Perspective
What Happened to Hanging Out on the Street?
Urban pedestrians are walking faster and doing less socializing, according to a new study of NYC, Boston and Philadelphia. Is technology to blame, or public space itself?
A typical modern pedestrian in Boston: rushing along, all alone.
Photo by Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images
Are city streets places for pedestrians to hang out, or are they routes to be traversed as quickly as possible?
Americans are increasingly treating them as the latter rather than the former.