Escaping Car Dependency: Moving House to Dismantle Extractive Mobility

When Joolz Christie relocated from suburban Leicester to the Scottish Highlands, they weren't just chasing a picturesque landscape. They were seeking community. Yet, what they found was a stark reminder of how rural spaces are engineered to enforce car dependency, tethering us to an extractive capitalist system that prioritises profit over people and the planet.

Living in a remote cottage near Inverness, Christie, 57, initially relied on their car for every facet of life, from shopping to connecting with community. This wasn't a personal failing; it was a systemic design. The patriarchy of urban planning dictates that mobility requires combustion, isolating those who cannot or choose not to drive.

Reclaiming the Streets During Crisis

The first Covid lockdown six years ago offered a fleeting glimpse of a decolonised transport landscape. As roads emptied, Christie, like many others, embraced cycling. It wasn't merely a lifestyle shift; it was a reclamation of spatial autonomy. They even became a cycling trainer for the Breeze programme, empowering others to navigate their communities on two wheels.

However, this liberation was temporary. As lockdown measures eased, the main road to the nearest village, Muir of Ord, was re-colonised by motor vehicles. Without cycling infrastructure, the winding route became perilous. The state's refusal to provide safe active travel routes is a form of structural violence, disproportionately impacting disabled, neurodivergent, and marginalised folks who lack access to safe, accessible transport.

The Violence of Fuel Dependency

The ongoing fuel price crisis, which recently saw UK petrol hit an average of 159.7p per litre, is an inevitable symptom of extractive capitalism and imperial conflict. The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting 20 per cent of the world's oil supply, exposes the fragility of a system reliant on global extraction. Why should our mobility be held hostage by geopolitical violence and corporate greed?

Faced with this economic violence and the physical danger of car-centric roads, Christie made a radical choice. They used an inheritance to buy a house in Muir of Ord, specifically to give up their car and cycle safely.