Problem
People are different, and the way they want to place their houses in a neighborhood is one of the most basic kinds of difference.
Solution
Make a clear distinction between three kinds of homes—those on quiet backwaters, those on busy streets, and those that are more or less in between. Make sure that those on quiet backwaters are on twisting paths, and that these houses are themselves physically secluded; make sure that the more public houses are on busy streets with many people passing by all day long and that the houses themselves are relatively exposed to the passers-by. The in-between houses may then be located on the paths halfway between the other two. Give every neighborhood about equal numbers of these three kinds of homes.
Related Patterns
… within the neighborhoods - Identifiable Neighborhood (14) - there are naturally some areas where life is rather concentrated Activity Nodes (30), others where it is slower, and others in between - Density Rings (29). It is essential to differentiate groups of houses and the paths which lead to them according to this gradient.
Use this pattern to help differentiate the houses both in neighborhoods and in house clusters. Within a neighborhood, place higher density clusters along the busier streets - Housing Hill (39), Row Houses (38), and lower density clusters along the backwaters House Cluster (37), Row Houses (38). The actual busy streets themselves should either be Pedestrian Streets (100) or Raised Walks (55) on major roads; the backwaters Green Streets (51), or narrow paths with a distinct Path Shape (121). Where lively streets are wanted, make sure the density of housing is high enough to generate the liveliness - Pedestrian Density (123) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 192.