I wonder if other cities in Europe have acted similar policies
Increasing car size has been directly correlated to increases in pedestrian deaths.
Way too many of my city-dwelling neighbors who live in 1-2 person households drive three row SUVs and 20’ pickups. It’s absurd. My 50 year old neighbor just bought a three row Hyundai SUV. She lives alone.
The size of a person’s household or whether they live in the city are not the sole factors that go into a decision on what car to purchase.
A person can live alone but regularly car pool with coworkers, get together with multiple friends, go on day trips with family, or make extra income by driving for Uber (larger vehicles can charge more). Heck, sometimes just needing extra leg or head room rules out most regular sedans and makes an SUV more comfortable.
In addition, if a person’s activities require a lot of cargo capacity, that essentially leaves you with either an SUV or a pickup as the primary options. So whether it’s for luggage, buying stock for a family store, etc… that could be another reason for purchasing an SUV.
Sometimes, people feel that having a higher view of the road is safer because they can see more of what’s ahead of them.
So don’t fall prey to judging people as only needing an SUV if they have a large household or live in rural areas. It’s a lot more involved than that.