WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR CITIES ?

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 3, Issue 12, 1 June 1925, Page 14

WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR CITIES ?

'Ey A. J. BROWN, A. R. I. B. A.

IVelwyn Garden City. Herts., England.—A country lane utilized in the street lay-out. The magnificent oaks

have been preserved and the water in the foreground is an old farm pond planted with lilies and bordered by a rock garden.

IT IS GENERALLY ADMITTED TODAY THAT ENVIRONMENT EXERTS AN INCALCULABLE INFLUENCE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PEOPLE. THERE IS NO GREATER FIELD OF ENDEAVOUR FOR THE SOCIOLOGIST AT THE PRESENT MOMENT THAN IN THE REFORM OF OUR PREVAILING METHODS, URBAN AND SUBURBAN DEVELOPMENT. MEN AND WOMEN ENGAGED IN THIS GREAT WORK ARE MAKING A BIGGER CONTRIBUTION TO THE WORLD’S WELFARE THAN THOSE WHO ENDEAVOUR TO PERSUADE THE POOR THAT THEIR LOT IS BETTER THAN IT REALLY IS—FOR THAT IS WHAT “CHARITY” HAS COME TO MEAN.

every hand to-day we are confronted by great and vital developments. New Zealanders are awakening to national and civic consciousness and this new-found sense is finding expression in activities which are moulding the country’s character. It is a commonplace to say that to-day is the day of great and rapid developments, but a commonplace which will bear frequent repetition if it eventually opens the public mind to the significance of these developments and to the necessity for their intelligent control. Our concern for the moment is with the future development of the cities of the Dominion, and I hope to show along what lines this development might take place by drawing from the experience of other countries where civic art has reached an advanced stage. An intelligent critic, bringing a fresh eye to anything in course of creation, whether it be a picture, a piece of sculpture, my lady's dress, or the building of a city, often delects faults to which the creator's jaded eye is blind. Just as the artist steps back from his easel to get a comprehensive view of his picture, so the builders of cities should make a mental review of the work under their hands In fairly judge of its merit. The last decade has marked phenomenal development in Auckland and its environs, and coming back to these shores after an absence of ten years or so, one reviews this growth with mixed feelings. Some aspects are happily inspired and wholly good, others merely commonplace, and others again, deplorably misconceived and abortive. Perhaps the strongest impression one gains from these manifestations of activity is the extraordinary lack ol co-operation and collective thought evidenced by the varying results. One feels sometimes that the good work of some is nullified by the distressing efforts of others, and the whole earth is crying out for some comprehensive and consistent policy concerning its development. QPACE will not permit me to deal with many aspects of city development, so I choose that which is, perhaps, nearest to the hearts of most of us, the development of our residential areas, the environs of our Homes and the homes themselves. One need not look far for instances of unwise suburban development, vast deserts of uninteresting houses unrelieved by open spaces, shady trees, and grassy walks. Hideous streets, paved for their full width, without a blade of grass or the vestige of a tree are flanked on both sides by bungalows whose only

distinguishing characteristics are those of the speculative builderthese are what we have exchanged in only too many instances for green fields and fine groups of shady trees. The people who dwell in these places have sold their birthright for a mess of very bad pottage. At whose door arc we to lay the sin? Who are responsible for this abomination of desolation? Hidebound local authorities, land-specu-lators interested only in monetary values, builders with a similar outlook and tenants dead to the fitness of things! These shade-giving trees might

have been preserved along with other local amenities and characteristic local features; these arid streets might have been planted with wellkept grass margins and ornamental trees and the commonplace houses might have reflected the cultured taste of the occupants. These things are given more consideration in other countries, particularly in Great Britain, America, Holland, Prance and Germany, and in view of our Government's interest in Model Garden Suburbs it may be useful to turn our eyes to the Mother Country for inspiration in these matters.

CJhe Qarden Qity nPHIS term has been much abused and niis-applicd until it has come to mean, for the man in the street, anything from a place where social cranks congregate, to a row of cottages laid out on “model” lines. In reality it is neither the one nor the other, but primarily a town where industries are carried on and the bulk of the population engaged in some capacity in those industries. Some might insist that the homes exist to serve the industries, but we will take the point of view that all the other features of the town are for the service of the citizens. Thus areas are set aside for business premises, shopping, civic buildings, and factories. A belt of agricultural land may encircle the town and supply it with fresh produce vegetables, milk, eggs and so forth. Streets ami Treads 1 N laying out streets and roads it is most likely that some old roads exist, and these may often be used to advantage in the street schemes. A winding country lane with fine trees at intervals and flanked by growing hedges may be widened where necessary for traffic and still retain much of its rural charm. The preservation of such features so long as they do not seriously interfere with development, is a wise policy. The 66ft. road has been generally adopted in New Zealand, both for main traffic routes and for residenital roads. The guiding principle in the minds of those who settled this question was, broadly speaking, a good one, but a moment’s reflection will show that its indiscriminate application is unsatisfactory. An arterial traffic route requires greater width than this, while a minor road merely giving access to houses may be considerably less. By revising these conditions concerning road formation local authorities could do a great deal towards reducing the cost of land and save the ratepayers’ money in maintenance. All streets in residential areas should have grass margins between the carriageway and the footpath, and these margins should be planted with trees both at regular intervals and in groups. In most streets there is no need to make the carriage-way more than lb or 20 feet. This would allow of ample grass margins, which could be kept mown tor less than the maintenance cost of extra carriageway. Ihe vistas along our streets arc of great importance. By judicious

