<i>Suburbs also make kids totally dependent on their parents to get to activities, friends, etc.</i><p>Yes! And the deleterious effect of this is underappreciated and understated. It&#x27;s not just a convenience and logistical issue; it materially alters the nature and quality of the connection one has with surrounding society, and leads to _different kind_ of social relations over time.<p>Kids cannot &quot;be kids&quot; when their life lacks social spontaneity (and in fact, there is some question about adults being adults as well), when their life is a directed graph and a collection of automobile vectors, subordinated to the rhythms and whims of their parents to drive them.<p>As a child, I did not immediately understand this paradigm shift as I underwent it, which led me for years to struggle with this great, nonarticulated malaise for which I had no name. It&#x27;s only with the benefit of hindsight that I understand that I was unable to cope with living &quot;nowhere in particular&quot;, which suitably describes 90% of inhabited areas in the US, including places that are notionally urban. Much of DFW should be reclassified as a rural area.