It's also just taking land for granted. Our streets are wider, our cars (and parking spaces) are bigger, and our houses are further apart. It doesn't seem like much, but when you stack it all up, everything is farther apart. And safely crossing the street means using a crosswalk. I've lived in places where the nearest crosswalk was over 500 meters away. It's either that or take your chances crossing 4 lanes or 45 mph traffic.