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1 <br />� <br />~ �'a�� � �� <br />' oncerns for the health and safety of children <br />were cen[ral components of ideal urban structure <br />tl�eories oF the elrly twentiedi cen[ui�c Ebenezer <br />Huti��rcl's Garden City, proino[ed i�i his boolc <br />Tui��miaig ci Peatejul Pndi [n Reni R�fonn (189y), <br />consisted of sis "neighborl�ood units" buund- <br />ed by througl�-vatfGc streets, each with a <br />cetitral elementary scliooi Iocated just a <br />few bLocks &�om �he furQtest resi- <br />dence. Forest Hills Gardens, Long <br />Island, Necv York (1910+) <br />��- � ws. L t �...;' <br />�v�s the [irst tlmerican ... <br />tes[ of lhis scl�ooi-child- � ���,`�ti <br />Cocused neig%Uor- t�,���ii}�; ` <br />l,00d idea. Sec N ` <br />-���F� �� .;, <br />is Jor Ycighbor= <br />hood. " � ;;.3.,,'.�`` <br />_'�. <br />7he culture ' � o <br />shocl: oI Worid � <br />bVar ( 6rought on not ° <br />only the wild excesses of <br />the jazz Age of the 1920s, <br />Uut also a lieightened percep- <br />tion oE yauth as the promise and <br />salv�tion of tfie Euaue. [n the pfanned <br />neighborhood de��elopments oE Lhe <br />1920s, elementary schools �c�ere centrally <br />lucated within easy walking distance of their <br />stutlent popula[ion. <br />The 1920s was �lso tlie first decade to feel the <br />se��ere nega�ive impace af tlxe au[amobile, with thou- <br />sands of schoot-age children being killed by motoriscs.' ]ii <br />respunse, there �vas a movement to reduce or eliininate all <br />through-tra(fic in new suUurban developmeuts. At Rldbunt (Fair <br />Lawn, New Jersey) this einphasis on chilcl safet}' �esulted in tl�e <br />[otal separation a( vehicular and pedesaian patlnvays. I-Iem ele- <br />mentar��-schoul-age cliildreu could rvatic irom home to scliool <br />throuoi7 cenler-blocic parks �a-�,���,�E����� <br />wit6out �vall<ing along or <br />across a streel. <br />1he educational and recre- <br />ationnl needs uf ol�ler children <br />were pro��ided for in [he I9ZOs <br />1 Wliilc thc m�mhcr uf milcs trarcicd <br />in motor vehicics was about l0 timcs <br />lo�vcr ;n [he micl-19?Os thmn tuday, lhe <br />nnnual dca�h ratc pervc6ickc milc Uav- <br />eled!\RvlT) �vas viueh higher (ay>pros- <br />inz:�tcly lE per lU0 milliun VIvIT in <br />19?5, comparcd to L7 � cr i0U million <br />YlvlT in 1991). Frum. "�io�or-Vehicic <br />Sa(ety: d 20th Ccn�uq� Pubtic Heal�h <br />z1cliie��einin��.. h1414VR Fy99: i8:369- <br />37�+ (Ceniers for Disease Control). <br />� <br />in �he siti��g oE iarge, arcliitectnrallr in�pressive, central high <br />sctiools and tl�eir organized-sports [ieids. iliese sdioois <br />becarue integral components uf town and city cencers. <br />Hig(�-scl�ool-age cliildren thus liad after-school <br />access (either b}' foot or by electric [rolley car or <br />�=:�' rubber-tzred bus systenis) [u dotit�ntu�vn or <br />"Ivtain Stree[," where d2e cetail sho�s, [he- <br />aters, and otlier pIaces of amusement <br />were lacaced. <br />4Vith tlte exptnsive unplam2ed <br />perimeter subiuUan spraH�I of <br />_w_� ' the 1950s and the decades <br />�„� a that [ollowed, concern <br />� ��'t� �or Che liie patterns of <br />t'}�'f'�� ,. <br />si,��:� ° eLemehtary-schoot <br />f and liigl� school <br />,,;� � - - ° age chitdren <br />_ o - o became less <br />et�ident. SaCe <br />o local walk-in ele- <br />mentary schools, no <br />longer viable �vith the <br />- loN-er de�sities resuiting <br />Irom the advent o[ large-lot resi- <br />dential zoning (as wel! as reduced <br />famity size), u�ere abandoned in favor <br />of more far-Qung locations. New liigh- <br />school (acilicies x•ere often located on large <br />,�� Eracls of open Space at the periineter of the com- <br />niunity, often accessible ont}' by school bus or <br />automobile. Tlie resuit was co isolate older children <br />from access to coi:imunity-�vide (acilities and events <br />except b}' p��en[al, privaEe au[o, "Sasi' ser�nce. <br />Fhere are signs of a re��ersal in ihis decades long trend, as <br />proponents of "New Urbanisni' and "Smart Grow�h" nd��occtte for <br />higher densil}' residential areas, permitting reclamation of the <br />walk-in local ele�nentary school, and inereased provision of <br />rAVE w s transit seiaice, enabiing older <br />students lo access central <br />areas of tl�e communit}' with- <br />out need [or their own c�r. <br />Ihe gro���ing nuznber o( <br />"safe routes to school" pro- <br />gr�ms alsu highlight a re- <br />nev,�ed interest in enabtino <br />yuung people to walk or bilce <br />m schoal. I l�ese programs ere <br />not ouly designed to provide <br />health and safety benefits, but <br />to Ue�ter connect cliitdren <br />�vith their coinmuni�ies and <br />with the natural em�ironment. <br />Archiiecl��rnlly impicssivc, ccrit��nll�� locatcrlltigll SLFlUUIS 4YCIL' C017?AIU71 GCfmc <br />Worfd Yl�u' II— ns iu F�il'hnvcli, cLfnssadncsetts. <br />PLANNING CONItv115510vERS JOURNAL / NU�IBER 51 / SUd1IvIER 2003 <br />�'4;` <br />� :�. <br />