Children’s (in)dependent mobility and parents’ chauffeuring in the town and the countryside

The rural environment is generally regarded as offering better possibilities for children’s unsupervised play and independent mobility than urban areas do. This paper raises the question to what extent rural children’s leisure time is actually less institutionalised and more directed to the local neighbourhood than that of children living in towns. Empirical evidence from a travel diary and an interview study in a Swedish middle–sized town and adjacent rural area shows that rural children are engaged in urban–based activities to the same extent as are urban children, and that they enjoy less daily independent mobility than children living in towns. The paper further highlights the time–space adaptation on the part of parents to their children’s leisure activities and the related chauffeuring.