CITIES OF THE FUTURE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18631, 12 February 1924, Page 8

CITIES OF THE FUTURE.

TOWN - PLANNING (DEALS.

NEW ERA HOPED FOB.

LONDON", Feb. 3.

Br. Raymond Unwin, chief town-plan-ning inspector of the Ministry of Health, who is an authority on the subject, has forwarded a collection 'of photographs, plans, and.statistics for the town-planning exhibition which is to be held in Sydney and other Australian . cities. He. said he hoped that the Federal Cabinet's meeting at, Canberra would be the starting point of a new town-planning era in t Australia and New Zealand, in which use would be made of the accumulated experience of Europe and America. -

'■ Town-planners, ha says, are substantially in agreement that, the • existing cities should not have developed by indefinite spreading, . but by carefully designed suburbs and satellite garden cities. The planning of new towns should provide for separate administrative areas business, chopping, industrial, residential, amusement, and recreation areas—leaving room for the expansion of each without over-lapping. . Such areas overlap in British towns, where residential property is constantly Tjulled down to make room for commercial wildings. Town-planning saved' time and the cost, of travelling. In British towns half the people and naif the buildings were in the wrong places, a . fact which compelled everybody to spend a large part of his life in rushing backwards and forwards between home and business-

"In the future," »ays Dr. Unwin, " towns must allow for the development of motor-car and aeroplane transport by providing car-parka and aerodromes." Skyscrapers are the worst cause of the congestion in American cities, in which one-tenth of the people are motorists, and the side streets are chock-a-block with motor-car queues. " If Japanese cities had been properly planned,", said Dr. Unwin, "the earthquake death-roll would have been trifling."