TOWN-PLANNING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 202, 21 May 1919, Page 8

TOWN-PLANNING

NEW ZEALAND CONFERENCE OPENED THE PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS CITY IMPROVEMENT PROPOSALS The Now Zealand Town-planning Conference, and Exhibition was opened in the Wellington Town Hall yesterday. Delegates were present from all parts of New Zealand, and the proceedings evidently aroused a great deal of interest. The official opening was performed by tho Governor-General (Lord Liverpool), at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber. • . '

The Minister of Internal Affairs (Hon. G. W. _ Russell) occupied the chair. Lord Liverpool sat on his right, and there were -also on the platform Sir James Allen (Acting-Prime Minister), tho Hon. A. M. Myers (Acting-Minister of Finance) the Mayor of Wellington (.Mr. J. P. Luke, M.P.), and the Mayor of Christchurch (Dr. Thacker, M.P.). The Governor-General's Address. Lord Liverpool, said that the conference had been brought together in order to consider a very urgent problem, which affected the period of reconstruction. : 'I am not going to presume to go into all the minute details of the question, and so trench on what is'undoubtedly the province of experts," said Lord Liverpool, "but I do trust this very important question will be considered from a really broad standpoint, and be dealt witli solely as a matter affecting the whole Dominion. In the first place, I wish to congratulate the organisers of the conference on the keen interest which has been aroused on the whole question, and which is testified to by the presence of the large number of representatives who have come together from all parts of New Zealand. . "Town-planning, as I understand it, does not by any means confine itself to the better provision of housing accommodation and construction, as some are inclined to think, but embraces the whole condition of affairs connected with the life of the community, and includes in it* sphere of activities all the attendant necessaries which go to improve our Bocial fabric. No hard and fast plan of action can be laid down, as the situation, needs, >nnd requirements of. dVery locality must'be studied separately. Iho broad ideals to "be aimed at are to endeavour to ensure that the population is provided with w.ell-considered schemes by which the community can live under healthier and moro congenial environments, and provide better conditions and surroundings than up to. now has been the case. ~ , , "New Zealand is, comparatively speaking, a now country; it has none of the difficulties which confront those who have to deal with the question as it affects the large centres of population in Great Britain-from the fact that the possibility of improvement in the United Kingdom is so much fettered bv lack of available space. Still, while there are not the same squalid areas in the Dominion as in the Motherland, the late epidemic has demonstrated/] that there is considerable room for betterment in many of the-localities ot'our larger centres of population. Nor can that improvement be brought about only by the jerection of up-to-date buildings, if such buildings are not going to be kept clean and sanitary; for it remains for the inhabitants themselves to see that a good system of everything.which conduces to a wholesome mode of living is maintained. , "So far as actual buildings are concerned, whilo one should study a pleasant exterior, the primary consideration must be for a suitable interior, in order to satisfy "modern hyeiemc conditions. Encouragement in providing more elbowroom outside tho house, 'both from the mtilitarian and' beautifying points o. view, is naturally, where possible, most desirable. Another subsidiary but very important adjunct to all schemes of townplanning is the proper means of acceos in the. shape of good roads. It is hoped that the .time is not far- distant when some large scheme ' will be evolved placing this question on a sound basis, moro especially in order to assist those part of these islands which aro deficient in metal requirements."I will only allude briefly to the question of the settlement'of our soldiers on the land. So far as this r.spcct is concerned,' I think I may say it is not such an easy, task to sottle as tho uninitiated think. It is certainly hoped that men will not be placed on the land who have no lcnowledgo of agricultural, and pastoral pursuits; still, that hardly comes within the four corners cf our conference, but what does' is the arrangement whereby these new settlements shall have access to all the modern conveniences of everyday life, and in this your conference can greatly assist. • _ "Anyone who has seen the planning of artisan dwellings in the past, and what is being done to-day, will readily recognise the difference Every human being desires, and should have, the opportunity of living as a'human being amid tho best surroundings possible, and v.hen you see the dwellings of the,.past and compare them with the buildings elected at Lctchworth or Port Sunlight you realise'at once the great contrast which exists'between a cold, bare,. forbidding home and one which possesses aTI_ the amenities which make life worth living.

