Problem
If children don’t play enough with other children during the first five years of life, there is a great chance that they will have some kind of mental illness later in their lives.
Solution
Lay out common land, paths, gardens, and bridges so that groups of at least 64 households are connected by a swath of land that does not cross traffic. Establish this land as the connected play space for the children in these households.
Related Patterns
… suppose the common land that connects clusters to one another is being provided - Common Land (67). Within this common land, it is necessary to identify play space for children and, above all, to make sure that the relationship between adjacent pieces of common land allows this play space to form.
Do this by connecting several House Clusters (37) with Green Streets (51) and safe paths. Place the local Children’s Home (86) in this play space. Within the play space, make sure the children have access to mud, and plants, and animals, and water - Still Water (71), Animals (74); set aside one area where there is all kinds of junk that they can use to make things - Adventure Playground (73) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 341.