Cars Burn
Editorial Illustration and Spot
- David C. Korten, When Corporations Rule The World
This editorial-style illustration was created to accompany B The Change’s article “How the Automobile Killed the Urban Space,” an excerpt from David C. Korten’s book referenced above. The issue is one I have been passionate about for years, shaped by my experience growing up in the suburban sprawl of Staten Island.
Through both personal experience and research, I became increasingly interested in how the rise of the automobile—along with the power of the auto industry and its lobbying influence over Congress—has reshaped American cities at the expense of community-centered spaces. This piece was my attempt to visually communicate those consequences.
Visually, the illustration is inspired by iconic posters depicting bulls with smoke billowing from their nostrils. I chose a truck positioned in front of the U.S. Capitol to evoke the metaphor of a “bull in a china shop,” symbolizing the destructive force of car culture on American cities. The image reflects how the demand for wider roads, expansive parking lots, and highways has consumed enormous amounts of urban space, displacing homes and dismantling communities across the country.
I started by sketching out concepts and ideas that I wanted to tackle in this editorial piece. I had a few different ideas for what problems I wanted to cover, and after narrowing down my idea, I began develop the Illustration through multiple variations!
This was illustrated digitally in Procreate, and besides the main illustration I developed a smaller spot piece focusing on the more striking imagery of a gas hose hanging in front of the capital. This was then animated into a short loop I could turn into a GIF.
@AVD_Designs 2025