"I will not deal with other important, matters affecting the problem, snch a." open air space, provision of proper lighting and water facilities, beyond saying (hat New Zealand possesses unlimited resources for dealing with the two last-mentioned subjects, and which assuredly must conduce very considerably to ajsisting the problem which this con. ference lias set itself to solve. "t trust that the deliberations tf this conference may assist considerably ;\in sottling one, at all events, of Iho difficult questions which face every portion of tlie Empire during this period of reconstruction which is now before us. The moment is'opportune: the breath of tho spring of desire to assist tho world to accomplish better things is in the air. There is a general wi6h to 'get things done': let us lose no timo, therefore, in endeavouring to see how ono can improve the conditions which surround our follow-citizcns, wherever (heir lot be cast." Sir James Allen. Sir James Allen welcomed the delegates. He said that the dovising of methods of town-planning was comparatively easy, but there wore many difficulties to be solved in the practical application of these methods. He hoped that the townplanners would not neglect art, which had not received enough attention in Now Zealand. The really difficult question was not town-planning, but the replanning of existing towns. (Applause.) He would watch tho proceedings of the conference with very great interest. Sir James Allen referred, to the question of war. memorials, as reported in another column, and. invited the conference to assist the Government in the devising of memorials worthy of the deeds of the men who had fallen. Detonates Welcomed. Tho Mayor of Wellington welcomed tho delegates. He said he hoped that the delegates would bo able to perform very useful work. There were several things to be done. Existing ovils had to be removed from the New Zealand cities, past mistakes had to ]» remedied, and the groundwork of future effort had to be laid. PRESIDENTIAr ADDRESS THE WORK OF THE CONFERENCE. The Hon. G. W. Russell then delivered his presidential address. He said it was a matter for regret that so large a proportion of the exhibition had come from outside the Dominion; nevertheless, from whatever source derived, tho exhibition must have a valuable educative effect in assisting the people of this Dominion to form sound opinions upon this important question. Tho object of the conference was intcnsoly practical, and he. trusted this aspect would he kept uppermost throughout the deliberations. New Zealand was a young country, and it should endeavour as far as jxissiblo to avoid the mistakes which had oecn made by countries in tho old lamU of tho world, especially in the Mother Country. Thoro tho growth of iudwliies during tho last

one hundred years Imd leaded to (lift aggregation of population in the cities, the depletion of tin* rural districts, and the creation of slums, with a "submerged tenth" and vast; masses of people to whom tho amenities and joys of open-air life wore- practically unknown. Amid such environment a healthy race could not bo reared. Truly had the liight lion. John Burns said at a town-planning convention in Great Hritnin a few years ago, "It is impossible in many cities for homes to be moro thnn the noisy, squalid shelter which they too often are. Tho mean street produces the mean men, the menu and tired women, and the unclean children." He could well have added that from such' quarters tho criminal classes of a country arose.

