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This is a steady trend that is down to numerous factors the least of which I’d ascribe to overprotective parents. I saw a map a while ago showing the reducing

This is a steady trend that is down to numerous factors the least of which I’d ascribe to overprotective parents. I saw a map a while ago showing the reducing radius from the home children could range over the last 100 years. And a lot of it boils down to overpopulation. 1. Cars. There are significantly more and faster cars on the roads. As a child I could play on my street without a car passing in a couple of hours. Now a car passes down our street every few minutes. And there are more congested intersections for kids to cross these days. 2. Green spaces. We used to have multiple green spaces to roam and cross through. Nowadays those are all built up with property developments. 3. Crazy people. The amount of violent crime against children has increased.

adrianN 8y ago
Cars are the big one. More and more our cities are optimized for cars, not for people. Children and the elderly suffer most from this development.
ztjio 8y ago
1. Despite a massive increase in traffic, deaths have stayed flat. So whatever you are interpreting here, it’s not based on the reality you claim it is. 2. This will be highly variable depending on area, but, nearby us where it looks from the door to be devoid of green/open space, are 3 parks within short walking distance, a nature preserve, and 100 miles of interconnected isolated paths for cycling which then connect to many, many other greenspaces. And that happened largely by accident (and partly by occasional spikes of local effort to fill in the gaps.) Maybe you need to look more closely to see just how much opportunity there is for play. And 3. That can’t possibly be true, given the MASSIVE decrease in all crime and especially violent crime in the last 30 years. Please back up your claims with citations or you just contribute to the same hysteria that is ruining future generations.
- casefields 8y ago
  Glad you call him out because it's absolutely not true.
- neumann 8y ago
  1. Maybe, but we used to play in the street all sorts of ball sports as kids. All the cars were in their garages/car ports, and when a car, roughly every 10minutes came by, we'd yell, 'Car' and step aside. Now, my parent's same house has tons of extra cars on the streets (more affluent families?) and the street has become a thoroughfare as people try to avoid traffic on the main roads. It would be impossible to play on the street today.
- CalRobert 8y ago
  1) Cars are indeed safer, for their occupants. For the poor chumps not in a car you're increasingly likely to be killed. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589453431/pedestrian-fatalities-remain-at-25-year-high-for-second-year-in-a-row https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589453431...
CalRobert 8y ago
I am struggling to find a place to live where I'd let my kid ride a bicycle. It may mean moving to the Netherlands or Denmark. When I lived in San Diego, a driver killed a child who was _in the bike lane_ and people were blaming the dead kid (or, if they fancied themselves classy, their parents). We left San Diego shortly after. Worth remembering the US has a 9/11 per month on the roads but the will to fix this seems lacking. Not sure about 3 to be honest; do you have a source?

adrianN 8y ago

Cars are the big one. More and more our cities are optimized for cars, not for people. Children and the elderly suffer most from this development.

ztjio 8y ago

1. Despite a massive increase in traffic, deaths have stayed flat. So whatever you are interpreting here, it’s not based on the reality you claim it is. 2. This will be highly variable depending on area, but, nearby us where it looks from the door to be devoid of green/open space, are 3 parks within short walking distance, a nature preserve, and 100 miles of interconnected isolated paths for cycling which then connect to many, many other greenspaces. And that happened largely by accident (and partly by occasional spikes of local effort to fill in the gaps.) Maybe you need to look more closely to see just how much opportunity there is for play. And 3. That can’t possibly be true, given the MASSIVE decrease in all crime and especially violent crime in the last 30 years. Please back up your claims with citations or you just contribute to the same hysteria that is ruining future generations.

casefields 8y ago
Glad you call him out because it's absolutely not true.
neumann 8y ago
1. Maybe, but we used to play in the street all sorts of ball sports as kids. All the cars were in their garages/car ports, and when a car, roughly every 10minutes came by, we'd yell, 'Car' and step aside. Now, my parent's same house has tons of extra cars on the streets (more affluent families?) and the street has become a thoroughfare as people try to avoid traffic on the main roads. It would be impossible to play on the street today.
CalRobert 8y ago
1) Cars are indeed safer, for their occupants. For the poor chumps not in a car you're increasingly likely to be killed. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589453431/pedestrian-fatalities-remain-at-25-year-high-for-second-year-in-a-row https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2018/02/28/589453431...

CalRobert 8y ago

I am struggling to find a place to live where I'd let my kid ride a bicycle. It may mean moving to the Netherlands or Denmark. When I lived in San Diego, a driver killed a child who was _in the bike lane_ and people were blaming the dead kid (or, if they fancied themselves classy, their parents). We left San Diego shortly after. Worth remembering the US has a 9/11 per month on the roads but the will to fix this seems lacking. Not sure about 3 to be honest; do you have a source?