What would life be like without any roads?

Question

No roads anywhere. Would life be better or worse?What are some pros and cons of a life,society, and culture devoid of roads?

yes, footpaths and trails would still exist.

Answer 1

i don't think people really understand how important good roads are to our present standard of living. it's something they take for granted because there are just so many of them. just the presence of all that asphalt has in fact changed our environment in so many ways... ecologically, socailly, economically. to go without, what would be different?

one of the purpose of roads is to expedite transport, to get things and people quickly from A to B. without them i think we would be more dependent on our local communities for a great many things: food, recreation, education, information. this wouldn't be bad, it could be good. we'd take greater pride and ownership in our surroundings, and have a healthy respect for the environment that surrounds us. as we would become more intimate with our surroundings, not whizzing by them at 70 mph, we'd take notice of the systems, the subtleties, the organisms that make our world a wonderful place. this intimacy would breed a greater desire to have an unblemished environment around us, for no other reason than the fact that it would be hard to escape from it! by using our immediate surroundings to grow and maintain our communities, we'd become more adept at using that space wisely. we'd use sound ecological principles of layout, design, architecture, and agriculture that would make it easier to reap what we needed, and harder to dispose of waste. in turn, we'd learn to waste less, and likely consume less as well, adopting a permaculturistic view of the land: certainly a good thing in my view! as a bonus, there would be less runoff of water due to the absence of pavement, and water systems would return to a more natural state.

politically and socially, we'd be somewhat more isolated. do we still have access to the electronic media? we'd better, because word of mouth and newspapers from other places would be slow coming, if at all. eventually, i'd expect to see increased diversity in thought from community to community, a less rigid society, and certainly less tolerance for deviant behavior. law enforcement would be strictly local, and i'd think punishment and trials would be swift: where are you going to PUT all these offenders? perhaps capital punishment, or banishment would become prevalent, as a end-all for criminal behavior. too, would 'outsiders' be viewed with suspicion, or as welcome friends due to their scarcity?

culturally, arts, food and music would take on more of a local flavor, reflecting what was available in each community. education too might be hit or miss, with some places blessed with geniuds and others not so lucky. in small isolated groups, only a few individuals can make a huge difference!

it's appealing yet somewhat scary what this change would do for this world. we are used to a certain standard of living. yet there are appealing aspects to it too: the cultural and environmental changes would be a joy to experience.

great thoughtful question!

Answer 2

I think that roads are just a natural progression of things. We Native Americans created paths in the forest of routes that we traveled more often and after time probably. Even animals create trails, like deer. I don't think that is even a possibility.
However, I do think that we are paving the world way too much. Do we really have to have a road everywhere? Can't we just leave certain places alone?

Answer 3

Life without roads would be static, thus worse.
Progress is achieved via exchange of products and information-the latter considerably supported through roads.
How do I see a town devoid of roads? As cut off from the rest of humanity and civilisation, mutilated, its bridges leading to development and improvement being pulled down.

Answer 4

coz no person takes the initiative to administration the site visitors, not even the community police. each and every physique is often in hurry, and if there is not any regulation, there is not any order right here. There are not any strict punishments for breaking site visitors policies, not in elementary terms that, everybody can get a making use of lisence whether the driving force does not recognize the site visitors policies. each and every physique is prepared on making use of interior the incorrect lane, and the main pedestrians choose to bypass the line whilst there's a extensive site visitors. terrible!

Answer 5

It wouldnt be all that good at all
We wouldnt be able to get around
And everybody would be the same, like
there wouldnt be different cultures and views
And it would be like back in the Middle Ages all over again
But even then, there were roads.

Answer 6

Well I tend to think of roads as two things; 1) like viens 2) death trap.
It's too late to think that now. But I like your thought. Perhaps the wheel wasn't such a good idea. You could use that as a title of your next book.

Answer 7

Think if you ate a banana or an orange in the last two weeks. Or maybe there'd be a lot of helicopters.

Answer 8

roads take me places i probably wouldnt venture if they werent there, they sort of create permission to go somewhere. But then i can see the beauty of not being confined and controlled by one trail. good question.

Answer 9

Ugh.

Can you imagine Paul McCartney singing "The long and winding footpath . . . "?

There would be footpaths, wouldn't there? Tell me there would be footpaths!

Answer 10

It would be an adventure! I would love it! To be able to use your own mind to go where you want would be exciting. I may never get where I'm going but I sure would enjoy the trip