The Housing Problem.

Progress, Volume XV, Issue 8, 1 April 1920, Page 763

The Housing Problem.

Big Conference in England. ' Mr. HURST SEAGER. F.R.1.8.A., Writes a Paper. Much interest naturally centres around the International Housing Conference arranged by the International Cities and Town Planning Association recently held in England. A number of New Zealanders were present at the Conference, including Mr. W. H. Cummer of Auckland and Mr. Hurst Seager of Christchurch, who wrote a paper for the Conference. Time did not actually allow Mr. Seager to read his paper, but there was a generous supply of copies available for all the delegates. In the twelve minutes at his disposal, he showed a number of very attractive New Zealand slides, and he described New Zealand as an extremely beautiful country, worthy of all that could be done to make it all that could be wished from a garden city point of viewa country which it was worth while taking a great deal of pains to develop. From , a geographical point of view it was rather peculiarly arranged, in that a series of plains was divided by a series of hills. It possessed a magnificent water-power, so that it will be possible to carry on industries by means of the electric power which the water companies will presently develop, A Plea for Organised Control. In his paper, Mr. Seager remarked that problems of housing in relation to industries is a world-wide one. “In New Zealand, with its broad, unoccupied acres, it is as acute as in the crowded areas of the Old World. It will require there, as here, the hearty co-operation of deep thinkers and hard workers before a satisfactory solution can be found. We started with the traditions and experience of the Old World to guide us, but those traditions have led us to allow the haphazard and individual growth of our towns and industries; which has proved so disastrous to the workers in the old industrial centres. This unregulated development has led to conditions of life in some parts of our towns which must be remedied before we can take pride in our cities as a whole. A Housing Bill has been passed by Mr. Massey, and the New Zealand Government give favourable terms under the Workers’ Dwellings Act for the erection of individual homes, but the larger issues involved in the industrial garden city and town-planning are not yet provided for. It is in the hope of being of some service in the development of the garden city that lam in England now. I wished to study at first hand the working out of the many and varied activities which are involved in the making of. a perfect city—to see how the theories and ideas which had been so ably expressed were working, out in practice; above all, to live in and study the conditions of life in the only example ,of a true industrial garden city, the garden city of Letchworth. ”

Still Falls Short. ' As a result of that visit, Mr, Seager came away with an even greater admiration than before for the wonderful achievement of the promoters, and an unbounded feeling of gratitude to the man whose vivid imagination was the foundation on which the whole superstructure had been built. , “It is unquestionably a brilliant success achieved under extraordinary difficultiesdifficulties of finance, prejudice, vested, interests, cheap cynicism, and apathy; and neglect on the part of the Government, who should have been the first to help. All these difficulties have been surmounted, and Letchworth stands before us to-day as an example worthy of being followed throughout England and the world. - But it is not the end. It is as a signpost showing that we are on the .right road. Letchworth is a success financially, a success from the point of view of the convenience and beauty of its development, and a great success from an industrial and social point of view when judged from the standpoint of industrial towns elsewhere; still, I am sure I am right in saying that it falls short of the complete purpose of the promoters. The exigencies of the case demanded that concessions should be made, that departures from the high standards set up should be allowed, in order to accommodate the scheme to individual rights and the practical views of those who were willing to form part of the community. This was wise; for without such concessions no progress could have been made. - J ' : - Lacking Industrial Co-operation. “We have regarded Letchworth as a model city in which every care and -thought-has been given (both in conception and realisation) in order that it may be possible to carry on industries under the most convenient and healthy conditions—a city where the workers may enjoy an advanced social life in healthy and beautiful environments. . But if we view it in the light of the best.modern thought and practice in industrial development,' then we must admit that it falls short of the standard that could be reached. The whole of the framework-is there, all that is required is that this excellent framework should be as quickly as possible filled in. “Just as town-planners are rightly demanding that in all civic creation and. improvements there must be the full co-ordination and co-operation between those who can help in the formation of the town, so sociologists and economists are demanding that in the modern industrial town there shall be the same thought and care expended upon the development and co-ordination of its industries. Thinking in terms of the individual must give way to thinking in terms of community welfare. Letchworth has to-day the industrial organisation that is common to our towns and cities, that is to say, it has no real industrial organisation of co-operation whatsoever. All its residents are thinking and working in terms of the individual, and strive for the success of the individual worker or the individual firm. Although so much has been written on the subject, it is not yet sufficiently realised that the success of the individual N : _ ;■ ' . '. ✓

