How to Design a Shared Backyard

When you live in the city or the suburbs, it can be hard to fit everything you want into a small or mid-sized yard. Perhaps you want a large vegetable garden and even a couple of fruit trees. You’d love to have chickens, and the patio has to be big enough for your friends to comfortably sit around the fire pit.

Even though grass is unpopular these days, there’s nothing like it for running through sprinklers or having an epic sword fight. And the playhouse has to be big enough to withstand a siege that lasts all afternoon. Swings are great but require a lot of clearance, and the picnic table should fit all the neighborhood kids.


With this kind of wish list, you’d be looking at a two-acre yard, at the least.

If you’re fortunate, you don’t need to fit all these things into one yard. Perhaps your neighbor has a sandbox and a trampoline, but lacks the sunshine to grow vegetables. Maybe another household has a big storage shed. Would they let you store your bicycles in exchange for the use of your leaf shredder?

If you’re ready to sit down and plan a potential shared outdoor space with your neighbors, here are some things to keep in mind. Read on...