NEW ZEALAND HOUSING

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 129, 2 June 1945, Page 9

NEW ZEALAND HOUSING

INTEREST OF AMERICANS

Members of the Town Planning Institute of New Zealand, who had Mr. Sydney Greenbie, special assistant to the United States Minister, as their guest speaker at luncheon on Thursday were informed that he had already had inquiries from his own country concerning New Zealand's housing schemes. "So you see that little New Zealand is being watched with interest by Americans," he remarked. "There is no reason why we should not share our experiences to mutual advantage." Mr. Greenbie spoke of the extraordinary changes that had taken place in New York and other American cities during the past decade. New York, he said, was one of the most densely populated and congested cities in the world. It began at a disadvantage because of its situation, and now had nearly 7,000.000 people packed into a comparatively small area. No fewer than 1,000,000 people passed in and out of New York each day, and it was estimated that at least 20,000,000 used the city. As an example of the changes he mentioned, Mr. Greenbie said that only one elevated j train service was now retained: such services had been replaced by buses on wide avenues. The subway system was (now so extensive and cheap that one could travel from 30 to 40 miles for five cents.

"We have no more noisy, rattling j street cars," said Mr. Greenbie, who contrasted New York with San Francisco, which he described as "one of the most beautiful cities in the United States, but spoilt because of the noise occasioned by its street rail services. Mr. Greenbie spoke of the new highways that carried New York's traffic without interruption. Years ago, he said, it was not unusual for a motorist to be held up at a bottle-neck for several hours. But now one could get right into the heart of the city without any traffic problems whatsoever. Even the petrol stations were artistically designed, and one could travel for 80 miles into the countryside without seeing advertising signs that disfigured the landscape. He also spoke of the successful schemes for converting slums into community centres of apartment dwellings with every civic facility. Much of the replanning had been done with the assistance of funds from, the national Government. This did not apply only to New York. Other cities, such as Cleveland, had made enormous strides in this respect. Neighbourhood committees had been established to solve local problems.

One of the excrescences on the New Zealand landscape, to an American, he continued, was a multiplicity of fences. Americans did not like fences. The tendency was to remove them wherever possible, and to utilise the space to better advantage, particularly for the recreation of children.

Town planning had also been extended to negro settlements in the southern States, concluded Mr. Greenbie. and during his recent visit to his homeland he had noted the pronounced psychological reaction that modern and comfortable dwellings had had upon the negro people.