is not . so much dependent upon his individual exertions as upon the relation of his work to that of other workers—to the organised control of the whole industrial life of the corhmunity. For just* as the heart of the nation is deep in the homes of the people, so the industrial welfare of the nation is dependent. upon the spirit of co-operation in every individual worker. It should be possible, and was possible under war conditions, for individual workers to feel that the work he or she is doing is a useful part of a great national scheme, , that they are all dding ‘their bit’ for the nation’s welfare. Woeful waste of energy which results from that individual action for which so. many are again clamouring. The wasteful distribution of commodities beyond" the neighbourhood of their production is a more serious menace to national prosperity. As in the Dominions, so here in England, the goods manufactured in any one town, although necessary for the residents of that town, are not sold there, but local wants are very largely supplied from distant towns. A large number of resident agents are employed, an army of commercial travellers sent in the endeavour to capture the business of their rivals in other towns than their own. I think we should arrange the industries within our future garden cities . so that the present waste of energy and industrial inefficiency may have no place there. ‘ v “It seems to me, and I hope that in all this I am in agreement with you all, that it is in the industrial garden cities that the industrial salvation of the nation liescities which are founded on the lines of Letchworth but which shall from the start give the .same care and expert thought to the welfare of their inhabitants as Letchworth gave to the formation of the city itself. We want not only expert city builders, not only expert city management, but we want also expert industrial managers to govern everything which will in any way advance the best interests of the citizens. ” /. The Panama Zone, Referring to the wonderful success achieved under the most trying circumstances, in the Panama area, not only in respect to the building of the Canal itself, but in the city building which had been carried on in conjunction with it, Mr. Seager said this success resulted from the appointment of one man, Colonel Goethals, who was responsible for the whole of the activities carried ,on there. He was responsible for the appointment of all assistants and subordinates, for the canal, the railway, the water supply, the electric power, the health department, the farms, the food supply and distribution, housing and places of recreation and rest, laundries, etc., and the government of the whole scheme. An Important Distinction. —- Mr. Seager was careful to point out that the “Unity of Control” must not be confused with the “Central Control,” by which hard-and-fast regulations are issued by those in authority, and leave no room for that individual initiative which is absolutely essential to the success of any scheme. Such

“Central Control” is very rightly condemned, but those who condemn it fly to the other extreme, and ask for a continuance of-the go-as-you-please policy, which is the base of our modern industrial life. “We cannot too strongly insist on the fact that municipal government is a business, and that in it recognised business methods must be followed. The holding of any municipal position is not for the sake 'of the honour,' it is for the opportunity it affords of doing good work. We cannot do good work unless we have been thoroughly trained in our task. The watchword of ‘Government by the people for the people’ has led us to appoint from among our citizens any who are found willing to undertake the task of government without any consideration as to their fitness for the responsibilities of the position. r We have been willing to be governed by those who have been too busy with their own private affairs to give the necessary attention to the welfare of the people. It has been thought that it would be a violation of the democratic form of government if an expert were appointed as manager of our towns. But it is now recognised in business that it is only by thorough expert supervision in every department of work that success can be gained, and it is the experience of business men that must guide us in the business of town management. A The country towns should be the cheapest possible places to live in—they are now no cheaper than the cities,; how can they be when the produce grown around them is sent to .London and brought back from there for local consumption and use. It can be seen that this scheme will not interfere in any way with those industries established in the garden cities which manufacture for-the world market, • - - ' . The proper forethought and care exercised in respect to its industries will make the garden city a still more attractive, place for work and residence, by contributing to the wealth,' the comfort, and happiness of its citizens; Everything that the community requires would be purchased, if possible, from the community itself, .and if that is not possible, then at the nearest town or factory where the • goods are . made., Production should be encouraged to the utmost, for there can be no such thing as overproduction if a proper system of distribution exists such a system would be established by the Sales and ' Distributing Departments.' Instead of the . large cities supplying the country, the country towns must supply them, and they in turn collect for export.” Mr. Seager mentioned that Mr. Raymond Unwin’s plan had been largely followed in the development of Durie Hill, at Wanganui. Professor Wilkinson, of the Sydney University, has been appointed one of the judged in connection with the , architectural competition for the new art building, which is to be erected by the Auckland University College. . ~*'•-* ■ * * ■ ■ The British Government’s Timber Department has ceased to operate. It sold the entire stock of fifty million cubic feet of soft timber to a syndicate ; for £8,000,000. This,is a record deal in timber.