Communal Spaces

Chatting to a friend made me think about our stange relationship with communal spaces in this country.  He told me about his friend who lives in an appartment complex where a courtyard is shared by all tenants. The strange thing is that written into the contract is the agreement that tenants will use the courtyard as a walkway only. In other words they may not pause to chat with a fellow neighbour, they may not catch some rays on a sunny day, they may not use this outdoor space in any meaningful way.
      I understand that some neighbours might worry that the courtyard would be turned into a party area for drinking sessions. But surely this is comparable to telling tenants living on a row of terraced houses that they can never use their front gardens!
     My feeling is that in this country we are very uncomfortable about using the outdoor spaces that are part of our towns and cities. In other European cities you will see people sitting in parks and in town squares, playing games such as boules in city centre parks, sitting outside their houses watching the world passing by.  I used to think that our dessertion of communal spaces was due to the inclement weather we largely enjoy here, now I'm not so sure.  Is it perhaps snobbery? We think of it as working class and so not fitting with our new mainly middle class society to hang around outside? Being present outside without a purpose like jogging, rollerblading, shopping is seen as loitering and therefore for knackers only? Is this a symtom of a deeper insecurity with who we are?
   I just don't understand a society who thinks it acceptable for people to live in appartments, with no balcony I might add, and then insist that the only outdoor space available may not be used.