Have you browsed around a bit on r/Suburbanhell? Not all American suburbs are like the ones depicted there, but it is broadly true for those built after WWII. Effectively, the sprawl and near complete car-dependence in these suburbs tends to "trap" kids and teenagers too young to drive in their homes.

It's a topic I've reflected on a lot having grown up in such a place and also having lived in a large city. I've saved a few comments on r/AskAnAmerican from when this has come up, and they express my own sentiments quite clearly about the experience of growing up in a typical suburb. Even then, there's a whole host of other issues at the societal level when it comes to the sprawl model of urban planning.