car brain

English

Alternative forms

carbrain, car-brain

Noun

car brain (plural car brains) (urban studies, slang, derogatory)

(uncountable) A supposed condition suffered by someone who believes in the superiority of cars as a means of transport, at the expense of bicycles and public transit.
- 2013 November 25, Gordon Price, “A World Walker Discovers Car Brain”, in Viewpoint Vancouver‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-05-22:
  But it's probably inevitable that, as I plod through the Middle East, Asia and the Americas over the next six years, I'll become increasingly alienated from the growing bulk of humanity afflicted by Car Brain.
- 2022 March 28, Rachel Swan, “Meet the Bay Area mayor who wants to persuade you to get rid of your car”, in San Francisco Chronicle‎^[2], archived from the original on 2022-03-30:
  The commission approved the proposal Thursday, delighting transit activists and drawing the ire of motorists who worry about increased congestion and competition for parking. Bauters, who characterizes these opinions as "car brain," dresses down his opponents at meetings.
- 2022 August 11, Doug Trumm, “Canopy-Heavy Green Streets Hold the Key to Climate-Proofing Mobility”, in The Urbanist‎^[3], archived from the original on 2022-08-27:
  For me, a big one is: what kind of people-centered mobility improvements could we make if we weren't suffering from a bad case of car brain? What kind of investments would actually accrue real benefits for our city rather than continue to cost us over time?
(countable) A person with this condition.
- 2023 June 9, Ray Dubicki, “Debunking Carbrains’ Dumb Groceries Argument”, in The Urbanist‎^[4], archived from the original on 21 May 2024
- 2024 February 5, u/Confident_Writer_212, “I'd love to hear a car brain's response to this”, in Reddit‎^[5], archived from the original on 8 February 2024:
  carbrains don't care about the actual science behind the arguments - they just want to sit in their cars

Derived terms

car brained