The subdivision I currently live in, squarely in suburbia, has like a dozen kids out every single night playing in various front yards. The parents hang out in the driveways to monitor. Been that way for over a decade. All I and my friends did when I was younger was either play video games or dick around in the yard, playing football or whatever we were doing at the time. The park was far away, and we couldn't drive, and our parents worked. We had a yard 4 feet from the front door, where else are we gonna play?

Maybe in town you'd go to the park because the other option was the street.