Streetplay Essays

Reflections on playing in the street

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Let's think about this...

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	Kids having a ball in the big alley parade (photo by Steve Zeitlin)

A far greater proportion of children's time involves adult supervised organized sports and electronic centered indoor activities than was the case in previous generations. Streetplay is often asked to comment upon this development and to describe some of the benefits kids got through what was once a common childhood occurrence; unsupervised and often unstructured outdoor play. The following writings speak to this issue.

Games Played In the Street Out of Bounds In Fairfax City This Washington Post article written by Peter Whoriskey discusses a recent ban of any form of ball playing in the Streets of Fairfax. The article includes a quote from Streetplay editors on the changing nature of childhood activities
Dodge Ball Ban - Streetplay reader Bob Pisano comments on the recent moves to ban this popular game from the schools.
Alley Cats - Story appearing in June 2002 Journal of the NY Folklore Society describing how urban alleys were part of the child's landscape.