"Pods" Are Taking Over (downtown, population, houses, park)
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Pods taking over society, shopping pods, housing pods, entertainment pods, no more 1940’s era of walking to friend’s house to play some ball or walking downtown to see a movie
Parents don't realize that part of "just being a kid" is living in a walkable neighborhood where you can bike to your friends' houses and meet in someone's backyard to play touch football, tag, or shoot some hoops! America, in general is shifting towards a "pod" society---We have "housing pods" called "developments, gated communities, and subdivisions" where people sleep, we have "working pods" called "office and industrial parks" where people work, we have "shopping pods" called "strip malls and big-box stores" where people buy things they need, we have "entertainment pods" called "megaplex theaters and far-flung recreational complexes", etc. To get to one of these pods, one must drive, which isn't an option for a child, especially when his/her parents are dually-employed (as mine were).
I wish I still lived in the 1940s, where you and a group of friends could walk to school, walk downtown to catch a movie at the town theatre, walk to each others' homes, know each others' families, be close to playgrounds and ballparks, etc. Want to know the product of a "POD" society? Look at me---I'm so boring that I like Enya, Coldplay, and The Verve! I'm so dull that I study economic and census data trends in my area so that I can preach to deaf ears about how the trend towards "pod living" is hurting our traditional downtowns! I'm so lonely that I've been alone for two years now with no prospects in sight! I've had a miserable existence as that "typical middle-class white kid from the 'burbs", and I wonder how many others are in that same boat? We've made ourselves so socially-inaccesible that I have friends who live in upscale developments right next-door to our high school, yet they can't WALK to it due to property lines! No wonder why Americans are becoming so overweight---We have to drive EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING! Our parents and grandparents had to walk a few miles every now and then to access places that we now hop into our minivans on congested roadways and head to! Is there any hope in sight?
Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, walkable neighborhoods exist all over the place. Nearly every neighborhood in this country has a wooded area that allows kids a short cut through to the stores, or movie theatre.
Kids get fat not because of a lack of walkable neighborhoods. Kids get fat because they have bad parents. Parents who allow their children to stay indoors to play video games all day long, while eating junk food. Kids are the ones turning into pods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre
Parents don't realize that part of "just being a kid" is living in a walkable neighborhood where you can bike to your friends' houses and meet in someone's backyard to play touch football, tag, or shoot some hoops! America, in general is shifting towards a "pod" society---We have "housing pods" called "developments, gated communities, and subdivisions" where people sleep, we have "working pods" called "office and industrial parks" where people work, we have "shopping pods" called "strip malls and big-box stores" where people buy things they need, we have "entertainment pods" called "megaplex theaters and far-flung recreational complexes", etc. To get to one of these pods, one must drive, which isn't an option for a child, especially when his/her parents are dually-employed (as mine were).
I wish I still lived in the 1940s, where you and a group of friends could walk to school, walk downtown to catch a movie at the town theatre, walk to each others' homes, know each others' families, be close to playgrounds and ballparks, etc. Want to know the product of a "POD" society? Look at me---I'm so boring that I like Enya, Coldplay, and The Verve! I'm so dull that I study economic and census data trends in my area so that I can preach to deaf ears about how the trend towards "pod living" is hurting our traditional downtowns! I'm so lonely that I've been alone for two years now with no prospects in sight! I've had a miserable existence as that "typical middle-class white kid from the 'burbs", and I wonder how many others are in that same boat? We've made ourselves so socially-inaccesible that I have friends who live in upscale developments right next-door to our high school, yet they can't WALK to it due to property lines! No wonder why Americans are becoming so overweight---We have to drive EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING! Our parents and grandparents had to walk a few miles every now and then to access places that we now hop into our minivans on congested roadways and head to! Is there any hope in sight?
Last edited by New_Yorker; 09-02-2006 at 09:08 AM..
Kids can't walk or bike around a development? Kids can't have friends in a development? What difference does it make if friends live 2 blocks away in an old grid street neighborhood or 2 blocks over in a devlopment? Kids could still play touch football and tag in a backyard all day long if they wanted to, many are just to lazy to do so.
My case must have been an "extreme" example then, as I was the only child my age in its boundaries, (Developments in the Scranton area are MUCH smaller than they are in many other parts of the country).
TS and New Yorker, while I agree, a lot of it has to do with parents raising lazy, glued to a screen, type kids...Scranton makes a very good and valid and true point! I am astonished how easily you two dismiss.
Maybe you guys are lucky enough to live in an area that is not seeing these trends, and apparently you haven't gone many places other than these areas you live, or else you would see how many great/true points he made in his post!
I see the trends and some of his points, but I also think some of his points like kids not being able to walk or bike to a friends house and not being able to play tag or football just because they live in a development/subdivision are exaggerated.
I see the trends and some of his points, but I also think some of his points like kids not being able to walk or bike to a friends house and not being able to play tag or football just because they live in a development/subdivision are exaggerated.
