TOWN PLANNING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19196, 12 June 1924, Page 8

TOWN PLANNING.

HOUSING, NOT HEEDING. , INDIVIDUALISING THE HOME. iFhom Od-h Own Correspondent.) LONDON, May 6. Mr Wheatley, Minister of Health, attended the opening of the conference which it being held in connection with the Towt Planning Exhibition at Wembley. The exhibition, which has 'been organised by the Town Planning Institute, includes models and plans of regions and towns in the dominions and of the development of areas in Great Britain, including large industrial centres. There are nine .sections arranged in tuo Palace of Arts illustrating the n ethods of town planning that are engaging attention in different parts of the Empire. Old and modern forms of building construction are contrasted, and prominent among are models is one of the new group of Government buildings at Delhi. IMPORTANT TO CULTIVATE THE CIVIC SPIRIT. Mr Wheatley said thero were probably few questions of greater importance than the proper control oi urban development. He was rather surprised by the percentage of population in various paris of the Empire who lived under urban conditions. ll© was not surprised that 80 ner cent, of the population of Great Britain lived in urban districts, but when he found that 60 per cent, of the people of Australia, 50 per cent, oi the white population of South Africa, and nearly 50 per cert of the population of Car ada lived under " urban conditions, the figures gave him a certain amount of surprise, if not of amazement. The value of a town planning conference was, he thought, Ix-st aoprcciated if they bore in mind that tewn planning was not a set of settled principles to 'be rigidly applied, but was something which grew, and must continue to grow, according to their requirements and the nature of .the problems which would present themselves from year to year. New problems were continually arising, and therefore it was of great advantage to have an exhibition of tire plans which had been prepared cj various authorities within the British Commonwealth. The subject was also interesting to the average citizen A comparison between the civic administration of to-day and that of 25 years ago would show not merely the progress made in dealing with the questions which they then regarded a? connected with local government, but also the enormous and constant additions that were being made lq the work which came under the supervision of local bodies. Town plannning was undoubtedly ere of the subjects in which it would be of tremendous value to have tho citizens not merely interested, but highly educated, because by the side of this expansion in civic duties and administration there was a very rapid change in the class of people who controlled the local government of the country. It was therefore of national importance that the average citizen should be imbued with the highest possible civic spirit, in order that he might assume his proper control over the administration of tlie locality of which he wee a member. Ke impressed on the representatives of focal authorities the need for harmonious <xi-o non 'ion with neighbouring authorities in this work. A large outlook and a readiness even to sacrifice local interests to tho genera! plan were essential if town planning was to make the desired progress. If they had not learnt to think in continents, they had learnt to think- in counties, and that was a stop in the right direction.- ' r * kin g the larger outlook, in which thfc exhibition was calculated to educate them, they hoped to be able to approach the question not merely in a spirit of town planning, hut, in the years that were not far ahead, also in the spirit of national and, indeed, oi Empire planning. Papers were read during the ariernoon. Sir Joseph Cook, who presided, said he thought the British Empire Exhibition made it clear that (-he whole science of town planning was, in its essence,, a democratic idea, and grew out of their own environment. In the dominions they had a better chance, so far as town planning was concerned, (ban in this country, where so much demolition had to be done before they could begin constructive work. In Australia they believed in individualising the home, and there was a rooted idea that the house must be either detached or semi-detached. If in this country they oould individualise a little more in making the homes of the workers, he believed it would have farreaching effects on the character of tho people. Whatever else housing meant, it should not mean herding. The town planner was a missiona’w of sunlight, fresh air, and clean living.—(Cheers.) Mr W. R., Davidg“. who dealt with Australia and New Zealand, said the fact that 'h- Commonwealth of Australia was at present engaged in building a new capital city at Canberra showed that the Fedora] Government were fully alive to the necessity for town planning, and the six State Governments had also had the subiect brought ctronglv to their notice by " tlie force of public opinion, led by the local town planning associations.