They had two things going for them: little traffic and a high level of what researchers call “social trust,” which is generally defined as “a belief in the honesty, integrity and reliability of others,” according to Pew Research Center. In communities with a high level of social trust, children are generally given greater independence and mobility. “Having social trust means that if problems arise, we trust that we solve them together, as a community. In places where the attitude is that everyone minds their own business, children have less mobility,” says Mårtensson, the environmental
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