That's exactly the point though. Americans have no idea how terrible their cities are because they only compare to themselves.

It's ALL terrible. Please DO compare to Europe. Let's strive for better cities period, not just OK in the context of North America.

I was thinking, for a city of 800k inhabitants, it's not that bad. But then I lived in Bordeaux which has 250k inhabitants and public transport was so amazing. I basically don't take public transport in SF anymore because I find it too dangerous, whereas I never once took a taxi or drove in Bordeaux (in 2 years there).