But at the same time, I don't personally want to go back to an age before automobiles became commonplace. They're too useful to me.
Is that selfish? Sure. But our lives are all shaped by our wants, not by our needs.
Neither would I, but I think the cautionary value in the discussion of the resulting inadvertent restriction of pedestrian freedom is not to visualize an auto-free world as an alternative but instead to visualize a new set of customs of urban development that aggressively protect pedestrian freedom. In the real estate world, the walkability movement is concerned with this and should achieve greater influence.
Someone above mentioned how this type of dependency problem has happened since the first tool -- I don't think so. The problems I deal with daily are drivers who are staring at their smartphone as they turn, or people simply trying to beat the pedestrian across the crosswalk. I've had moments where my life flashed before my eyes more than I can count, and every single time the driver waves their hand at me like it's my fault. I'd like for them to get out of their mobile uterus so we can discuss this like adults, but instead I'm left yelling at their big metal machine, and they're yelling at the interior. And this is in a "walker friendly" area.