Webster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-webster/) > [I do not use airplanes. They strike me as unsporting. You can have an automobile accident-and survive. You can be on a sinking ship-and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-asimov/i-do-not-use-airplanes-they-strike-me-as-unsporting-you-can-have-an/) [Isaac Asimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-asimov/) > [But it is my total conviction that all the trappings of good leadership are generic and widely applicable whether you are standing in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-cosgrove/but-it-is-my-total-conviction-that-all-the-trappings-of-good/) [Peter Cosgrove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-cosgrove/) > [You can see what man made from the seat of an automobile, but the best way to see what God made is from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-marion-russell/you-can-see-what-man-made-from-the-seat-of-an-automobile-but-the-best/) [Charles Marion Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-marion-russell/) > [The electronics industry expanded rapidly and the seeds for the semiconductor and software revolution were planted. The postwar period also saw the suburbanization of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/the-electronics-industry-expanded-rapidly-and-the-seeds-for-the/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I'm a huge fan of John Hughes and can say that 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles' is easily a top 3 favorite. I'm also a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-mcpartlin/i-m-a-huge-fan-of-john-hughes-and-can-say-that-planes-trains-and/) [Ryan McPartlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-mcpartlin/) > [“Most people do not realize that they are one car crash away from death.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/most-people-do-not-realize-that-they-are-one-car-crash-away-from-death/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [This country has achieved its commercial and financial supremacy under a regime of private ownership. It conquered the wilderness, built our railroads, our factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-b-cortelyou/this-country-has-achieved-its-commercial-and-financial-supremacy/) George B. Cortelyou > [“The first decade of driving is the most hazardous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/the-first-decade-of-driving-is-the-most-hazardous/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) [Browse all 424 Automobile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/automobile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to pedestrians. And all of the development based around cars, like big sprawling shopping malls. Everything seems to be designed for the benefit of the automobile and not the benefit of the human being.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Bryson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-friendly-to-pedestrians-and-all/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Automobile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-friendly-to-pedestrians-and-all/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/883/bill-bryson-340_automobile_roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-frie_2728443.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Roads get wider and busier and less friendly to pedestrians. And all of the development based around cars…” — Bill Bryson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bill Bryson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-bryson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Roads get wider and busier and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-friendly-to-pedestrians-and-all/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-bryson/roads-get-wider-and-busier-and-less-friendly-to-pedestrians-and-all/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```