Great Britain had realised her mistake, and during recent years town-planning associations and activities had been strongly in evidence. As a result various garden .towns had been laid off, suburbs had been created for the purpose of improving conditions, and a higher standard of living for the masses was being looked for. The movement had extended to Canada, America, and Australia. Last year a largo conference was held at Brisbane, representing tho entire Commonwealth. To that conference Mr. Hurst Seager proceeded as a New Zealand delegate His .report has been printed by tho Government, and circulated throughout the Dominion. To his untiring energy and enthusiasm were due the present successful conference. New Zealand as ;\ country had not grasped and realised the importance of the problem. The Municipal Corporations Act had some pr<w visions providing for the abolition of in. sanitary areas, but there was little in' trie legislation which, provided for serurint; that new towns' should be located, 1 planned, and laid off on lines which would secure to the inhabitants of (he future an ideal condition as regarded healthfulness of situation, sanitation, drainage, water supply, nnd the laying off .of suitable parks and recreation places. Yet upon these things all townplanning should be based. Mr. Russell referred to the Townplanning Bill which he placed before Parliament in 1917. The proposals of this Bill, he said, were comprehensive. They embraced the improvement of the sanitary and hygienic conditions of a townplanning area, which might be an entire city or portion of a city, and also the adjoining areas, not only within the town-planning area, but also around and beyond it. It had been known for many years that portions of the New Zealand cities were occupied by dwellings and tenements that were in danger of falling into slum areas. The recent epidemic, revealed the necessity of lieing on guard in these matters. He regarded a local government board, as proposed in his Local Government Bill, as a necessary factor in the development of town-plan-ning. Mr. Russell referred to the movements of population in New Zealand, tho growth of the urban population, and the rise of land values. The Financial Problem.

The financial aspect, said Mr. Russell, was the crux of the whole question. It was easy, he said, to talk in generalities, but the bedrock question was one of finance It resolved itself into these two questions: (1) Should the entire responsibility of the town-planning be laid upon the people of the. localities? or (2) should' the State, in the national interest, accept at least a share of the financial responsibilities? His considered view was that while the direct responsibility of the, improvements in tho cities in the way of abolishing slum spaces and creating parks. Open spaces dust /rest upon tho people of Ihe areas concerned, the State should be prepared to assist minor boroughs, town districts, and growing localities by expert advice and financial assistance, in order that those places might be assisted by the trained staff at Hie disposal of.the Government or the Local Government Board and tho finance provided for them. There were two methods by which this could be done: (1) By a' process of graduated subsidy, such as he had proposed in the Local Government Bill of 1912, by which, according to the richness or'poverty of the area affected, the Stato subsidy should increase to the poor districts and gradually taper off to the diminishing point, for the rich cities and towns. (2) That through the State Advances Office a scheme should be established by which special assistance should bo given to local authorities tor town-planning purposes at the lowest possible rate of interest, and on even longer terms as regards sinking funds than obtained under the present system. Ono of tho most important: matters in connection with town-planning was the propor location of noxious trades, added Mr. Russell. As industries developed, it would be manifest that there would be demands for the establishment of noxious trades, such as fellmongery, meat, manure, and works of that description: the tendency of tho present railway mileage basis was to force all industries' ol these classes as- near as possible to the-port. Ono effect of the zonal system would be that those interested in these trains would have a much wider area for their sites,, since the railway charges would not increase with the distance from the port within a given niea. The ideal was that, as far as passible the manufactories of tho country should be confined to specific areas, and Hie residential portions segregated from the mamifaclurng and trading, thus enabling a more artistic system of town-planning to obtain. In conclusion, Mr. Bussell thanked the delegates for their attendance, and aid he was sure that with so able and representative a conference the question of P tho future of New Zea and s cihes and towns would be advanced and sound opinions famed, which wonfid ft*t expression in legislation at the eailiest convenient date. Mayor of Christchurch. The Mayor'. of Christchurch (Dr. Thackor) said the crux of the question was finance. If «'<-' w " lia<l ginned until June, New Zealand would have been required to find an additional ,£20,000,000 for war expenditure. llie money would havo been secured, and he contended that if the money coil d be found for war 'purposes it could be found for the extinction of slums and the proper housing of Uie people. (Applause.) He hoped the town-planners, in designing healthy homes for the people, would not neglect the interior of the houses, where the facilities to which the women were entitled were so olten "lb" "Governor-General and the ActingPrime Minister then left the conference. The Hon. G. W. Russell vacated the chair, which was taken by the of Wellington.

