Living Car Free - Can we or can we not agree on a definition?

As others have said, this thread is for people to explain their definitions of "car free," not to judge who is allowed to post. Understanding people's definition helps us to understand their point of view.

I don't consider myself to be "car free." My wife has a car, I do not. I can drive her car some days, but not others. I commute to and from work nearly every day year-round on a bike, but I use an office car to travel for work every two or three weeks.

Even though I frequently have access to a car, I rely on cycling and other forms of non-car transportation far more than most Americans, so I still find this forum useful.

I'm thinking that carfree is a spectrum, ranging from a few people who are "completely and purely carfree" to the other extreme (the majority of the population) who are "completely car-dependent". Along the spectrum you have "people who are carfree but take rides," "people who have a car in the household but rarely drive," and so forth.

I'm thinking that carfree is a spectrum, ranging from a few people who are "completely and purely carfree" to the other extreme (the majority of the population) who are "completely car-dependent". Along the spectrum you have "people who are carfree but take rides," "people who have a car in the household but rarely drive," and so forth.
I think you mean continuum rather than spectrum with one index being the amount of time spent traveling by car and maybe other indices like money spent on car travel or how many cars owned?

I think you mean continuum rather than spectrum with one index being the amount of time spent traveling by car and maybe other indices like money spent on car travel or how many cars owned?
I don't know the distinction between continuum and spectrum. I meant shaded distinctions on an axis between "carfree purist" and "car addict." sort of like the political spectrum between "extreme left" and extreme right."

I don't know the distinction between continuum and spectrum. I meant shaded distinctions on an axis between "carfree purist" and "car addict." sort of like the political spectrum between "extreme left" and extreme right."
A spectrum would have an intensity associated with each value of car addiction like a histogram. No one has measured it but I suppose for the population of the US for each thousands of miles per year spent in a car there are a certain number of people who fit that category. I'd be in the 0-1000 range along with many others who don't own cars but sometimes ride in them. The average car owners might be in the 9000-10000 range right? When everyone is counted in one range of miles we'd have a histogram. A spectrum is what you get when you pass light through a prism, or time series data through a Fourier transform, there can be an intensity at every frequency. I think most readers understand what you meant. I think it is worthwhile to consider how the data can be represented even if it isn't available.

Why not change the name to "Living Car Free / Car Lite", and you might attract more than the half dozen or so viewers you've been getting lately.

A spectrum would have an intensity associated with each value of car addiction like a histogram. No one has measured it but I suppose for the population of the US for each thousands of miles per year spent in a car there are a certain number of people who fit that category. I'd be in the 0-1000 range along with many others who don't own cars but sometimes ride in them. The average car owners might be in the 9000-10000 range right? When everyone is counted in one range of miles we'd have a histogram. A spectrum is what you get when you pass light through a prism, or time series data through a Fourier transform, there can be an intensity at every frequency. I think most readers understand what you meant. I think it is worthwhile to consider how the data can be represented even if it isn't available.


I think most readers understand what you meant.

No, but Dr. Hawkins and I are meeting tonight for $5 pitchers at Baricudas. I'll print this out so he can explain it to me.