Are we factory farming our children?

It has been an interesting time returning to our hometown after a near decade absence.  Although, we visited during that time we were not connected enough to see systemic changes in the demographics or the institutions.

One obvious change is the transformation of Elementary Schools into Seniors Housing.  I think I have seen near half a dozen sites in the city that this has happened.  With the disappearance of the Elementary Schools comes the disappearance of the green spaces and/or play grounds that are part of the school ground.  The land use changes so that trees are chopped down, play equipment dismantled and we 'pave paradise and put up a parking lot'.  This may seem like a small thing, but the character of the neighbourhood changes.  Houses become less family-friendly because there is less space to play and meet with neighbourhood friends.  Maybe you could make the argument that the houses in these areas, and thence the neighbourhoods,  become less community-friendly...to facilitate community there needs to be structures in place to support interactions and relationships.

Following this trend the mega-school model has been embraced...gather children and young adults from all over the city and pour them into a single large building.  Of course, there are arguments about use of resources and maybe a spread sheet could show that the budget is less if one building replaces two or three other small buildings.  But I wonder if all the extenuating factors are considered, such as carbon costs of longer commutes for both staff and students, relationship costs of larger classes, loss of interaction with families, change of relationships among students who have no means away from school to maintain  contact with classmates.

As my dh and I were talking about these things he drew the comparison between factory farming and the model of education currently being implemented here.  Herding children onto fenced in lots, packing them in buildings row on row, limiting physical contact...do we know that this builds healthy, well-rounded individuals? ...or has the god of convenience working alongside the god of profit-margins pushed us into missing the reality of what our society has been embracing? 

As a mommy with four children the demographics of the city I live in matters, not so much in who is around, but how friendly the city is for children and families.  Will it become more and more challenging to find free space for children to run, climb and explore?  Will it become increasingly difficult to live life with my children or as a family?