The one thing that has got much worse is traffic, there are many more cars on the roads and they tend to be much bigger. I liked to let my kids road around when they were young but playing with the traffic didn't seem like a good idea.
> The one thing that has got much worse is traffic
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4f/US_traff...
In terms of absolute numbers traffic deaths today are at the same level as the 1950s, but as the chart also shows the population has more than doubled. Statistics in any developed western country are likely to look the same.
Traffic deaths per million people are down to the levels of the 1920s, where there were much fewer cars, and the 1920s are a period where it would have been typical to kick your kids out at sunrise and expect them to be back before sundown.
We live in the safest period in human history, parents are just being paranoid.
parents are just being paranoid
Or perhaps they are behaving rationally given the amount of traffic on the roads, those figures might have been worse otherwise.
You can build tunnels and overpasses for pedestrians. Button-operated lights for walkways. Strict laws requiring vehicles stop for pedestrians. Planned speed bumps. You can route traffic away from paths kids would likely walk. Do things so that it is more reasonable that kids will be safe in neighborhoods, even if they are playing in the road (at elementary ages, of course, when they are old enough to be aware). You can also have more public green spaces within a child's walking distance where they can play outside with others and make sure school grounds are open for play when school is not in session instead of calling the police for trespassing.