Papers and Discussions. During the morning and afternoon miners woro read and discussed; U\o Hon. A. M. Myers (AclingHMimster or Finance),-Mr. It. I'. von llaast, and Dr. J. P. Frengley were among those who read papers. , . ■ "Tho Kcopo of Existing legislation and tho Town-planning Legislation Proposed was the subject of a paper read by Mr. G P. Newton, of the InUnal. Allaire Department. Mr. Newton outlined I lie powers already po-cssed by cities and boroughs in connection with tie subdivision of land, Hie making ot roads, and the provision of sanitary works. Ha analysed the Town-planning Billot 19''. and indicated the ameudmen s proposed to he made in that Bill. The niro of land that could not be Mimiivided except as approved by the Town-planning Commission was lo bo reduced from 10 acres to 5 , acres, New Zealand Lagging, Mr. C. .1. lV.rr, M.P., stressed the necessity for action, .\cw-. Zealand was lading behind in the making o towns and tho housing of the people, .lhe cities were being allowed lo grow in liUoi carelessness. Landowners and speculators wero being allowed to cut up residential land in haphazard iashion wilnout regard to t ■• niture ot the city ami the comfort <:. •-•• eeonlc. Lvil conditions existed a .. wen' 1,,-ing allowed . ™„. Thcv c-k.1,1 be checked without expense lo "the p.ople and at enormous advantage to tho mil ion il action wore taken quickly. The powers already provided by Hat"*" wm "I' 1 " H]Y i ', t0 •>nv patent bv the local limlics, but more powers were needed. Mr. Parr said that tho ridiculous uui-iron rule llial streets must be Bli feet wide was .not known outside New Zealand. A MM. s reef was not wide enough for a main thoroughfare, and it was ton wide for a residential l.=itre::f. II invu.vcd wasto <i, around and of public money if it merely gave access to homes. Similarly ridiculous and undesirable was the provision ot New Zealand law that streets must run at ri*ht angles to one another. Curved streets, adapting themselves to tho eontour of the land, weae an enormous "im.-

provement on streets laid out on tho chess-board fashion. . | The Hon. G. I'owlds argued in favour of the betterment principle. Every wellconsidered scheme of town-planning would cost money and increase land values, and tho cost should be a cnargo against the increased values. There was no lack of land for homes in Now Zealand, but tho price of it was also exorbitant. The system of local and general taxation did nut remedy this state of affairs. The cost of materials for tho building of homes was too high, and this trouble was accentuated by tho levying of high duties on imported materials. MY. Fowlds advocated the taxation of unimproved values. "Wo tax dogs-'and Chinamen because wo do not want too many of them to bo about," he said. "For the same reason wo ought not to tax houses because we want more houses nnd better houses." The rating and taxation of land values was essential to the successful development of townplanning schemes. Slums and Politics. The' Hon. J. T. Paul said New Zealand had slum areas and housing evils as serious as were possessed by the older lands. This state of affairs in a young country with abundant land ought not to be tolerated. The Dominion was not solving tho housing question at present. In fact, the question was being made more difficult. The Government was trying to house the soldiers by wsistiug them to buy houses Too much (ould not be done for the soldiers, but this process of purchase naturally displaced other people and increased land values. The housing of the soldiers, in fact, was accentuating the housing problem. Mr. Paul said that New Zealand needed the services of an expert town-planner. "I do not agree with the view that this question should be kept apart from politics," ho said. "What we ought, to do is to clear politics from humbug. We ought not to allow a state of affairs where vital social ouestions are debased by association, with politics. There should be an uplifting tendency in polj-. ticfv" The new national ideal, in his opinion, should be service and co-opera-tion. Dr. A. K. Newman, M.P., said the improvement of the towns was an essential dutv. but he disapproved of any proposal to put the. cities under the control of the Government, or Government Departments His experience had been that official control thwarted effort nnd did not secure progress. A danger to be avoided in the discussion was. the neglect of small things while reaching out foT big things. Tho replanning of towns in New Zealand could not be undertaken on a comprehensive scale, 'becruso of tlio enormous expense. The rates would not. stand 'he cost, of remodelling towns. But it was possible to do certain things. Public buildings could be grouped in convenient fashion, trees could be planted, waste spaces could be improved, fences could be abolished. Whv should every house in Wellington be 'shut awav behind a more or less unsightly fence? He believed tho time would come in the not-distant, future when horses would be prohibited from usins city streets. He hoped that the conference would nay Attention _to town improvement. Mnny practical imnrnvements were within reach. Every New Zealand municipality outfit to take no the hoi'simr question. Th» Governii<>"t and the cilv council would have to build manv hundreds of bouses in each centra, nn d he believed that, the work would have, to be treated as a public work, without attempting to secure Mr. T. V. Mnrtin.' solicitor _ to the Municipal Corporations Association, discussed the 1"ot1 powers of local authorities under the present law. Fe indicated whore Hi" nowers were inadequate. Mr. H. 11. Smith. To-n Clerk of Chrlstchuvcli, surveyed th» Town-nlanning Bill of 1P1". He iiointed to weak points and uriwl certain amendment'. The contrnllint! authority under tho town-nlan-nni" law sWld not consist entirelv of theorists. . Men with practical experience of '""al "overnment should be included 'IV decisions of the authority should not be subiect to the consent of a Minuter. He agreed that the statutorv Gfift. street was not desirable. These wide streets in residential areas were unnecessarily exnensive to maintain and produced dust. Tnwn-plnnniug legislation Bhould he pushed forward as. quickly as possible. He honed another session of Parliament would not' elapse without power being given the local authorities to create garden suburbs. Hundreds of now homes were required in »ach of the oontros, and they could best be provided in new garden suburbs. Congested areas,should 1 be. replcuvned, so that when rebuilding look place suitablo plans might bo available. , , Tim Hon. G. W. Eussell, referring to the connection of the Government 'with town-plnnnin.g schemes, said that the "consent" of a Minister meant simply the Approval of ,his experts. A Minister did not apply his personal views. Dr C. Monro Hector read a short paper dealing with the relation of townnlanning to rmblic health. The public, ho said, would insist upon the adoption of town-nlanning schemes if they were brought to realise the importance of the matter. , ~ . At 5.15 p.m. the conference adjourned .until 10 a.m. to-day.

