Although significant alternative transportation choices are still largely a dream in the minds of a relatively small critical mass of the US population, it's not a utopic, fantasy-drenched vision of what could be. Take a trip to Germany, for example. In places like Munich you will find a harmonious blend of biking, walking, trains, trams, trolleys, and buses as the preferred methods of transportation. And they manufacture some of the finest automobiles on the planet! Even so, they build their towns and infrastructure so that people have a choice. I lived in Augsburg, a smaller version of Munich, and experienced this lifestyle firsthand. Having done so makes it hard to shake the vision of what our American cities and towns can become.

If you've never had the pleasure of living in such a place you can catch a glimpse of the dream at TransportationPlanet.com, featuring an online slideshow of Transportation in Munich.