A small group of fourand five-year-old children are playing in a sandpit in a pocket park in Vauban, a new housing area in Freiburg, southern Germany. The play space is a hive of activity, with buckets, spades and a wheelbarrow all being energetically deployed. The parents are nowhere to be seen. But this is not neglect. This is a child-friendly neighbourhood, German style.
Vauban shows what places look like when they have been built with children and families in mind. The housing, road network and open spaces have been thoughtfully laid out so that almost all homes look out on some attractive public green space. Different spaces - each designed with local families - offer something different: naturalistic landscapes, football-friendly grassed areas, stone amphitheatres that are perfect for teenagers to hang out.
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