Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1943. DWELLINGS AFTER THE WAR.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 63, Issue 229, 8 July 1943, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1943. DWELLINGS AFTER THE WAR.

The opinion, expressed at the conference of the Town and Country Planning Association in England, that in evolving plans for fjost-war rebuilding the aim should be for dwellinghouses for families, and not for large blocks of flats, is one that evokes sympathy and approval. In Britain the situation has been largely one of closely-built cities, where living space is much more concentrated, for the most part, than in the most denselyinhabited quarters of cities in this country. Thus there is a natural tendency to regard flats, if not as the ideal, at least as the most convenient form of domicile, and to plan accordingly. Before the war the same tendency was apparent, in an even more extreme form, in many parts of Europe, where in the iarge cities large blocks of flats were constructed —without doubt magnificent buildings, probably wellplanned and extremely convenient, perhaps cheaply rented, but nevertheless still flats. No matter what provision is made in these niass dwellingplaces for community life and recreation, they fall short of the essential requirements of family life which oniy homes can provide. The New Zealand Government, in common with Governments and municipalities in various parts of the world, decided some years ago to adopt a housing scheme, and in this scheme the main attention was certainly devoted to housing, provision being made for dwellings with individuality and garden, space. At the same time, notably in Wellington, large blocks rf Government flats are appearing as an adjunct to the housing scheme. Under New Zealand conditions if is doubtful if such blocks of Government flats will ever be at all widespread, although in some places, particularly the capital city, certain conditions have arisen which make a proportion of flats necessary to provide dwelling space. Private enterprise has taken advantage of the shortage of suitable accommodation in many places to provide most of the flats available for the public. Under some circumstances life in flats may be convenient and desirable, but these dwellings are not the place for family life. The New Zealand Government is no doubt aware of this, and recognises that its part in preventing a general trend toward flat-dwelling lies in giving all assistance to the erection of houses for families and facilities for the occupier to own them. There is still a woeful shortage of houses in New Zealand. Even with the present programmes under consideration it must be a long while before the situation is rectified, but the end of the war at least should see substantial progress started, and perhaps by that time New Zealand may be ready to embark on a programme which will command the interest of British reconstruction planners who desire to break away from the tradition of flats which has been associated with bad pre-war housing;.