Here's my take on the issue from 5 months ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32680201
Summary: We don't have safe roads and in most American suburbs traveling by car is often the only reasonable option available.
I actually hate that channel because it made me aware of how broken the car-centric infrastructure where I live is. I was living I such blissful ignorance, now I can't unsee it!
The problem with a lot of countries is that the car culture has spread to every city due to planning laws and such. You just need one place done right that can grow into something more European.
https://nstreetcohousing.org/ (Davis, CA) and https://culdesac.com/ (Tempe, AZ)
are worth a look.
people are not used to seeing kids outside ->
they freak out when they see an unaccompanied child
I think it was a problem that started to feed back on itself once people started spending more time indoors and isolated themselves from their neighbors more.
Stupid, careless, wreckless people obviously existed during the heyday of the American suburbs, but I reckon that far fewer of them came roaring down suburban streets at 60mph since they knew that Nicky, Tony, and Tommy might be outside playing stickball and that Tony's dad, also named Tony, would throw you a neighborhood-sanctioned beating if you were to pull such a stunt... and nobody saw nothin'.
No, instead, you drove carefully until you got to the highway and THEN it was drag racing time.