I live a couple blocks from a middle school and a high school. The streets and sidewalks are full of kids walking or biking, alone or in groups, at school start/end times. There are crossing guards at the intersections they use.
This isn't a poor neighborhood but it's not terribly wealthy, either.
Frankly, if you visit some other country for a couple weeks, you don't get any more than the most superficial idea of what life is like there.