This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with John-Robert Rodríguez, 24, a teacher in Tempe, Arizona, who lives in the car-free community Culdesac. Rodríguez moved to Culdesac, which has about 150 residents so far but will eventually house 1,000 residents in 760 units, in October 2023 from Pflugerville, Texas, after growing up in Florida. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.I heard about Culdesac when it was still in development.I went for a tour in August of 2023, and it looked just like the mockups. It looked just like how the community said it was going to look all those years ago.I don’t drive. I have a license, but I don’t drive.
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I moved in October.When you start removing the dependency on cars, you start seeing more people. When you go to a city, the more cars that you see on the road, the fewer people you’ll see on the sidewalks. People need to be out and about in order to build the community.
Rodríguez said that he’s never been a fan of driving.
Courtesy of Rodríguez.
I’ll be just going home from work on the light rail and run into my literal next-door neighbor. I guess we’re on the same schedule on the light rail. We talk on the way or when walking back together, and I really enjoy that kind of casual friendship.I feel like that was missing before — it’s like you either have those very close connections or they’re strangers to you. I like that.
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I felt too car-dependent in Florida and TexasI moved to Culdesac and also for Culdesac. That was one of the main reasons that I decided to move.I registered with my email at some point years ago.They sent an email in 2023 saying, “Hey, by the way, our phase one is opening up and we’re looking for residents. We saw that you were interested.”I didn’t realize it was going so fast. The thing that I was interested in all those years ago now exists.
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A few of Culdesac’s residential buildings.
Culdesac.
I was …
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