It requires a subscription to read the full article. But, is it something along the lines of this article?
http://grist.org/cities/this-playground-...tions-run-wild/

I was a city kid, and my regular haunts growing up were the school playgrounds after hours. Along with every other RC car/plane/model rocket enthusiast and pickup baseball team in the area. The gates use to be chained shut with enough slack to allow bikes and pedestrian traffic. The tetherballs were even left in place.

I just checked my old haunts with Google earth, and there is no access anymore. The playgrounds are the same packed dirt and cracked asphalt as they were 30+ years ago, but the gates are chained firmly shut. Not even the skinniest 2nd grader could squeeze through.

I'm in agreement that in order to raise kids with IRL skills, IRL experience with IRL tools is necessary. CoD and the internet is weak sauce compared to hand tools and bicycles.