There’s a quiet erosion happening under our feet: the places where kids used to roam, climb, and imagine are being downsized—or erased altogether—in favor of “efficient” housing. That’s an observation from a study in Cities and Health that traced how fragmented planning policies and financial pressure have squeezed out public play spaces. Children now face serious barriers to outdoor time—down 50 percent compared to their parents’ generation What strikes me isn’t just the loss itself—it’s how invisible it has become. Dense grids and affordable housing are great when done right, but when play areas become an afterthought, the soul of the neighborhood starts to fade. We risk creating cities where kids—and by extension, adults—aren’t physically active, aren’t connected to place, and don’t feel like they belong. Child-friendly design should be a foundational aspect to an urban landscape. Playgrounds, natural lawns, climbing structures—those edges matter. They give kids autonomy, foster social connection, and signal that people come before profit. The study points out that these losses often land hardest in deprived areas—where kids need safe outdoor space most If we’ve learned anything in the planning world, it’s that what we leave out matters as much as what we build. It’s telling that policies often ignore the value of unstructured outdoor time.

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