Many Americans are cutting back on everyday expenses as gas prices soar due to President Donald Trump’s war in Iran, now approaching the 10-week mark. About 44 percent of Americans said they’re driving less due to high gas prices, while 42 percent said they’ve slashed household expenses, according to a Washington Post/ABC News/Ipsos poll. In addition, the poll revealed that 34 percent have altered travel or vacation plans. Americans are changing their behaviors as national average gas prices hit $4.43 per gallon Saturday, according to the AAA motor club. This time last year, the national average was just $3.15 per gallon. Patrick de Haan, a petroleum analyst for GasBuddy, said Saturday’s average price marked a sobering new record. “The national average price of gasoline has never been higher on the second day in May than it is today,” he wrote on X.
That’s why people are pushing for 15 minutes cities. If you had a small local grocer within a mile of your house and did trips every few days instead on one big trip every other week, then it’s doable by foot/bike.
North American cities are designed for cars, and it’ll take decades to change if we start now. But we need to do it sooner or later.
It’s a neat idea, but comes back to some of the same issues we already have: the market is dominated by a few large corps, actual property costs a lot, freight and distribution costs are still a thing and disproportionately affect smaller operations more, and shelf space is limited.
We do have a small store in the neighborhood within 15 minutes walk, that suffers from pretty much all of the above.