Town Planning- The Beautification of the City

Progress, Volume XIII, Issue 1, 1 September 1917, Page 7

Town PlanningThe Beautification of the City

Lecture in Wellington by S. Hurst Scager, F.R.1.8.A. —-■■■ ■ —— - ' - ■—

Mr. S. Hurst Seager, F.R.1.8.A., of Christchurch, gave a lecture during the month in the Concert Chamber, Town Hall, Wellington, which was very keenly listened to by those -who attended. The Mayor, Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G., was in the chair, and heartily welcomed the speaker. The Mayor stated that, so far as he was concerned, Wellington would give cordial support to any schemes of Town Plan-

iiing and Beautification of the city, and if greater powers were given to Municipal bodies so as to place them in a stronger position, something definite could be done. Mr. Scager in his opening remarks made reference to the visit of Messrs. 11 cade and David go, who travelled through New Zealand giving Town Planning lectures a year or so ago. He commented on the fact that Town Planning was looked upon by

many people as a very “dry” subject. It is unfortunate, for it is a generic name for all human activities which make for the betterment of life. Town Planning includes not only the setting out of towns, hut all questions relating to health, convenience of traffic, healthy and artistic homes for everyone, as well as all places of instruction and entertainment. Recreation grounds for all ages; from

flic sand heaps and paddling pools for the little ones and sports grounds for our young man and womanhood, to the quiet parks and places of rest for the aged. Town Planning demands that these things shall lie done, so that not only health and vigour, lint also enjoyment of life shall lie the heritage of all. Town Planning in the future, like the Cathedral of old, will he the "work of many trained minds working in harmony for one great ideal. The speaker

regretted that he could only lightly touch on some of the salient branches of the great subject of Town Planning, and paid a tribute to the interest the Minister for Internal Affairs, the Hon. W. G. Russell, had taken in Town Planning. He stated, that Mr. Russell would endeavour to give us a Town Planning Act which would enable all these things to be done. The main features of Town Planning under which most excellent work is being done in other countries would be touched on during the evening. The speaker endeavoured to show the urgent necessity for an Act in New Zealand in order that the villages and towns we are to provide, and must of necessity provide, for our brave returned soldiers, shall bring to their lives comfort and happiness. They should be able to live in truly model villages, which should be in accord with the delightful villages and surroundings they will have seen in England and France. Mr. Seager showed by means of lantern slides many historic pictures showing that ancient history has very little to show us of the art of Town Planning, which is essentially a modern art. Among the pictures shown were some of Florence, Pompeii and Rome, and in speaking of the Roman Forum, he pointed out the lesson that municipalities should not part with their lands. lie stated that Caesar paid £I,OOO per sq. yard for the land on which to build his Forum, at Rome. He spent the equivalent of

£600,000 of English money on the land necessary to carry out his scheme. It is a common experience of those towns which have parted with their city's lands to private owners, that they are spending millions to-day to buy back that same land. He showed Sir Christopher Wren's plan of- London, which he described as a "grand conception." It is really the first town plan, and modern schemes of Town Planning are largely indebted to this work' of Sir Christopher Wren. In this plan are shown arterial roads, narrow roads, and streets, all radiating from a central point, and double roads where large traffic is expected.

The speaker made an object lesson of the municipalities of London through not adopting a systematic Town Plan years ago, and pointed out that whenever an opportunity occurs to do good work, it should be seized upon and the work done without delay. In the case of London the delay has lately cost over £20,000,000 sterling to buy back land which was the city's heritage. Paris has spent £36,000,000, and

other Continental cities large sums, which would never have been required if proper forethought,, such as Wren's had been exercised. The beauty of Wren's conception was compared with a view of Ludgate Hill to-day looking up to the Cathedral partly hidden by flaring signs some of which the lecturer showed. Hut in spite of all this clatter of tongues, this strife of commercial war, this yelling in Bft. ami 10ft, letters, this crowding out and squeezing in, there stands Wren's Cathedral in. the heart of London, it's nobleness and dignity cannot be impaired. It stands as a symbol of all that is best and noblest in our Empire on the site of the old Cathedral destroyed in the great fire in 1666, dedicated to that doughtly champion of truth and justice, St. Paul. It stands hard by the spot where many a brave martyr had laid down his life for the faith that was in him. Its grand dome soars high above the strife and struggles, the gaiety, the thoughtlessness included in the thought of modern London, as a noble symbol of our determination to fight for tin faith that is in us. The faith that justice, truth and rightousness shall again prevail. The speaker maintained and showed by means of lantern slides that the charm of England is not its towns, but its villages which are beautiful and of distinctive character. He was asking for the return to this delightful vitalizing existence. '- The invention of machinery led to the crowding of the houses round the factories where hundreds and sometimes thousands of employees were busy. It is this invention that was responsible for the insanitary buildings that, are now the worker's dwellings of our cities. We want to take the workers out of unhealthy and woefully depressing

streets, and place them in beautiful homes in ennobling surroundings. In New Zealand, even at the present time, there are many dreary streets, generally dubbed “slums,” though, of course, not in the same proportion as in the Old Country. In connection with the growth of the Town Planning movement in England the lecturer stated that 70 municipalities in England are carrying out Town Planning schemes, while in America there are 54 Town Planning Commissions at work. The first necessity of a Town Planning Act is some central authority. In England it is the local Government Board. In S. Australia and in America

