Problem
No people who turn their backs on death can be alive. The presence of the dead among the living will be a daily fact in any society which encourages its people to live.
Solution
Never build massive cemeteries. Instead, allocate pieces of land throughout the community as grave sites—corners of parks, sections of paths, gardens, beside gateways—where memorials to people who have died can be ritually placed with inscriptions and mementos which celebrate their live. Give each grave site an edge, a path, and a quiet corner where people can sit. By custom, this is hallowed ground.
Related Patterns
… according to Life Cycle (26) the transitions of a person’s life must be available and visible in every community. Death is no exception. This pattern helps to integrate the fact of death with the public spaces of each neighborhood, and, by its very existence, helps to form Identifiable Neighborhood (14), and Holy Ground (66) and Common Land (67).
If possible, keep them in places which are quiet - Quiet Backs (59); and provide a simple seat or a bench under a tree, where people can be alone with their memories - Tree Places (171), Seat Spots (241) …
Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 353.