What a development

 I was at my grandsons' soccer game last evening and overheard a conversation. These young ladies from the opposing teams' junior varsity squad were making plans. One says to the other, do you live in the development ? In that moment it struck me;when I was growing up we wondered what neighborhood a kid lived in, now it is what development. It is a rather telling thing if you consider the implication. Developments imply a separate area or grouping of homes. Neighborhoods are part of a town or village. Mr. Rogers would invite you to be his neighbor, what would he say if he had lived in a development ? Developments appear to be separate whereas neighborhoods are inclusive. The developments are separate entities from the town in which they are built. In years past we built our hones either in town, or out of town. If you lived out of town you didn't always have a neighbor.In a development you always have neighbors , yet most just say, we live in the same development. It isn't thought of as a neighborhood. Often the town isn't even mentioned. It is a growing trend to include a gate house  and restricted access to these developments. It is almost as though they are building a fortress. Is this to give the appearance of security in our own homes ? It certainly appears that way to me. I find the whole thing depressing.
 I realize they are many advantages to this building trend. The primary one being an economic advantage. The cost of the land and home is lower if you do it on a larger scale. You can also " design " the theme you want. The homes will all be comparable in age and design. Driveways are paved and curbing is usually included. Quite a few incorporate the " homeowners association " as a means to control the development. I see restrictions, but others see it as a means of control. Simple things like, no clotheslines or unlicensed vehicles in the yard. Those restrictions grate against my nerves. I find it also restricts " character " to develop in the development. Neighborhoods always have character. That is why we wanted to know what neighborhood you came from. Nowadays we would call that profiling I suppose. Still if you came from uptown, say the neighborhood around town pond, I can make certain assumptions about you and your family. If you lived down to three mile harbor, in a fishing shack, quite a different assumption was in order. Profiled ? Yes, I guess it is but I didn't mind. I was proud of my profile. Now the only profile we are supposed to have is on Facebook ! Funny when you think about it. And Facebook is a community, a development. It is called " social media " and is a social experiment. I almost always type " good morning " first thing. I started that a few years back to promote being social. Maybe I need to change that too, " won't you be my neighbor. " Probably get sued for the copyright though. Yes, I'd say this world of today is turning out to be quite the " development. " The way it is headed we all be in our gated developments just working and playing on the internet. Safe inside our homes. What a development !