Are Cities or Suburbs Safer For Children?

Is It Safer to Raise a Family in the City or the Suburbs?

September 29, 2010

Are children more protected in an urban or suburban area? Some couples exchange their metropolitan dwellings for more spacious (and allegedly safer) suburban spaces when they decide to start families. Others believe the culture, options, and access a city offers are unmeasured. Crime can happen anywhere, but which setting makes you more comfortable?

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12 Comments

Studio16 2 years 33 weeks

Suburbs. There's more space for kids to run around. You can leave your kid in the front yard for hours on end and not have to worry about him being snatched up. Can't really do that in the city...

dreamalittledream 2 years 33 weeks

While it's not 'one or the other' this poll was suburbs vs city. It wasn't asking about rural or international or other, so that must have been why I was confused by why you were affronted. Sorry, I'll chill ps. city all the way!

2 years 33 weeks

I think you're reading more into it than is there. Chill. I'm merely trying to explain how their reasoning is flawed. I'm not offended by it, I just think it's beyond dumb that there's never an "other, please explain" option. And I'm feeling chatty this afternoon so I dared to offer input. I should've remembered that we're not allowed to disagree with Sugar. ~lol~

dreamalittledream 2 years 33 weeks

Anonymous, I think you're taking this a little too personal. Chill.

2 years 33 weeks

And the "other" option would discourage comments? I think that's showing a huge lack of faith in your readers. Not giving an "other" option doesn't invite comments. Having one invites someone to vote and then explain what the other option is. Isn't the point of a poll to vote? Not having the right options doesn't encourage anything.

amandachalynn 2 years 33 weeks

Neither for me, I'm a country girl! Hubby and I just bought 6 acres and we can't wait to build our own place away from everyone. I can't wait for my son to be able to run by himself outside, or for the kids to pick cherries off our trees for pies. The way the roads here are set up, we are 20 minutes away from a hospital, and emergency medical can get to us faster than that if we need them. I hate too much noise, so the city is out for me, and I can't wait until I don't have to see my neighbor watering his lawn in his underwear every morning!

POPSUGAR Moms 2 years 33 weeks

Anonymous — Instead of having an "other" option, we encourage readers to comment. Thanks!

2 years 33 weeks

Our local suburb EMTs and other emergency services are regularly touring the areas to familiarize themselves with anything new and to be sure they can get anywhere quickly and without getting lost. They also have a much smaller area to track and service than the big city emergency services do, which results in a much quicker response time and treatment. City services are notoriously slower to get there because they're coming from much farther away, have a much bigger ground to cover, get little to no input on new growth areas, etc.

MissSushi 2 years 33 weeks

Eh, neither. All the small towns here have hospitals, so i'd rather live in a small town with a nice house and a few acres and a less hectic life style. That being said, I live in the city and hate it! But you live where the jobs are.

2 years 33 weeks

We're in a suburb and much closer to a major hospital than our major cities around here, and it's much easier to get to. No traffic, no rush hours, etc.

Girl Jen 2 years 33 weeks

I voted city. City homes and suburban homes contain the same hazards. They both have poisons, windows, coffee tables with sharp corners, the possibility of crime, allergens, and so on. However, most places in the city are closer to hospitals than most places in the suburbs. On top of that, most urban areas are laid out in a grid pattern, as opposed to the curving streets and cul-de-sacs of the suburbs. Most urban areas are well-defined--the streets are in the map book. Many suburban areas are growing so quickly that they make fire and EMS mapping software obsolete. There are streets that are not in the map book. Looking through the eyes of someone in the emergency services field, I'd much rather live in a city.

2 years 33 weeks

I refuse to vote in any more polls until an "other" option is added. Because seriously, it's not always one or the other, and this is another example.

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12 Comments

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