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For just one small example of many: life in a subdivision cul-de-sac stops children exploring and becoming conversant with the wider world around them because i

by rpedela 10y ago

For just one small example of many: life in a subdivision cul-de-sac stops children exploring and becoming conversant with the wider world around them because it tethers their social lives and activities to their busy parents’ willingness to drive them somewhere. There’s literally nowhere for them to go. What is this post talking about? I grew up on a cul-de-sac, and I was always outside playing with my friends. When I was a little older, my parents would let me roam the neighborhood with my friends. We played all sorts of games and got into mischief. There are many downsides to suburbs, but that isn't one of them.

jedmeyers 10y ago
And nowadays, even if you live in an apartment building in the city, there is no way your child is going to roam around and explore alone.
- mooreds 10y ago
  Kids where I live do roam around the neighborhood, at least to some extent. I see them out and about.
  - gozur88 10y ago
    Not where I live. My brother has a house in a neighborhood that's full of young families, but if you walked through it you'd think it was a retirement community - not a kid in sight. All the children are carefully shuttled from one supervised activity to another. I'm not really sure why that is. Crime is almost nonexistent, and the weather is nice.
    - abalashov 10y ago
      That's by and large what I've seen in Atlanta as well.
- germanier 10y ago
  At least in many parts of the US. Here in Germany I see plenty of children roaming around in the city every day.
  - ptaipale 10y ago
    However, the culture of helicoptering kids everywhere (and hovering nearby, trying to control and risk-manage everything) is spreading to Europe more and more.
    - kuschku 10y ago
      Sadly. This is one of the negative effects of having mostly-foreign entertainment media, and I’d hope that the effect could be countered soon.
      - ptaipale 10y ago
        Entertainment is one thing, but I think far from the only factor in spreading this. I tend to think that US is just somewhat ahead in most developments, and trends then come to Europe. In addition to near-hysteric control of what children do, we'll have gated communities in fear of crime, we'll have politically correct "safe spaces" in universities, and whatnot current US phenomena.
- sotojuan 10y ago
  That seems to only be true in some parts of the US.
santaclaus 10y ago
I certainly prefer to live in an urban environment as an adult, but growing up my anecdotal experience was very different than that described in the article. As a kid in the burbs in the 90s, we'd roam all over the place. Hop on the bikes and ride downtown, tool around greenway close to the hood, take the bus to the mall, etc.
- antisthenes 10y ago
  It's almost as if though there's a pattern in your activities that naturally gravitates towards more urban areas like 'downtown', 'hood', and 'the mall' ... So the article is exactly correct.
wcummings 10y ago
In the burbs near where I grew up, there was nothing to do but drive drunk, if the accidents were anything to go by
Semiapies 10y ago
Yes, children being restricted in where they can go is a completely unrelated phenomenon, due to trumped-up fears of crime. When I was a kid, my family let me bike for miles. You can go a long way in a suburb on a bike without encountering faster motor traffic than you might trust a kid to deal with.
lafay 10y ago
I had the same reaction. I grew up in suburban Chicago and it seemed nothing like this. We walked to elementary school, to friends' houses, to the center of town for ice cream. When I was a little older we rode bikes all over creation -- to the hobby store, the mall, and plenty of adventures like sneaking into the abandoned Borg-Warner research facility in Des Plaines, or dumpster diving for discarded electronics at Motorola in Schaumburg.
tptacek 10y ago
This graf occurs very early in the post and I winced at it too and had to mentally grit myself into reading the rest of the post. I agree, it's a silly argument and the post would be better without it. But apart from the imprecision of the term "suburb" (the list of suburbs that defy his characterizations is huge), the actual enumerated arguments of the post are much better supported.

by rpedela 10y ago

jedmeyers 10y ago

And nowadays, even if you live in an apartment building in the city, there is no way your child is going to roam around and explore alone.

mooreds 10y ago
Kids where I live do roam around the neighborhood, at least to some extent. I see them out and about.
- gozur88 10y ago
  Not where I live. My brother has a house in a neighborhood that's full of young families, but if you walked through it you'd think it was a retirement community - not a kid in sight. All the children are carefully shuttled from one supervised activity to another. I'm not really sure why that is. Crime is almost nonexistent, and the weather is nice.
  - abalashov 10y ago
    That's by and large what I've seen in Atlanta as well.
germanier 10y ago
At least in many parts of the US. Here in Germany I see plenty of children roaming around in the city every day.
- ptaipale 10y ago
  However, the culture of helicoptering kids everywhere (and hovering nearby, trying to control and risk-manage everything) is spreading to Europe more and more.
  - kuschku 10y ago
    Sadly. This is one of the negative effects of having mostly-foreign entertainment media, and I’d hope that the effect could be countered soon.
    - ptaipale 10y ago
      Entertainment is one thing, but I think far from the only factor in spreading this. I tend to think that US is just somewhat ahead in most developments, and trends then come to Europe. In addition to near-hysteric control of what children do, we'll have gated communities in fear of crime, we'll have politically correct "safe spaces" in universities, and whatnot current US phenomena.
sotojuan 10y ago
That seems to only be true in some parts of the US.

santaclaus 10y ago

I certainly prefer to live in an urban environment as an adult, but growing up my anecdotal experience was very different than that described in the article. As a kid in the burbs in the 90s, we'd roam all over the place. Hop on the bikes and ride downtown, tool around greenway close to the hood, take the bus to the mall, etc.

antisthenes 10y ago
It's almost as if though there's a pattern in your activities that naturally gravitates towards more urban areas like 'downtown', 'hood', and 'the mall' ... So the article is exactly correct.

wcummings 10y ago

In the burbs near where I grew up, there was nothing to do but drive drunk, if the accidents were anything to go by

Semiapies 10y ago

Yes, children being restricted in where they can go is a completely unrelated phenomenon, due to trumped-up fears of crime. When I was a kid, my family let me bike for miles. You can go a long way in a suburb on a bike without encountering faster motor traffic than you might trust a kid to deal with.

lafay 10y ago

I had the same reaction. I grew up in suburban Chicago and it seemed nothing like this. We walked to elementary school, to friends' houses, to the center of town for ice cream. When I was a little older we rode bikes all over creation -- to the hobby store, the mall, and plenty of adventures like sneaking into the abandoned Borg-Warner research facility in Des Plaines, or dumpster diving for discarded electronics at Motorola in Schaumburg.

tptacek 10y ago

This graf occurs very early in the post and I winced at it too and had to mentally grit myself into reading the rest of the post. I agree, it's a silly argument and the post would be better without it. But apart from the imprecision of the term "suburb" (the list of suburbs that defy his characterizations is huge), the actual enumerated arguments of the post are much better supported.