Imagine living a block away from someone or something, but they're in another subdivision so they're a mile away by car.
Maybe this is part of why kids are so lonely. Half of their potential friends are on the other side of the Berlin Wall, and it's not like most parents let them wander unattended these days.
I grew up having to jump through so many hoops to go to another friends house that i just stopped trying. The only way most people have some semblance of ability to meet up with friends is either having stay-at-home parents or getting their drivers licenses.
I grew up feeling isolated from my friends, and felt forced to play sports just to interact with people outside of school. I found myself wishing I lived in a town where there were houses closer together, so I could reasonably walk or bike to a friends house. It’s a horrible feeling to have friends but be unable to connect with them easily.
Suburbs are actively hostile to children and friendships. They are not good.
Even as an adult(or at least, one who can't afford to drive OR live downtown), I find that while I live a reasonable distance as-the-crow-flies from the pharmacy and the grocery store, to actually get there my options are "take the extremely long way around," "cross an urban freeway, in a manner which is illegal" or "hop multiple fences and go through peoples backyards, in a manner which is extremely illegal"
(as a kid i picked option 3 but now i'm slower and heavier and less flexible)
and then once i finally get to where i'm going, it's in a strip mall with a massive parking lot on a 6-lane stroad and somehow the smell of exhaust fumes is even more pervasive than it is in downtown toronto and i mean honestly, at that point, do i REALLY need food that badly?
