Slums and Town Planning

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 October 1913, Page 2

Slums and Town Planning

(Written for The Chronicle)

Compared with other cities, Levin is a small place. Jint old people can easilv remember when

these same cities were much the same as Levin is at present; and with the unrivalled richness of the surrounding country it is easy to picture it in the"near fu-

. ture, as a great city rivalling . many of (lie present in size and exceeding them in the beauty of its environments. This end'ean be gained by careful planning for the future and instilling- into the people the value of open spaces, and the danger of crowded and insanitary dwellings. In connection with this latter evil, evidence recently given before a select commit lee appointed by the Victorian Parliament to inquire into the housing , conditions of certain are-is of Melbourne, shows the bitter result of neglect in these matters. It went to show that some of the tenements are in such, a condition that they would hardly pass-muster as si"habitation fit for a hardened, mud-pickled p_ig. in five years, rents rose from Ss to His (id. Only two oui of i>o houses had baths, one of which was useless and the other never used. The quarter was mainly occupied by Indians, Chinese and Syrians. People in Levin may sco/I at the possibility of such conditions ever obtaining here. JJut it is safe lo assume Iha I at the same stage of the growth of their city Melbournitos also scoffed. ]jufc scoffing did not prevent the evil, and now that (hey have it, it is going- to cost a, i'uw boxes of coin to remedy the matter; and the harm done to the dwellers in and about these slums, mentally and physically, cannot well be calculated. Warnings like these, like creditors, which turn up at unexpected times and-places, should be heeded; they are the guiding lights for the future. Levin is now at a period in its growth when societies such as the recently-formed Beautifying- Society is most needed. It is these societies, working in conjunction with the local municipal' government, which lay the foundations of the beautiful city of the future, and they deserve every enco u rage in out. -