PLANNING HOMES

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 85, 9 April 1936, Page 12

PLANNING HOMES

HOUSES AND FLATS

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED

FIVE MATK POINTS

A considerable part of the paper read by Mr. G. N. T.-Goldie, of the City Engineer's Department, at the annual meeting of the Royal Sanitary Institute last night dealt with housing conditions in this city and the problems which must 'be solved if present difficulties and the greater difficulties ahead are to be overcome.

Modern housing is strikingly different from the housing methods of the past, said Mr. Goldie. A modern housing scheme is designed for a particular purpose and to counteract certain unsatisfactory trends of today, also it is non-speculative, a truly great departure from the previous activities. Its success is dependent upon planning, economy in construction and administration, considerations- of social life, amenities in the form of quietness, maximum sunshine, open space, and privacy. It is not merely the mechanical extension of streets and the mass" production of five hundred or so stereotype dwellings; it is the establishment of a neighbourhood residential unit complete in all its departments.

Almost always housing brings up the question of flats v. single family dwellings. In England the housing schemes have largely adopted row-houses, and recently some very large blocks of workers' apartments have been erected. In Germany, Holland, Austria, and Russia much of the recent develop-ment-has taken the form.of large apartment buildings; many of the Austrian buildings have communal kitchens and bathrooms. SOCIAL OUTLOOK AND CONDITIONS. "The extensive erection of workers' apartment houses in Europe is inclined to encourage us in New Zealand towards the erection of flats for workers, but when you come to consider the social outlook, the freedom, and the high standard of Hying of the New Zealand worker as against that of the workers in European countries, it appears to me that; apartment housing on a large scale; may be a dismal failure. If proper precautions are taken in developing a single family housing scheme.it appears highly probable that the scheme would cost very little more per unit than a large apartment house scheme, and there would be no doubt that it would appeal to the majority of the workers. "The growth of flats in Wellington is not really alarming, although in actual numbers Wellington is considerably in the lead of both Auckland and Christchurch," added Mr. Goldie. CONVERSION TO FLATS. During the last four years 562 singlefamily dwellings were erected in the city, and during the same period 558 flats contained in 200 buildings were created—practically level pegging. Of these 200 apartment buildings only 55 were new; all' the rest were conversions of old wooden buildings and mainly from . single-family dwelling use to two flats. With the establishment of reasonable housing schemes it was highly probable that the number of conversions into flats would drop off rapidly. Many conversions, he said, are makeshift affairs, utilising basements never intended for' living quarters, and carried as cheaply as possible by cutting down the quality of materials. COMMERCIALISATION OF HOUSING. "A rather unsatisfactory. aspect, also, is the commercialisation- of housing," continued Mr. Goldie. "When an owner crowds as' many families as possible into an old wooden building in order to increase the revenue therefrom,. I think that drastic remedies, are warranted. The trouble under the present system of house building is that while there is a shortage practically any type of accommodation can be let, and as soon as a housing shortage is starting to be somewhat relieved the speculator stops building. This is what he calls safeguarding his own interests, and I suppose it is only natural, but it" fosters the vicious circle, neither helping the community nor, in the long run, helping himself." Housing for the workers could be more successfully carried out by working on a fairly large scale—not twenty houses here and thirty there—but four or five hundred, sufficient to make a complete neighbourhood unit with shops, amusements, etc., all available. MAIN CONSIDERATIONS. When a housing scheme is to take the form of a neighbourhood unit there are five aspects of housing economy that'"materially assist the schemerSuitable raw land is the first requirement, and it should be purchased in bulk by agreement or compulsion, so that any betterment accruing to the land by the establishment of a hous-. ing scheme goes into the scheme itself instead of into the pocket of a speculator. The development of raw land should j be by comprehensive planning. Streets, services, and amenities should be designed for complete and immediate use with the object of having all aspects of residential life functioning at capacity as soon as possible. Thus the economics of large-scale.operations can go | into lower rents instead of swelling the i overhead costs.

In the construction of the dwellings advantage should be taken of mass production and bulk purchase. This will cause quite an appreciable reduction in the cost, and no fear need be felt about creating monotony, for variations in design and siting will give ample scope to produce a harmonious and attractive picture. The cost of money for housing must be kept as low as possible, and the best way to do this is by guaranteeing a safe long-time investment. As an investment the houses must be structurally sound and capable of outliving the term of the loan, and should be safeguarded from deterioration in desirability as a home. There must be no chance whatsoever of the scheme becoming a blighted or decadent area', and therefore must be protected by zoning. The possibility of the occupiers desiring to become financially interested in and ultimately purchasing the dwellings should be given every encouragement.

The fifth is the cost of maintenance which, as the dwellings become older, rapidly increases. This can be lowered by using standardised fittings, and further reduced by the provision of a maintenance service.

"In a partially-developed city such as Wellington it m&y be inadvisable to establish housing schemes outside the city boundary, for it is essential that, even at perhaps a greater housing cost, the existing services should run at maximum capacity," concluded Mr. Goldie. "At the same time sporadic development in the vicinity of any city may unduly enhance the value oE raw land, so that the earmarking or zoning of land for future city extensions is a particular aspect of looking ahead that might with advantage be fostered by both Government and local authority."