it's wild to think about how much smaller of a footprint those interstate exit blobs could be, if they were just stops on a rail line with eateries, cafes, convenience/travel shops, and a few places to sleep or whatever. imagine no gas stations or those insane signage towers all competing to get into the sight line of someone driving a car.
i know he's got some weird / hot / bad takes, but James Kunstler's TED talk (more like a angry rant, really) from almost 20 years ago is still something i appreciate for multiple reasons, one of which is how many places "not worth caring about" we have created in the US: places that were designed to be experienced at 55-70 mph and are completely alienating to any human in those places, especially not in a fast moving car.