> But how would reducing car dependency significantly affect the high cost of childcare, for example
1. Driving children to schools and other activities is a huge cost in time and money. If children could walk and bike, it would be much cheaper. I walked to school (even back home for launch) and then took the bicycle to soccer practice.
2. Children can spend time alone much earlier and travel alone much earlier. My parents were comfortable with me being alone at home for launch and after school, risk of car accidents was vanishingly small.
3. Mother helping each other out in a walkable neighborhood is trivial. My mother worked, I would simply walk home with a friend and would it at his house. And then later when my parents were home from work I would walk home. No big deal.
4. Having distributed housing policy with lots of option leads to cheaper apartments being available next to richer neighborhoods, means that its easier for low paid child care workers to live closer (walking distance) from the people who have children to take care off.
5. Having mixed use zoning allows for buildings that have child care facilty closer to actual housing in general.
> but I feel it's often presented as though it would solve every problem that the US has
I doesn't solve every problem, but it impacts most problems positively.
Also if you're not spending your time, money, and energy on gas, a car payment, insurance, registration, smog, or stressful traffic, you have time, money, and energy for other things. Let alone the huge costs to society incurred by the myriad ways the car-based hellscape destroys lives, limbs, and property.
On top of that, iirc even if you never have an accident or use a car, living next to a busy road has also been correlated with lower life expectancy regardless of socio-economic indicators.
1. Driving children to schools and other activities is a huge cost in time and money. If children could walk and bike, it would be much cheaper. I walked to school (even back home for launch) and then took the bicycle to soccer practice.
2. Children can spend time alone much earlier and travel alone much earlier. My parents were comfortable with me being alone at home for launch and after school, risk of car accidents was vanishingly small.
3. Mother helping each other out in a walkable neighborhood is trivial. My mother worked, I would simply walk home with a friend and would it at his house. And then later when my parents were home from work I would walk home. No big deal.
4. Having distributed housing policy with lots of option leads to cheaper apartments being available next to richer neighborhoods, means that its easier for low paid child care workers to live closer (walking distance) from the people who have children to take care off.
5. Having mixed use zoning allows for buildings that have child care facilty closer to actual housing in general.
> but I feel it's often presented as though it would solve every problem that the US has
I doesn't solve every problem, but it impacts most problems positively.