I think that was meant to make a point, not to be taken literally...That being said, though, it sadly is true to some extent. We live in a development/subdivision, and our kids have pretty much given up riding their bikes as have most all the kids in the neighborhood. First of all here in GA, there aren't any sidewalks, so it's usually too dangerous for the kids to ride their bikes, because they can only ride them in the streets. Add to that the mindset of people in these types of "communities", at least here, is to call the cops for any and every little thing they see that they don't like. Example, a neighbor of ours, had the cops called on their 10yr old son because he was riding his bike w/o a helmet on. So of course the cops here have nothing better to do, nevermind the huge meth problem, they show up file a report and because report is filed, protective services gets involved...All over a 10yr old kid riding his bike around the subdivision w/o a helmet!!!
So take your pick it's dangerous because there are no sidewalks, or little Jimmy doesn't put a helmet on and the cops are one step away from throwing him into juve!
I think it just gets to the point, in these little 'planned nazi-doms', that people just say to hell with it, just get an X-Box and keep the kids in the house all day so we don't have to deal w/this crap. So and so next door will turn us into the 'association' because we didn't mow our grass this week, so and so will call the cops because our son walked to a neighbors house w/o an adult escort or the proper street crossing safety equipment on, so and so will call the association because we got a pet w/o prior approval, so and so is going to turn so and so into the housing association because she's flying an American flag while her husband is in Iraq because it is against one of the housing association rules...Yeah welcome to modern day America
I think that was meant to make a point, not to be taken literally...That being said, though, it sadly is true to some extent. We live in a development/subdivision, and our kids have pretty much given up riding their bikes as have most all the kids in the neighborhood. First of all here in GA, there aren't any sidewalks, so it's usually too dangerous for the kids to ride their bikes, because they can only ride them in the streets. Add to that the mindset of people in these types of "communities", at least here, is to call the cops for any and every little thing they see that they don't like. Example, a neighbor of ours, had the cops called on their 10yr old son because he was riding his bike w/o a helmet on. So of course the cops here have nothing better to do, nevermind the huge meth problem, they show up file a report and because report is filed, protective services gets involved...All over a 10yr old kid riding his bike around the subdivision w/o a helmet!!!
So take your pick it's dangerous because there are no sidewalks, or little Jimmy doesn't put a helmet on and the cops are one step away from throwing him into juve!
I grew up in an old established neighborhood riding my bike in the street as we didn't have sidewalks everywhere within the city limits. All the kids rode their bikes in the street. My last house was in a new subdivision that did have sidewalks along every street and everyone still biked in the street rather than on the sidewalk.
Why did the police come and protective services get involved? Is there a law against biking without a helmet there?
When I was growing up i was lucky enough to live on 360 acres my dad owned, suround by another 2000ac. bikes, horses, & old pickups to run with.
it allowed us to understand you can only have so many on an acre before its crowded. I was taught zero population growth, (zpg), it was over looked by most people, they just breed like rabbits. I truly belive alot of our problems stem from to many people. Its interesting most people on this board are looking for some space.
I think that was meant to make a point, not to be taken literally...That being said, though, it sadly is true to some extent. We live in a development/subdivision, and our kids have pretty much given up riding their bikes as have most all the kids in the neighborhood. First of all here in GA, there aren't any sidewalks, so it's usually too dangerous for the kids to ride their bikes, because they can only ride them in the streets. Add to that the mindset of people in these types of "communities", at least here, is to call the cops for any and every little thing they see that they don't like. Example, a neighbor of ours, had the cops called on their 10yr old son because he was riding his bike w/o a helmet on. So of course the cops here have nothing better to do, nevermind the huge meth problem, they show up file a report and because report is filed, protective services gets involved...All over a 10yr old kid riding his bike around the subdivision w/o a helmet!!!
So take your pick it's dangerous because there are no sidewalks, or little Jimmy doesn't put a helmet on and the cops are one step away from throwing him into juve!
I think it just gets to the point, in these little 'planned nazi-doms', that people just say to hell with it, just get an X-Box and keep the kids in the house all day so we don't have to deal w/this crap. So and so next door will turn us into the 'association' because we didn't mow our grass this week, so and so will call the cops because our son walked to a neighbors house w/o an adult escort or the proper street crossing safety equipment on, so and so will call the association because we got a pet w/o prior approval, so and so is going to turn so and so into the housing association because she's flying an American flag while her husband is in Iraq because it is against one of the housing association rules...Yeah welcome to modern day America
I hear ya and agree with some of what you said. It is sad that people behave the way they do, especially when there are children involved.
What happened to the days where kids can be kids, and parents can parent without judgement? We have the helmet law where we live, and by all means, it's a good one, but there has been the occasional time where one of my four children has slipped out the door without it. A big OOOOOPS on my part, I guess. But I have to say this, if a cop was passing by and decided he needed to give me a warning about it, ok, I'll take my slap on the wrist. But if one of my neighbors called the cops about it, they better sleep with one eye open.
I've said it on this forum before, and I'll say it again. LIVE AND LET LIVE.....
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I've had a miserable existence as that "typical middle-class white kid from the 'burbs", and I wonder how many others are in that same boat? We've made ourselves so socially-inaccesible that I have friends who live in upscale developments right next-door to our high school, yet they can't WALK to it due to property lines! No wonder why Americans are becoming so overweight---We have to drive EVERYWHERE for EVERYTHING! Our parents and grandparents had to walk a few miles every now and then to access places that we now hop into our minivans on congested roadways and head to! Is there any hope in sight?
space, the good old days
