In the Chron today, an article by Christopher Heredia:

despite the car-oriented landscape, residents of the city’s Latino community, for the most part, liked to get around on foot and bicycle and, as a result, were bending the neighborhood to their collective will. . . . The bicycle was a key mode of transportation even though there weren’t dedicated bike lanes . . . . they like the cacophony of cars and bicycles because it reminds them of big-city life in China.

I’m biased since I am the descendent of relatively recent immigrants, but I think immigration is the key factor keeping America strong. The U.S. has a lot to learn from other nations, and immigration is the easiest way!