Childhood

I made this photograph on Monday. The hopscotch board implies the near presence of children, but the sidewalk is rapidly deteriorating. It isn't exactly the safest place for a child, playing right on the side of the road. And it's not clean. It also shows the crumbling of a past urban life. But the sidewalk is often the only place for children to play in poorer urban neighborhoods.

I found this photograph by Stephanie Leibowitz to contrast with the photo above. While it may have been customary for children to play in dirty streets in the past, today playgrounds and parks are encouraged. Pristine, safe, this is probably the preferred play area. But these places are created in areas with money, and the places that are crumbling still leave children playing on sidewalks instead of swinging on monkey bars.