Children, left behind by suburbia, need better community design
Children, left behind by suburbia, need better community design
Walkable, mixed-use planning is the key to getting young people outside again and enabling their independence.
American neighborhoods don't tend to be very walkable. Zoning restrictions don't allow mixed use that makes an area self sufficient.
11I'm raising kids in a walkable neighborhood.
At this point, my biggest concern is still that they'd get hit by a car. At their current young ages (under 5), they're just not good about understanding where danger comes from when crossing the street or a driveway/alley entrance. Even later in life, I'm wondering how old they'll have to be before I'm comfortable with them riding their bikes on city streets.
At some point, I expect it to pay off (they'll be able to go to hang out with friends and bring themselves to school long before they turn 16). I'm just hoping I'll be able to stay in a walkable neighborhood when they're at those life stages, so that they can take advantage of the good stuff that this neighborhood has to offer.
4Lol always a picture of Breezewood, wich is odd because it doesn't really represent suburban development in any way whatsoever, it's a turnpike town with 178 residents. It was literally built to support the interchange and highway.
2It does look like literally every new construction highway offramp commercial strip in the country, though.
2And if they actually finished the I-70 interchange (which will never happen), the town would cease to exist. Although I will say, it looked a whole lot worse in the 80’s, the last time I was there before 2022.
The worst part about Breezewood was the tolls to get there. Coming from the west, it’s like $50 from the Ohio border now for a 3 hour drive. To get 4 hours across the Ohio turnpike, it’s roughly $10-$12 in a car. And the road quality in Ohio is vastly superior. Privatization vs a state run toll road, at its finest.
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I grew up in many very non-walkable neighborhoods, and it's important not to conflate "no businesses within walking distance" to "nothing to do". My brother and I (and later myself alone) always found tons of things to do. Don't use the presence of cars or the lack of businesses as an excuse for helicopter parenting or keeping your kids indoors.
Let's not ingrain Capital-generating activities (go to movie, go shopping, go to bookstore, go to sports game, go to cafe, etc) as "what kids should be out doing".
Play in an old quarry. Play in the dirt. Play street hockey. Play card games on the sidewalk. Play airsoft. Play whatever.
Parents are sometimes scared to let their kids go out in non-walkable environments, especially in America.
THIS is the real problem.
Don't create a mini surveillance state ("where are you going", "when will you be back", "head straight to x, and straight home"...) for your kids.
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