Cities Double Down on Car-Centric Services During the Pandemic

The pandemic has created even more obstacles to participation in society for those without a car.

2 minute read

November 30, 2020, 7:00 AM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Pandemic Drive-Thru

Jim Lambert / Shutterstock

Madeline Brozen critiques the uses of drive-ins and drive-thrus as the chosen response for services during the pandemic, first noting how completely the concepts have caught on in an already car-centric country:

Given the convenience and privacy of the automobile, it is no surprise that drive-ins and drive-thrus have surged during COVID-19. This fall, people could traverse spooky Halloween drive-thru trails, visit drive-thru pet sanctuaries, and view entire independent film festivals from their cars. Governments and healthcare providers, meanwhile, are offering drive-thru food distributionCOVID-19 testing, and flu shots. 

There's a big problem with the popularity of drive-ins and drive-thrus during the pandemic, according to Brozen: they're only available people that drive.

Without a car, you can’t see the elaborately carved pumpkins, smile at the rescue cow, or enjoy most outdoor movies. There are worse things, of course, than being denied access to a drive-thru burger, or to an Instagrammable haunted Halloween drive-thru. But it is much more concerning if you can’t get food from the food bank, or know if you have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to Brozen, the country already denies access to opportunity to those without automobiles, whether by choice or necessity, and the current trends would only strengthen those obstacles at the worst possible time. And like so many other consequences of auto dependency in the United States, both racial justice and social justice suffer as a result.

Brozen notes that the tendency toward driving-thru services during the pandemic is a set back for a growing movement in planning departments to slow the spread of auto-dependency by banning drive-thrus altogether. "Minneapolis, for example, prohibited the opening of new drive-thru facilities after 2019, saying they were inconsistent with the city’s long-term plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A handful of other cities in CaliforniaMontana, and New Jersey have instituted their own temporary or permanent bans too," writes Brozen.

The source article offers a few policy prescriptions to ensure that drive-thrus and drive-ins don't exclude people without cars.

Thursday, November 19, 2020 in Transfers

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

White and purple sign for Slow Street in San Francisco, California with people crossing crosswalk.

San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths

Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.

July 1, 2025 - KQED

Google street view image of strip mall in suburban Duncanville, Texas.

Adaptive Reuse Will Create Housing in a Suburban Texas Strip Mall

A developer is reimagining a strip mall property as a mixed-use complex with housing and retail.

July 6 - Parking Reform Network

Blue tarps covering tents set up by unhoused people along chain link fence on concrete sidewalk.

Study: Anti-Homelessness Laws Don’t Work

Research shows that punitive measures that criminalized unhoused people don’t help reduce homelessness.

July 6 - Next City

Aerial tram moving along cable in hilly area in Medellin, Colombia.

In U.S., Urban Gondolas Face Uphill Battle

Cities in Latin America and Europe have embraced aerial transitways — AKA gondolas — as sustainable, convenient urban transport, especially in tricky geographies. American cities have yet to catch up.

July 6 - InTransition Magazine