MODERN TOWNPLANNING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3178, 31 August 1917, Page 3

MODERN TOWNPLANNING

LECTURE BY MR. S. HURST SEAGER

At the Concert Chambor last evening, Mr. S. Ilurst Seager, F.R.1.8.A., of Christchurch, gave a most interesting and instructive illustrated lecture on '"I'own.Planning—tho Beautification of the City." The Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke), who presided, said that it was his privilege and pleasure to introduce ?«tr. Hurst Meager, and .he bespoke for him a hearty welcome to Wellington. He would like to Miy in regard to town-planning and the beautifying of the city, which had his cordial support, that if greater powers were given to municipal bodies to foster this work- they would be in a much stronger position that they are, and Mr. Seager believed that greater powers should bo given than the hide-bound restrictions allowed. Those who studied municipal government at all closely wouid know that they had no moley to CijFry out such schemes as were being advocated. Mr. Hurst Seager said, initially, that though some people thought the subject of town-piannihg was a dry one, he hoped that before he had finished he would raise a divino discontent in the miuds of those who were present. Town-plan-ning of the future was going to be tho work of trained minds working towards a definito ideal. He indicated that wen. in the early days, when Greeoe and Bome were all powerful, they had i some ideas of town-planning, for in their ancient cities they all contrived to have a civic centre, and provided liberally for their forums, temples, and stadiums. He argued that municipalities should never part with their lands, for even in ancient times they had had to pay heavily for lands required for the improvement of their cities. They al6o paid very large sums in tho beautitotion of their cities. To illustrato this he showed plans and pictures of Florenoe, j.;r.m-. peii, and Rome. In medieval times they found a riotous irregularity in the planning of their towns, but even then they made provision for shady oases amid' the crowded buildings, where people could rest and meet their friends in a calm, restful spot. In Wellington he found no such places. A fine park had been made at Ivelburn, but it was no place for tired city folk to rest. A view showed pictures of ancient London, and pointed out how extremely picturesque the buildings and even the meichaiits' signs were. They had a law that every street must be 66ft. wide. There had been no more foolish by-law ever made. Wren, who had designed a new London, but was unfortunately no prophet in his own coitntry, had no such ideas. He made his main arterial roads 120 ft. wide. Sixty-six feet was not wide enough for a main road and was too wide for a puroly residential street. Town-planners wanted nothing new; they only wished a return to the picturesqueness of old England, with their village greens, picturesque cottagea and gardens. But evon in England they had r.ot adhered to such ideals, for whon the age of machinery camo along they commenced to build tho workers ' cottages close together, level with the street, with no gardens, and nowhere for the children to play except the rough, busy streot." The speaker indicated with the use of a plan what was being done in and around London,, where a Town-Planning Act was in force. lie advocated a central governing body instead of tho work being left to several little bodies working all on different lines. An arterial road should be actually the King's Highway, as it was in tho days of old, controlled not by each little body along its route, but by the State. He showed a plan of an ideal garden city—one to accommodate 30,000 people—with the municipal buildings in the centre, tho workers on one side, close to ttte factories, and other people on the other side, with a belt of agricultural or park lands surrounding the city, with garden suburbs thrown out beyond the belt again. Right through England they were taking advantage of the Act, not because they had become suddenly inspired to achieve tho beautiful, but becauso it was found that by doing so they made their cities more healthful. He showed how the death-rate in these cities was less than in other places, and also , pointed out that the death-rate of Christchuroh— the city with the smallest death-rate in New Zealand—was nearly donblo what it was in the garden cities of England. Auckland came next, and Wellington was third, becauso \t was very congested and drab. Hero you had crowded suburbs, with at times thirty houses to the acre, and a photograph was shown showing the undesirable oongestion that exists in our suburbs.

Mr." Seagar pointed out what had been done in Liverpool, where 22,000 insanitary dwellings had been pulled down and healthful tenement houses had been built instead—not ideal, cf course, but as good as could be done in tho circumstances. Ho showed the wonderfully picturesque cottages of Lotchworth, which had only cost .£l5O each to build, and were let at is. 3d. a week. They could not expect to get them so , cheap here, where wages were higher, but in proportion they could do it almoßt as well when they had a Town-Planning Act. The lecturer deprecated the idea of building rows of houses close together, all more or less alike, which had a deadening effect,, as compared with places where the roads did not run in regular parallelograms, and where spaces were reserved for avenues, playgrounds, bowling greens,etc., and he illustrated what he meant by showing what could be dono with areas of ground of similar size. Then a plan muot be prepared in accordance with tho contour of the land. He illustrated tho mistakes which had been made in Auckland, Dunedin, and Christchurch by not observing the contour features of the land. In referring to Letchworth, the speaker said that the city was built by an association of business men, who had pledged themselves not to claim more than 5 per cent, profit. All profits over that went back to the city for its improvement opd tho lessoning of tho rates. In some of the garden cities the success had been such that there were no rates at all, which was a very delightful state of affairs. Tho lecturer pointod out what a glorious opportunity tho Government had missed m making an ideal garden village at Lake Coleridge, and showed a view of tne settlement, showing tho shanties set down anyhow.and anywhere. Tho result was that there was discontent among the workers because there was no social lite, and nothing beautiful and home-like, as it might have been. In contradistinction, he showed views of Port Sunlight, wlioro the workers were f he happiest He had Qver scon. He also showed charming views of Bourneville, erected by [ <adbury! and scenes of Hamstead Garden City, which were very beautiful indeed. One point the lecturer made was that roads should be only as wide as ™ nccessary. for the traffic ] T6 ,^ carry, but in New Zealand tho Act piovided for 6Gft. roarfls, which (as he showed by photographs) made for dreary wastes of macadam and telegraph They were now making arrangemouts to ■settle their soldiers on tho land, i.nd he hoped that tho settlement of these areas would bo planned on artistic and scientific lines, such as Karlsruhe (Germany). He hoped they would be made beautiful, for the beautiful is always attractive and made for content. ~ At tho conclasion of the address tho Mayor stated that it was the most practical and interesting lecture on the subiect of town-planning lie '> ad e heaTd - „ hearty vote ot thanks to Mr. Seager was Moved by Mr. A. Leigh Hunt, seconded by 111'. T. Hallinger.