EVENING PROGRAMME. The exhibition was open to the public during the ovening. The programme included the showing of kiiieinatograph. pictures and lantern slides illustrating city and town improvements m oldw lands. These pictures were shown in the Concert Chamber, and tho public waa admitted without charge. Speaking from the platform of the Town Hall in the evening, the Hon. G. W llussell welcomed the visitors to tho exhibition, which provided, he said, a comprehensive survey of town-planning activities. The desire of the Government was to oreato a sound public opinion. tto need scarcely tell his audience that thero would bo a general election this year ''ho Government wanted the electors to impress upon'candidates the .importance of town-planning and the housin" problem, in order that the next bo\ermncnt might have public opinion behind it when reform on town-planning lines was-proposed. Now Zealand had made mistakes in the laying out and development of its oities, and those mistakes must be corrected where possible andavoWed in the future. There were 9000 one-roomed occupied houses in Aew Sand, and no fewer than 140,000 houses of two, three, four, and five rooms. Many of the homes of tfew Zealand could not be made comfortable and healthy. Facto of this kind demanded attention. He felt sure tho educative effects of the conference would be very great. , The conference will sit again tins morning and this afternoon. The exhibits will be open to the .public, without charge, from 10 a.m. untiUOp.m. J. natures will again be shown in the Council Chamber in the evening. The liners to be read to-day are as 'follow- "The Garden City in Gelation tn the Reconstruction and liepa nation Problems," by Mr. S. Hurst, Seager; -The Faure 'of Town-Planning.' ,by Di- ,T Price;."The Garden .Suburb of Daceyville, Sydney," by the Hon. J 1).. Fitz-'erald (presented by -Mr. Hurst fici iXv) "Garden Suburbs: The. Subdivision of Land for Residential Areas and Arrangement of Sites for nomes and Communal Buildings, by Mr. C. K. Ford. -