a board of expert commissioners associated with local representatives? The next most important thing is the power given to Local Town PlanningBoards. The growth of the Garden City and Suburb movement in England provides that the growth of cities shall be on healthy lines. The lecturer defined the terms Garden City, Garden Suburb and Garden Village as follows: Garden City is a perfectly self-contained city for say not less than 30,000 inhabitants with full provision for-every thing required for transport, roads, all sanitary works and lighting, factories, and works where all industries can be carried on, homes for workers near the factories, homes for

all classes of residents (at Letch worth the rents vary from 4/3 a week to £l3O a year). Halls, library schools, churches, club rooms, sports grounds, recreation reserves and parks all forming part of a well considered scheme. He pointed out, that it had to be determined not only how the scheme should develop but very definitely where it should stop. If further accommodation was required then it must be provided beyond the park land surrounding the city in Garden Suburbs which may be purely residential or industrial or both, but connected with the city by a road passing through the park or agricultural lands. It forms

part of the city scheme. A Garden Village is a garden city in miniature. Why is it that the movement is so popular? The fact is that it is so extremely important as a factor in the development of the race. Beautiful surroundings are healthy surroundings, they make for the mental, moral, and physical welfare of those who enjoy them. Statistics have been collected showing the general improvements in health, weight and height of the inhabitants of properly conducted cities. No plan in the future will be accepted that does not provide proper playing ground for all ages. The speaker showed some worker’s tenement dwellings of Liverpool. Twenty-two thousand

houses placed back to back in narrow courts have been cleared away, and a sum of £700,000 spent, with a result that 2886 tenements with 7195 rooms were built and let at the rate of 1/6 per room. This ot course is not ideal but in Liverpool and other large crowded cities tenement houses are all that are possible. Artistic economical cottages either singly or in groups are required and arc built to form part of a well planned scheme at a cost of £l5O which entails a rent of only 4/3 per week. This is in England, (double the amount would be required in the Dominion). The speaker quoted the case of Port Sunlight, and showed the plan, which consisted of 350 acres occupied by 800 houses, with a population of 3,200. This averaged out ten houses per acre. The planning of villages for the accommodation of our soldiers is a point made by the lecturer which should appeal strongly to us at the present time. Mr. Seager has been good enough to draw us a plan showing in diagram form his ideas in this respect. This diagram is not intended to show the actual planning of a village settlementthat can only be done when the site is chosen and carefully studied—but it shows the basic principles upon which the settlements should be arranged. The settlement of soldiers and others on the land can only be successful if the amenities of city life are taken into the country. To achieve this there must be:— (1) A block of land on a main road, on a line of railway, and placed where electric power is available. (2) A village designed on modern townplanning lines in the heart of the block taken up for subdivision and settlement. (3) This village must be made as attractive as possible by its convenience and beauty. (4) It must provide places of instruction, entertainment, recreation, and shops. (5) Adjacent to it, and close to the railway, should he small factories for industrial workers in as manv departments of industries as can be brought together. (6) Surrounding the village should be arranged small holdings for orchards, vegetable gardens, and small-fruit growing, and beyond these larger holdings for dairy farms and agriculture. (7) Between every two blocks should be a narrow. well-formed road radiating from the village to the distant part of the block of land. These would open out into district roads between the larger holdings. Surrounding these orchards and vegetable gardens should be a road of communication between all the settlers’ holdings,- At the intersection of this road with the radial roads grouped conveniently round the intersection should be the settlers’ homes. Thus all settlers would be neaflv equidistant from the village and within easv communication of the blocks of cottages to the right and left of them. These principles are here shown in diagrammatic form. It is to be honed they may be realised if not bv the Government then by an association working in the same manner as the Garden Cities Association in England. The problem with which we are confronted is not only to settle our soldiers on the land, but to provide

for them in such a way that they may still enjoy the companionship of their fellows, and the amenities of civic life. The speaker had several letters from those at the front speaking enthusiastically of the charming villages they had seen, and of the wealth of flowers, and trees which surround them. "It is an eye-opener," and well it may be to those of our brave boys who have known only the dreary, treeless plains, the isolated cottage, the collection of bare, comfortless shanties and disfigured stores which are known as townships throughout the Dominion. Can we expect that having had their eyes opened to the beauties and comforts of village life as seen in "beautiful England" and the "fair land of France" that they will be content to settle down in an isolated shack in a 50-acre paddock ? He thought not. In order that the scheme of settlement may be a success, and our boys may have no regrets that they have left behind them the beauties they have seen, we must build for them right in the centre of the block of land set aside for division into small holdings, a model village—with its clubroom, library, church, school, and groups of shops. The village "must have its playing fields, recreation grounds, and swimming bath, all arranged on modern garden city lines, such as are seen at Port Sunlight, Bourn ville, and many other places. Round the village centre should be groups of cottages, and work rooms where various home industries may be carried on—all bordering on a tree-lined avenue, and beyond these the small holdings for dairy farms, orchards, vegetable gardens, and agriculture, all divided by narrow, wellformed roads radiating from the village in all directions, as the spokes of a wheel from its hub. Karlsruhe, is arranged in this way. A circular road, or, if necessary, roads, should encircle the village at the necessary distance from it to give the required area of the holdings. On the angles of the holdings at the intersection of the radiating and circular roads, should be placed the cottages of the settlers, thus forming a group of four or more cottages fronting the planted intersections. These groups of cottages would thus be a few chains apart, and would all be equidistant from the village. There must of necessity be a director with assistants to govern, direct, and advise. There must, in fact, be the captain and subordinate ranks of industry in' order that under proper command our soldiers inav achieve the same brilliant success in the arts of peace that they have achieved in the art of war.