It’s the car culture

CIELITO HABITO’S column “It’s the cars, stupid” (Opinion, 11/10/15) is an incisive diagnosis of what’s causing our transportation headaches in Metro Manila. Referencing the visionary spirit of Enrique Peñalosa, mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, he correctly points out that building more roads is not the answer to our problems: We will be far better off by getting people off their cars.

But his piece raises questions: Why are people holding on to their cars? Why are people not considering public transportation—or walking? Is it just the mere absence of infrastructure, or are we missing other important considerations? In this piece I would like to offer a cultural perspective of what the car means in people’s everyday lives, in an attempt to answer these questions.

Let us start from the beginning: early 20th-century America, when cars entered mass production and, consequently, entrenched themselves in popular culture. Movies that featured cars associated them with dashing protagonists—from James Dean to James Bond. The “car chase” became the defining scene of action movies, while many others are devoted entirely to automobiles (i.e., “The Fast and the Furious”). A fellow anthropologist from Wisconsin, Carolyn Powers, once told me that the “family road trip” is a highlight of an American childhood, further reinforcing the automobile’s cultural valence.

All these have contributed to the centrality of cars in American society—not just as a staple of everyday lives, but also as an indispensable part of the American dream.

The United States exported not just cars to the Philippines, but also this car culture. Since the coming to Manila of Model T Ford in 1913, cars have become status symbols in our country, and the more—and newer—cars you have, the more successful you are seen. The superiority of traveling by car is reflected in the use of the apologetic “lang” (just) in other forms of transport: “Nag-commute lang” or “Nag-lakad lang” ([I] just took public transport or [I] just walked). Thus multilevel-marketing networkers pose with brand-new cars, and many guys think it’s a lot of pogi points if they got on a date with a nice car.

But cars are more than symbols; they move us around in ways that are suited to our cultural preferences. We Filipinos like cooler temperatures, hence the importance of the car air-conditioner. Sweating is considered undesirable by many Filipinos, and this is linked with our folk notions of illness (i.e., you might catch a cold if your sweat dries up), as well as our concern not to smell bad (see “The Filipino sense of smell,” Opinion, 7/6/15). Finally, the desire for whiter skin causes many to shun sun exposure and prefer the continuous shade of a car service (see “50 shades of white,” Opinion, 7/16/15).

All these culminate in a car culture that’s passed on through generations. For many upper-class Filipinos, traveling by car is the only choice that they’ve known since they were chauffeured to their preschools. Not even knowing how to commute might sound shocking to many, but it can easily be the normal state of things for some if that’s how they were brought up.

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These insights can give us ideas on how we can change our transportation culture. Cars may be status symbols, but a healthy body, too, is increasingly becoming sought-after, and we can convince people to bike and walk by appealing to this emerging health consciousness.

The idea that cars are status symbols also means that the upper class should take the lead in championing public transport, because people are looking up to them as exemplars of success. We need role models—i.e., celebrities and public figures—to help make biking and commuting not just seen as feasible, but fashionable, by actually doing it themselves. And if government officials will do the same, it would even be better. People have always been inspired by leadership by example.

Concerns over security (i.e., theft), safety (i.e., accidents) and pollution, among other fears, are roadblocks that we must address if we are to break the people’s mindset—that only the inside of their cars can provide safety and comfort.

As for the socialization of a car culture among children, our response could be to start them young. Many countries have successfully launched “walk to school” and “bike to school” programs, which we, too, should consider, at least in areas where the above concerns have been addressed. The educational system, too, should be more proactive by inculcating an environmental and social awareness among kids, which would someday make them select from among more sustainable choices; by making them experience the joy of walking through nature treks; and even by teaching them how to commute—if their parents won’t do so themselves.

Just as the invention of the car gave birth to a car culture, so can an improved public transport system give rise to a more sustainable commuting and walking culture—one where the road is shared, and where we can move around more freely, happily, healthily and sustainably.

But even with the existence of bike lanes, walkways and mass transit networks, people will not let go of their cars that easily. To recapitulate my initial premise, we need to understand cars more than just physical objects that occupy road space. Looking broadly at how they are embedded in our social world can help us move toward a badly-needed overhaul (to use a vehicular metaphor) of our transportation problems.

Indeed, to get people off their cars, we need to understand—and act upon—the reasons why they are holding on to them in the first place.

Gideon Lasco is a physician and medical anthropologist. Visit his website on health, culture and society at www. gideonlasco.com.