My old man brain was reminiscing poetically about how me and my friends used to run wild on the streets of my neighborhood and how children today largely cannot do that for fear for their lives. Children on the streets used to be an almost ubiquitous sight. Street hockey, street baseball, kids riding their bikes to neighbors, even a few blocks away, without supervision.

There are a number of factors involved in the fact children don’t socialize like we used to, don’t play like we used to, don’t grow up the way we used to. But I do think our car-centric approach, convenience and speed over community, plays a big role in this problem.

The Way it Used to be

Most people my age remember children in the street. We used to run around like nut jobs and cars coming down our street came slowly, obeyed the rules of road, knowing kids were likely to pop out from a bush without a moment’s notice. Streets were narrower, cars were smaller, kids were everywhere. It was glorious and I think contributed in no small way to the kind of adult a child becomes.

Why Children on the Streets are no more

Roads and cars. Roads are wide. Cars are huge. Speed limits are high and even when the speed limit is reasonable, the width of the roads encourages drivers to drive fast. This caused parents to keep their kids off the streets. The absence of children on the streets encouraged drivers to drive faster. Get the hell off the road kid, you’re blocking traffic. You’re slowing me down.

Anyone who walks or bikes through a neighborhood knows it’s dangerous and let’s not even talk about the big thoroughfares. Getting across the street is impossible in places. You have walk blocks and blocks out of your way to find a crosswalk and even then, you better look in every direction to avoid a car running you over.

It’s no wonder we don’t see children on the streets. It’s not safe.

The Impact on Children

Children don’t go out. The only way to get to a friend’s house is to have mom or dad drive you there. Want to get some candy or an ice cream? No chance of walking there. You need to get someone to take you. Kids never learn independence. They never just play with other kids without structure, rules, transportation.

I’m not saying big roads and death machine cars are the only reason kids are losing the ability to be independent, losing the ability to socialize, but I do think it plays an over-sized role in the problem.

Problem Recognition and Solution Aversion

The striking thing about this problem is that politically those that lament it the most are the ones who back the policies causing the issue. We don’t like bikes! We love our cars! This is ‘Merica. We don’t want sensible traffic controls, narrow streets, neighborhoods; but by golly, what is happening to our kids? Those damned tree huggers did it!

More highways! Faster speed limits! Go, go, go!

Conclusion

The problem is enormous and there are no easy solutions. Narrowing roads, slowing down cars, building an infrastructure that accommodates children in the streets is an enormous undertaking. It requires undoing decades of bad decisions. I don’t see it happening.

Tom Liberman