stopbigcar

Like most addictions, we deny ours. “I only drive when I have to.” “It’s more convenient.” Sound familiar? The system was built to keep us car-dependent. I made a FREE guide on how cities are breaking free and how you can too (without ditching your car). bit.ly/4naGQ91

We were promised independence. What we got was a system where a car is the price of admission to daily life. No transit. No alternatives. No way out. Think it was just an "accident?" It was the plan. Buckle up. Truth isn't smooth, but it's long overdue. bit.ly/3JPO7MS

Cars have killed more people in the last century than WWII. And one corporation is responsible for more deaths than communism and nazism. We let the car companies decide if their own product was “safe.” That’s why I wrote Saving Ourselves from Big Car. bit.ly/3JPO7MS

For most, it’s hard to imagine we're not addicted to our cars. But that dependence wasn’t an accident. I've made this Free Guide to show you 1) how cities worldwide are breaking free and 2) how we can all start taking steps to do better. Grab it here: bit.ly/4naGQ91

Last week, I spoke with the Santa Barbara Independent about Big Car's most heinous cover-ups, how leaded gas made our brains and bodies sick, and so much more. We deserve better. Read the full piece here: bit.ly/4nzdFw2

Today, Saving Ourselves from Big Car is out in the world. It’s been half a decade in the making, but at its core it’s about people, and the kind of future we leave our kids and grandkids. Grab your copy here bit.ly/3JPO7MS

My book Saving Ourselves from Big Car comes out next week. And here’s the truth: humane mobility isn’t a fantasy. It’s already here. Taipei. Copenhagen. Even Tempe, AZ. What’s stopping the U.S. from catching up? Learn what we can build if we choose to. bit.ly/3JPO7MS

Had a great time with KPFA talking Saving Ourselves from Big Car. Corporate coverups, lead poisoning, and the brutal truth that Big Car has killed more people than WWII. What if our cities were built for people, not machines? bit.ly/46tIL2o

If you’ve ever needed a car just to live your life, you’re not alone. That was the plan. Big Car rewrote how cities work and who they work for. Saving Ourselves From Big Car unpacks how we got here, and how we build something better. amzn.to/4ooA68q

Grateful to see Saving Ourselves from Big Car featured in the Times of India. They looked at the cover-ups around leaded gas, the fight against seat belts, and how cars reshaped our cities and culture. Read it here: bit.ly/3HPgfPt

We’ve been fed a century of car myths. Sold to us in ads, politics, news, and culture. Streetcars didn’t vanish on their own. Car safety wasn’t “discovered” late. They made us reliant on the car. But it’s not too late to break free. Here’s how: amzn.to/4ooA68q

We built cities that require a car to survive— then forgot to leave space to park them. Now we’re stuck in traffic, wasting time looking for a way to stop. Is this the 'freedom' the car promised us? Is there a better alternative? Find out for yourself: amzn.to/4ooA68q

Transit was dismantled. Seat belts were delayed. Climate warnings were buried. Over 60 million lives lost. No real alternatives built. This isn’t just car culture. It’s a system. And it’s still running. amzn.to/4ooA68q #DavidObst #CarCulture #ClimatePolitics

Tempe. Copenhagen. Portland. Cities proving that life gets better when we stop designing around parking. Cleaner air. Safer streets. More connection. Less combustion. If this works so well in the places that try it, why haven’t more followed their lead? amzn.to/4ooA68q

If planes fell from the sky enough to kill thousands of people a year, we’d call it a crisis. When cars do it, we call it an accident. We call it normal. It isn’t. Saving Ourselves From Big Car explores what changes when cities put people before traffic. amzn.to/4ooA68q

I was sitting in traffic thinking, how is it possible that after 70 years in LA, we still haven’t figured out how to cross the city without wasting hours or polluting the air? That question stuck with me. It led to a book... and a much bigger reckoning. amzn.to/4llxju2

Hi, I’m David. I’ve spent decades in books, politics, and publishing. Some of that work led to Watergate. Some to the bestseller list. Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about cars. Not just the machines, but the system around them. What I found was bigger than I expected.