Babble Book Club: Straphanger by Taras Grescoe

Our public library has a copy so I won't have to break my moratorium on buying books.

Also, speaking of libraries, did everyone see the article on the children's author who thinks libraries are outdated?

From the Guardian:

Libraries "have been around too long" and are "no longer relevant", according to Horrible Histories author Terry Deary, an apparently lone literary voice to believe that libraries have "had their day".

"I'm not attacking libraries, I'm attacking the concept behind libraries, which is no longer relevant," Deary told the Guardian, pointing out that the original Public Libraries Act, which gave rise to the first free public libraries in the UK, was passed in 1850. "Because it's been 150 years, we've got this idea that we've got an entitlement to read books for free, at the expense of authors, publishers and council tax payers. This is not the Victorian age, when we wanted to allow the impoverished access to literature. We pay for compulsory schooling to do that," said Deary, who has received hate mail since he first aired his views in the Sunderland Echo yesterday.

This guy clearly doesn't believe in mass transit or free and accessible transit either.

Sounds like the same genius who decided to sell this book.

sell or write?

Does this book also talk about the service area covered. For instance TO has a great system in its densest areas but get out of the region covered by their subway and the service falls off to a range from mediocre to abysmal.

I have often wondered about the square kilometers covered by various systems because I think it is a factor in the service level. 

Alright! My copy just came in to the library!

Started the book last night. Three interests facts in the introduction. I haven't verified them through other sources.

1) Dallas-Fort Worth covers as much area as the State of Israel.

2) All the asphalt in the US could cover the State of Georgia.

3) The first motorized vehicle fatality took place in 1899.

Great to see this conversation happening! I really enjoyed reading Straphanger, and wrote a review for Rabble http://www.rabble.ca/books/reviews/2012/06/saving-our-cities-and-ourselv...

Here is the most critical section of my review:

While Grescoe does an admirable job of outlining the kinds of changes needed to deal with automobile dependency and the global warming crisis, his analysis is inconsistent on a crucial point. He calls Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's proposal to build two very expensive subways "spectacular wastes of taxpayer money" and heaps praise on the ‘Transit City' plan for seven much more economical surface rapid transit lines which he claims would have "turned Toronto into the Strasbourg of North America". He also emphasizes the cost-effectiveness of the TransMilenio bus rapid transit network in Bogotá Columbia, built for about 10 per cent the cost of a subway. But while in Paris, Grescoe seems to fall in love with grandiose subway megaprojects, and proposes networks of subways in sprawling automobile-dominated suburbs -- a vision in line with Mayor Ford's plan. "A Paris-style supermetro serving the suburbs is the next logical step in... cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, Toronto and Boston."

Am I being too hash?

That's really cool Lagatta thanks. 

I think that has been the cheif criticism about this book is that is does take an acedotal tone, which distances itself from potentially making a bigger impact on this transit discussion. 

I'm enjoying Grescoe's written voice. It's easy to ready, slightly funny, and not too overly descriptive. 

Now that I've gotten in to some of it, the anecdotal style makes sense for what he set up his purpose to be: to see if cities can be a place where people, specifically those raising families, can live and thrive.

The one thing interesting was that he states why Millenials are more willing to ride transit than their parents' generation is because of the ease of technology and that is adds added time to text (p.9). I don't know if that was an funny quip or actually true. I kind of doubt kids would take the train just so they could text more when so many seem to love to text and drive.

I think I am a part of the Millenials (it is defined as anyone born late 70s all the way to 00s), even though I feel they are a couple years younger than me, but the reason I take transit is (1) I've never owned a car, (2) I hate driving in cities, and (3) easier and less worrisome to sit on a train/bus and commute (all those are under the umbrella of supporting transit for the environment and the city). 

I know that's not a big part of the book, but I just found it funny. "want a ride home?" "No, I feel like texting for a bit." ha.

Caissa, I think you are among a lot of people that said the book would benefit from a reshaping -- either travelogue or more research based criticism. 

I think it is definitely possible to meld the two styles as he has, but I think the way the facts were incorporated (all notes in an index) made some statements misleading or not as hard-hitting. What could have been portrayed as harder fact or statement was gleamed over with personal information.

What did you think about the transit specifics? WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE CITY?!

More so on what the book presented or did not present, but based on transit system. But also walkability, cyclability would be super cool. And anywhere in the world.

I think the set up of the book just demands that question -- city v. city! 

I haven't read the Vancouver chapter yet, but I actually really love the cyclability of Vancouver, and that is something I miss. DC has an awesome bike coop, but riding a bike in this city is TERRIFYING.

So when you ask about cities are you just referring to their central cores or do you mean the whole metropolitan area?  Metro Vancouver is not Vancouver and just looking at Vancouver the city is meaningless in relation to the 75% of Metro Vancouver residents who don't live in that one relatively tiny area of our metropolis.

Well I was asking about the cities represented in the book -- which ones seem like their transit systems are desirable and well thought out -- but also cities anyone has visited and liked their transit, or as mentioned by lagatta, their walkability or cyclability.

So, when I said Vancouver, I meant Vancouver the city, specifically East Vancouver where I lived and biking around was super easy, even getting out to West Van with things like the bike routes (moasic specifically) and the seawall commutes. I also walked a lot, and the transit is decent, though I have large issues with it.

I also lived in Port Moody in the greater Vancouver area (actually an hour away) and cyclability is non-existent because the city is contained on a mountain. People who like mountain biking love it, but to bike around for pleasure a lot of people drive their bikes down to Rocky Point and cike around, or your go down the mountain at warp speed ( which is terrifying) and then inch back up it (which is awful). The walking is the same and since it is a really small town, there is one somewhat strip mall with a grocery store, but everything else is in Coquitlam. And there is one tiny bus that is awful.