Steven Johnson on choosing Raising Kids in UrbAn area. David Brooks' obsession with the surfaces of hipster parenting ends up blinding him to the real trend here, which is central to almost all the examples he cites: young parents choosing to raise their children in the city, not the suburbs. That is a decision with real consequences, not an empty gesture. It has material effects on children and parents - and the cities they live in. It's a decision with political and environmental implications, and also one with some surprisingly old-time Americana values. (Brooklyn parents can be cloyingly sentimental about the small town friendliness of their Neighbor Hood-s.) It has almost nothing to do with non-conformism, and everything to do with the kind of Commun Ity - diverse, Side Walk-based, public, culturally-rich - we want to raise our children in.

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