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or, alternatively, they can be torn apart when auto traffic noise, pollution and threats dominate the street environment. Additionally, Figure 2 shows how residents' sense of their home territories shrinks as traffic grows heavier and faster. When heavy traffic forces residents to retreat into the backs of their homes and �'��r��x�� r��--- - � �r�r� �o��,�� a r��s, _. .�F��.�+ . . . . away from the street, the areas in front of homes — that could .��.��.�=��t��. . be vibrant places for children to play and neighbors to socialize �7� �,�4�f��'�'i�s — are left empty of street-life. As a result, few "watchful eyes" are .. ��y��_ .._...__ left to enhance neighborhood safety. �,� �,��j r��,� Following on the legacy of my father's work, I initiated a _��_ __ ._ study to explore how traffic affects children's perceptions of � their environment, focusing specifically on the community �� '� '��'�"�''� � environment between home and school. Early in the study, I t+�� 7��}�� worked with two colleagues, Vijay Jayachandran and Marcus ��t'�Y`�s€4 �.�rt�� Diederich, to conduct focused interviews and mapping exercises with nine- and ten-year-olds, having them draw free-form maps of their neighborhood between home and school. One conclusion was immediately obvious: being par•t of traffic profoundly affects children's perceptions. Many children primarily experience the world outside their homes from the backseat of a car. National surveys show that, on average, children spend more than an hour a day in a car, not including time in the school bus. Figure 3 shows a child's windshield view of his world. As part of our study, this 10-year-old child, who was driven everywhere, was asked to draw a map of his neighborhood ' -- I i r � i ��•'•r,� _ � J—= —� - �� - � � � � �^� � t . ,,� �� I � - -�� "� k+,+�� � �r��*, � ��-� �� i . � ...�.._ I �� � �� X i�� ��,�; -- -�,.. � _� }� --�-- f �� I I '. —�,� � �i � � �`` � r-� � r �� i��, � � �--� �-i- � �. — � _ � ��_� � � ��...-- -- � . r �I ..�- -.----- -. �� I Ri �+s � � � � r � f ' � � �1 yl � rt� i'.ri_�:� �.�:�i_ l�r�y� �rw i �� ir�rr ,�i''.y� �'r.5 �F�� JL'I � � � - �- -�-� --- -- rai�r�- axrd €�x�-�t�r-o�� _..�— �r:rx�� ti�� fh��a � . .. l��'ri'iU �P�i' ��J�'P� . x�i�� cr� f� tri r -k��a� �h��r��. . . _ ��ftr�c�r'�� zr��r� -� rzr��, - ----� k Figure 3: A �� �y drawn by a 10 year- old child who was driven everywhere. The result is a series of disconnected �r'r�� that lead separately Fr��;; � Izotne to schooi, friends, or the �nall, with little detail or cnn��ectioa� r�th tlie co�n�nunity.