# Raising kids in the city

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2019-09-17

children, cities, housing, kids, matthew-yglesias, new-york-city, raising-kids-in-the-city, real-estate, suburbs, urbanism, vox, washington-dc

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This week, [Matthew Yglesias](https://twitter.com/mattyglesias) of Vox [makes the case](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/9/9/20746436/raising-kids-in-the-city) for raising kids _in the city_. Spoiler: Driving sucks. Cities have lots to do. And parks can be better than lawns. However, he also talks about why this proposition is becoming increasingly difficult for many families. Here are a couple of excerpts:

> _Now the father of a 4-year-old son, I live in Washington, DC, a city that is, mercifully, marginally more affordable than New York, and I wouldn’t want to raise a family any place other than the city._
> 
> _But unfortunately, families are disappearing from American cities even as city living in general has become fashionable again for those who can afford it._
> 
> _Children cost money. And they take up space. And urban space has become much more expensive — repelling growing families. This suits the proclivities of smug suburbanites just fine, but as someone who grew up in a big city in the 1980s and 1990s when city living was both less fashionable and more affordable, it seems like a tragedy to me._

I didn't grow up _in the city_. Though, I spent time in apartments and other higher density housing. And I don't have kids. But I find this topic interesting. It's also an important one. I don't believe that [the childless city](https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2019/07/where-have-all-the-children-gone/594133/) is a good thing.

For the full article, [click here](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/9/9/20746436/raising-kids-in-the-city).

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/raising-kids-in-the-city)*