While tech is certainly one factor influencing the difficulty wandering aimlessly the article hints at another that to me is really the underlying factor which

While tech is certainly one factor influencing the difficulty wandering aimlessly the article hints at another that to me is really the underlying factor which is the commoditization and “ownership” of land areas. I was reading a collection of articles written by Scottish-American mountaineer/naturalist John Muir in the 1870s. He was writing about wandering around various parts of California. The thing that struck me is that he would describe picking a path towards a peak and just following it from the base of a mountain. That would be difficult these days because there is so much private land and fencing that you never know if you’re illegally trespassing or if a path goes through. In a city of course the land is nearly all private so you have to follow whatever paths have been laid out between public spaces. I still enjoy walking around to the extent it’s possible but I do wonder what it would be like to be truly free to roam the countryside without fear of the law.