That's a bit of a strawman to turn "wants to live in the suburbs" into "is trapped in an ever-escalating vortex of radical consumption."

Is a backyard a luxury? I can't think of any kid that would prefer living in a concrete jungle vs having a back yard they go play in without having to plan a trip to a park.

I'm with ya though on the keeping up with the Jones stuff.

I grew up in a city and didn't have a back yard. I never minded it. The cool thing about being a kid is that you don't have many expectations - you accept things you see as the way the world works.

I didn't have backyard until I moved to America and we bought a house. People very rarely used their backyards including kids, but it was great for having people over once in a while. Parks were always more fun growing up because other kids would be there too. But I realize the the culture shift of being more protective of children and not letting them out on their own when younger makes visiting parks more difficult.

Any reasonably-well designed urban area is teeming with parks of all different shapes and types. In the suburbs, there may be one part per town, largely focused on ball fields, but in an urban area, there are parks all over the place.

The other big thing is that parks often have much better equipment than people's back yards. A lot of suburbanites buy their kids swing sets, which are usually not well designed and of poor quality. Most urban parks aimed at kids have lots of professionally-designed equipment that is well made and keeps kids attention much longer. It's also much easier to find a full-size basketball court, tennis court, etc.

You don't have to plan a trip to the park if you actually live in a walkable area. You just walk to one.

> Any reasonably-well designed urban area is teeming with parks of all different shapes and types. In the suburbs, there may be one part per town, largely focused on ball fields, but in an urban area, there are parks all over the place.

I've lived in a couple of US cities now, it's very hit or miss. San Jose, CA? Plenty of neighborhoods without a park of usable size within walking distance, and the intellectual and financial investment in equipment is fairly limited. Boston, MA? Feels like you can't go 3 blocks without hitting a park, and many of them have great equipment.

In theory your statement is true, but the reality covers a spectrum that may or may not be acceptable.

I didn't care about yards as a kid. I know kids so into organized activities that the yards are basically unused.

Um, What planning is needed to go to the park? When I was a kid nobody planned to go to the park we just thought "Hey, I think I'll go to the park" and then immediately either walked or biked there.

The best part about the park is there's tons of other kids there. Sitting alone in a yard be very lonely.

"I can't think of any kid that would prefer living in a concrete jungle vs having a back yard they go play in without having to plan a trip to a park."

What about teenagers?

Decent cities have parks scattered throughout its buildings, so that you're never more than a few minutes on foot/bike from one.

i never had a back yard as a kid (or as an adult) and neither did my wife. I had multiple parks within a few minutes walk & never missed it.