It's more difficult to be car free in the US today than in years past, whereas in the past, most businesses and schools were located close to residential areas. Today, many more residential areas are now located in the outskirts of a city, making a large number of the population opt in driving a motor vehicle, especially when mass transit service is either limited in scope or non existent all together.The more automobiles that are on the road, the more difficult it is to walk or ride a bicycle, and with more automobiles, with roadways get more prioritized for motorized traffic, and less for non motorized traffic.