Remember playing street cricket until the sun went down? Hopscotch with your friends on the pavement?
An initiative sweeping through London‚ Australia and Canada has seen local authorities allowing parents to close off their streets for a few hours for their children to make the same memories - and tackle urban isolation and childhood obesity.
But South African suburban streets are perceived to be too dangerous for children to play on.
Research published this month in the South African Journal of Occupational Therapy found that street play‚ often overlooked as an important activity for children‚ conjures up anxieties about child safety.
Occupational therapists Amanda Brackmann and Adrienne Daniels‚ who explored the street play experiences of children in Belhar‚ Cape Town‚ said traffic‚ the street's location and "stranger danger" were some of the reasons why South African children are instead hanging out at malls or glued to a mobile device.
"The children in our study noted that interruptions from cars often disturbed their play. At times dangerous elements such as gang activities would make the children too fearful to play on the street. Parents in other studies often sighted ‘stranger danger’ as a limiting factor.
"It’s not only the street location and vehicles that concern these parents but the negative association they may come into contact with while playing on the street‚" they said.
Ironically‚ Belhar children told researchers that playing on the street was one way to stay out of trouble.
Marcela Guerrero Casas of Open Streets Cape Town - a campaign to change the way South Africans "see‚ perceive and experience" - said that while traffic and crime were real issues to be concerned about‚ society exacerbated their fears by relying solely on perception.
"In other words‚ we have accepted as ‘normal’ that streets are dangerous places instead of trying to understand the dynamics at micro level. We simply avoid the space‚" she said.
But even if parents were open to allowing their kids to play on the street‚ obtaining permission to close off suburban streets to traffic is not child play.
"Temporary road closures are permitted subject to appropriate consultation and support from the respective line departments and enforcement units. They do take place for organised events and community happenings from time to time‚" said eThekwini municipal spokesperson Tozi Mthethwa.
She said applicants would have to meet many legal requirements.
Mayoral committee member for Transport and Urban Development Brett Herron said while the City of Cape Town has partnered with Open Streets the idea of multiple suburban street closures has not been considered at this stage.
"It is important to note that the requirement to ensure public safety at all times will place significant responsibility and some cost upon residents wishing to close roads. Closures must be effected in a safe manner and must often be manned to ensure continued safety throughout the period of the closure‚” he said.
