It's a race to the top. First town to conquer the car, wins.

nerej.com : "Encouraging employees, residents, and consumers to work, live, and shop within the city depends on both investment in public transit and transit-oriented development. Remaining competitive as a city necessitates innovation, and the potential benefits are difficult to pass over."

Americans use cars for 70% of trips under 1 mile

Darien News : "Despite these gains, the U.S. still lags way behind other developed nations. In a recent issue of The Atlantic, Ralph Buehler cited 2010 statistics showing that, while Americans drive for 85 percent of their daily trips, Europeans opt for cars only 50 to 65 percent of the time. "Longer trip distances only partially explain the difference," reported Buehler, adding that 30 percent of daily trips are shorter than a mile on both continents. "But of those under-one-mile trips, Americans drove almost 70 percent of the time, while Europeans made 70 percent of their short trips by bicycle, foot or public transportation.""