Problem
Community facilities scattered individually through the city do nothing for the life of the city.
Solution
Create nodes of activity throughout the community, spread about 300 yards apart. First identify those existing spots in the community where action seems to concentrate itself. Then modify the layout of the paths in the community to bring as many of them through these spots as possible. This makes each spot function as a “node” in the path network. Then, at the center of each node, make a small public square, and surround it with a combination of community facilities and shops which are mutually supportive.
Related Patterns
… this pattern forms those essential nodes of life which help to generate Identifiable Neighborhood (14), Promenade (31), Network of Paths and Cars (52), and Pedestrian Street (100). To understand its action, imagine that a community and its boundary are growing under the influence of Community of 7000 (12), Subculture Boundary (13), Identifiable Neighborhood (14), Neighborhood Boundary (15), Eccentric Nucleus (28), and Density Rings (29). As they grow, certain “stars” begin to form, where the most important paths meet. These stars are potentially vital spots of a community. The growth of these stars and of the paths which form them need to be guided to form genuine community crossroads.
Connect those centers which are most dense, with a wider, more important path for strolling — Promenade (31); make special centers for night activities — Night Life (33); whenever new paths are built, make certain that they pass through the centers, so that they intensify the life still further — Paths and Goals (120); and differentiate the paths so they are wide near the centers and smaller away from them — Degrees of Publicness (36). At the heart of every center, build a small public square — Small Public Squares (61), and surround each square with an appropriate mix of mutually self-reinforcing facilities — Work Community (41), University as a Marketplace (43), Local Town Hall (44), Health Center (47), Birth Places (65), Teenage Society (84), Shopfront Schools (85), Individually Owned Shops (87), Street Cafe (88), Beer Hall (90), Food Stands (93) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 163.