I'd say it is a constant fight against laziness. Sure it is convenient to drive everywhere with a car but at some point you might understand that it makes more sense to walk somewhere once in a while or regularly. Sure, escalators are convenient but better take the stairs so you don't need to go to the gym and save some money. If you ask me should all do more physical labour and the same goes for the mental labor. If we give that up as well the future is really bleak, to answer your question.
Our society is laid out for cars, not walking or biking.
My wife and I live about a mile from some favorite places to eat, but the walk home in the dark is dicey with a high speed limit and not a lot of lights, doubly so biking (she is not a strong pedaler). We end up driving even in the summer.
Human settlements usually do not exceed a couple of miles in diameter, for a pedestrian life style. A person can only deal with distances around a mile or two for daily activity. Modern cities are designed for a species called cars. Humans walking in these cities would be so alien and awkward.
Modern cities tend to have means for effective transport called public transit. I have lived in two big city centers and now live in one of their suburbs and I have never felt the need to own a car, even though I do have a driving license. Moving around is as easy as hopping onto a tram, metro, train or bus. In special cases there's always a possibility to call a ride.
It's still more car-centric than it should be here - it's absurd how much space we waste on all these parked cars around - but fortunately it's been improving over time.
In what area of the world to you live? I've been to places like that with highways and fences, it's terrible. Fortunately it's not like that in most places in Europe.
