THE HOUSING SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21860, 13 August 1936, Page 3

THE HOUSING SCHEME

EXAMPLE OF OTHER COUNTRIES SWEDEN’S SOLUTION OF THE PROBLEM COMFORTABLE HOMES FOR WORKERS Sweden, Germany, Holland, the United States—these are some of the countries from which it is possible to learn much of value about housing schemes such as the Nerw Zealand Government proposes to introduce within the next year. According to the Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash), it is intended to construct 5000 homes in this country at a cost of £3,000,000, and to commence the scheme this year with the construction of .900 houses. The details of the scheme have not been announced, but from Ministerial statements already made, it is the Government’s intention to prefer the construction of houses to blocks of flats, and it seems certain that this preference will rpply in Christchurch.

One of the most successful experiments in solving the housing shortage

has been undertaken in Sweden. Many small houses in that country are financed by municipal governments at economic rates and on easy terms. The land *is in any one of several planned communities owned and controlled by the city. In addition, the Government provides the owner with the materials for building his own “prefabricated’ house at a very low figure, having bought them" in quantities by taking competitive bids from manufacturers which are subject to profit limitations. The results have been such as to suggest to a strong body of opinion in the United States at least that a similar system, adapted to American conditions, might well be, adopted by some of the smaller cities to solve a pressing problem. The Garden Setting

Prefabrication, of course, must result in standardisation, but, happily, it is the intention of the Government m this country to avoid that. Yet standardisation does not necessarily imply ugliness, as the larger ilhr "ration on this page of workers’ homes in Sweden will show. But whether there is standardisation or not, it should be the aim of the owner to give his home a garden setting. If that is done m this country, the housing scheme will have added merit. and will be something of which the Dominion may well be proud. It has been done in Sweden, Holland, and Germany, and plans are now being put" into effect in the United States for four garden cities. Stockholm has recently encouraged its citizens to build their own homes, and the results have been far beyond expectations. The fruit of the city s activity stands to-day as a monument of what wise communal insight into an important social aim can mean. At the end of the last century and the beginning of the present there was a great shortage of dwellings in Sweden. When the housing problem was discussed it was maintained that the apartment house—the ordinary type of dwelling—was subject to significant social and economic advantages. Cheap and Suitable Land

The small private house was acknowledged to be the most desirable type, and the primary need for solving the housing problem was the availability of cheap and suitable land. Stockholm at that time did -ot have such land at its disposal, but it began to buy. In 1904 the first property was bought at Enskede, and it was soon followed by others. To-day the city owns more than 5000 acres of wellsituated land, destined for urban development, principally for small houses. There was no hesitation in putting the purchased land to use, and in the following year the plan for the garden city of Enskede was completed. To hasten the development, about 100 houses for one or more families were built with subsidies from the city. This was in 1908, and after this the town grew rapidly. In 1911 the city felt justified in commencing another garden city. This was Appelviken, to the west of the city. Both these suburbs have enjoyed great popularity, and one after another suburbs have grown up along the lines of the original. The area laid out is more than 600 acres—about half as large as the inner city of Stockholm.

Within these garden cities are built more than 2800 dwellings, of which 2600 are one-family houses. About 22,000 people live in these small houses —about 28 per cent, of Stockholm’s population. The garden cities became popular because they had all the comforts of the inner city. They had well-built and well-maintained streets, sewage lines, water, gas, and electricity. They are served by cheap and comfortable communications, the street car lines having been extended to all the garden cities so that there are no inconveniences of transportation. They provide a home for real family life, making it possible for children and adults to enjoy fresh air and open spaces. The dwelling, too, in the garden city is much cheaper than a dwelling of comparable size in the city. Housing the Worker

When the city commenced its policy of garden suburbs, it had in mind primarily the improvement of conditions among manual labourers, as that gnnm suffered '-ost from shortage in accommodation and was most in need of wholesome surroundings. Enskede was built mostly by workers. An investigation in 1914 showed that the first owners of the dwellings erected were about 62 per cent, workers. In 1914 a reduction had taken place in the number so that only about 48 per cent, were workers, and later investigation in 1922 showed that this percentage had fallen to 42. In the wester. garden cities the figure was even smaller, with about 18 per cent, workers. This state of affairs, and the conviction that the apartment did not satisfy the demands from both hygienic and moral standards for a spacious enough cheap dwelling, led to action by the Stockholm City Council. In . 1924 it procured cheaper ground, and two years later brought out a plan to build 200 private houses in the sections of the garden cities specially laid out for the purpose. About 800 workers indicated their desire to build such houses, and from these were selected men who had steady work, preferably with some industry, or who had an income not less or more than certain sums, or who had skill in gardening.

etc. The results showed that a very sound choice had been made. Because the greatest number of prospective owners were not workmen experienced in building, the material was standardised as much as possible. In this way and by centralising the methods of supply, the cost of materials was reduced by about £SO. The city financed the whole undertaking, and, most important, supervised the work. When certain work could not be done by the owner or his friends, or had to be done by professional crafts, the citv made the necessary arrangements. The success of the enterprise has proved that comfortable homes in a planned community are possible for every citizen, even iu the lowest income groups. American Plans In the United States one of the most important activities initiated by the national administration is the creation of green-belt towns, as part of a scheme to abolish slum areas. Four towns are to be built, at Bound Brook, in the New York metropolitan area; at Beltsville, near Washington; at Moun* Healthy, near Cincinatti; and at a point near Milwaukee, Planners of the Bound Brook project have in mind a two-fold objective—an initial town of some 800 families, complete in itself until additions are made; and an ultimate town of some 5500 families, into which the initial town will fit as a constituent unit. The green-belt town, however, has had a considerable history in England. As the garden city, or satellite town, its philosophy has affected the thought of town and rural planners and of housing architects throughout the world. The most widely known garden cities in England are Letchworth and Welwyn, both near London; but there are several others, such as Becontree, near London, and Wythenshawe, near Manchester, Both Germany and Holland, too, have many an example of successful solutions of the housing problem.