Where Would You Rather Relax?
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CSD PATTERN
As with many parks, schools A and school yards have been B D designed to literally wall themselves off from the surrounding neighborhoods to control access. C Often they are located on a highD volume, high-speed collector street for convenient access, but this ensures that everyone must arrive by car or school bus; walking to school would be too dangerous. The typical suburban school costs millions of dollars Sketch 9.5 (A) Office development. (B) Residential neighborhood. (C) Park to construct and is equipped location serves as an excellent separation and buffering element between with ball fields, running tracks, differing uses, offering lunchtime activities for the office workers and playgrounds, basketball courts, evening use by the residents. (D) Existing parking at the office sites becomes tennis courts, and an ample overflow parking during peak weekend residential use. amount of open space. But these facilities are off-limits except during school hours, and then only to students and staff. What happens after school? What happens during the summer? What happens during the holidays? You guessed it: not much. The facilities sit idle for the most part except for the school principal and secretaries. The entire complex is cooled or heated for only a handful of people. This seems to defeat the entire purpose of the relationship our public spaces should have with the community. Only
Figure 9.3 Suburban schools are often fenced off from their adjacent neighborhoods, requiring access by vehicle only.