TOWN PLANNING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21937, 22 October 1934, Page 11

TOWN PLANNING

LACK OF KEEN INTEREST 1 NEED FOR ACTIVE POLICY In the course of his presidential address, at the annual meeting of the Town Planning Institute of New Zealand. held in Wellington last week, Mr. S. Blackley said that the greatest difficulty they in New Zealand had to contend with in promoting a better understanding of the aims and objects of town planning was the isolated position they occupied. In Europe and America conferences and exhibitions were held at frequent intervals, almost as a matter of routine, for the exchange of knowledge and experience between the different countries. He felt they could go on writing and lecturing for the next 20 years without obtaining any material results, whereas they could probably do more to educate and arouse public opinion to their deficiencies by a pictorial representation of the things that were being done elsewhere. Mr. G. Hart. Wellington evty engineer, said it was inevitable, so far as the objects of the institute were concerned. that there would have to l>e a great deal of education. The former Director of Town Planning, Mr. J. W. Mawson, said the lectures he gave were better and better attended until he had 110 difficulty in getting bumper houses, so that he was convinced there was a sound public opinion in favour of town planning, and it was supported by public bodies, but it always broke on the rock of lack of interest by the Government. It was that which disheartened him. They would get nowhere until town planning was part of an active Government policy.