Supervision of recreational areas can be provided in new construction by organizing play areas along one axis to facilitate immediate visual surveillance of the entire area. School buildings placed on a higher elevation than the recreation area provide better opportunities for outlooks. Ramping down to the play area allows the physical education director to command a broad visual sweep of all activities from the high ground.
On flat sites, vantage points should be identified and provided to allow as unobstructed a visual surveillance as reasonable.
Multiple enclosures around individual tennis and basketball courts can provide greater control and frustrate wouldbe thieves. Additional envelopes of fencing make it more difficult to both penetrate into an area, and remove school property.
Interior fences can be a functional chain link material, while the outer public fence can have a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Inadvertent vandalism and damage to buildings and property can be reduced by locating hard court play areas away from buildings. When courts are too close to buildings, errant balls can mar walls and shatter windows. In situations were courts must be placed close to buildings, window openings should be protected with mesh covers that permit light and ventilation as well as emergency ingress and egress.
Nighttime visual access to recreational areas requires not only adequate illumination3, but attention to the design of the edge conditions as well. Where play areas are adjacent to neighborhoods, street edge plantings should have sufficient openings to allow visual sight lines to fields beyond. This allows the local community and passing patrol cars to monitor after school recreational use.
3If by administrative policy recreation areas are accessible to the public for nighttime use, they should be provided with the same minimum level of illumination as indicated in Chapter 5, Section 5C, Recommendation 11.