planning it is often possible to lay out streets so that the focus is on some prominent natural feature, or the vista ended by an important building such as a church or public library. In England, owing to the closer spacing of the houses and the fact that they are generally two-storied, very definite architectural street pictures are formed, and one must confess their undeniable charm. In our suburbs the architecture becomes secondary to the gardens, each house being detached and standing well back from the road. It is my belief, however, that we will be forced to build more closely on suburban land, and thus come more into line with English and Continental examples. It requires no extraordinary vision to imagine Auckland with a population of a million in 50 years’ time, and to house anything approaching that number it is obvious that the density of population must be considerably increased. Hand-in-hand with more intensive building development come various dangers, and if we do not take the necessary precautions against these they will become positive evils. A densely populated suburb not wisely controlled is a potential slum. It is here that the practical application of the Community Spirit comes into —the recognition of one’s neighbours’ rights and privileges—or, in other words, the placing of the interests of the whole community before those of its individual members. '

There is a type of individual who detests any encroachment on what he terms his liberty. He says: “I intend doing exactly as I wish on my own property,” and then proceeds to erect unsightly outbuildings composed of any scraps of material which come to his hand. The ownership of a suburban plot should not entitle anyone to become a nuisance to his neighbours, and the man who wants to express his freedom in such fashion should remove himself from his fellow men, as he is not sufficiently evolved to take his place in a civilised community. Law and order are the basic principles of all civilised people, and broadly speaking we have come to realise this fundamental truth. We enact laws against many descriptions of offence, and our local authorities draw up an elaborate code of by-laws governing the whole community. We are compelled to obey traffic laws, building and sanitary laws, which are framed for the common good, and yet the common decencies are outraged daily by peoples’ lack of consideration for their neighbours. J DO not wish it to be thought that I would clap the whole population into dwellings of barrack-like monotony and insist on their using a standard pattern of garden bed, but wise restrictions might well be placed on the nature and position of outbuildings and all those things which either make or mar a neighbourhood.

CJhe Cfreatment of dens building naturally means smaller sections of land, and consequently a shorter distance between the road and the house front. This arrangement has led in England to a very simple treatment of the front gardens and a greater elaboration of the back gardens. The Englishman does not, so to speak, display all his wares in his shop window, but keeps the bulk of his attractive stock inside his shop. The front plots being too small and too public for private enjoyment, the garden proper is laid out behind the house. I dislike to speak of the backs of houses and back yards—there should be neither in a well-ordered community. The back of the house should become the garden front, and where aspect permits the living rooms should face the garden. The inevitable piece of untidy yard should be relegated to a small area at the back of the section and screened by trellis or hedge. If hens are kept this is also the place for them, and their runs and houses should be decent in appearance. Boundaries J LIVED for some years in a house in England without a front fence, hedge or wall. It was one of a street of small houses, and not one had a front fence or gate.. The ground in front was sown in grass, the trees were planted at intervals and in groups, and the whole effect was broad, simple and very open.

I do not necessarily advocate the complete abolition of front fences, but I think there is a great deal to be said for the low hedge or rock garden wall which is making its occasional appearance in our midst. No more suitable boundary than the living hedge can be found for the separation of plots and back fences, and these can in a few years give a fair degree of privacy. wd Blea Cjood Mhtanners that the Garden Suburb Movement has come upon us we will have the opportunity of stamping it with our national characteristics. Are we going to repeat the chaos so evident in many of our recently developed suburbs, or are we going to give practical expression to a consistent mode of thought and collective effort. Will the result be a riot of discordant ideas or the expression of a homogeneous community? Deliberate eccentricity is a form of bad manners whether expressed in speech, dress or in building, and the man whose ambition is to do something original in the way of a building, something different from his neighbours, just for the sake of being different, usually achieves mere grotesqueness and is guilty of a breach of good manners. It is possible to follow a tradition both in building and in garden design, and always, provided one has imagination, there will be countless opportunity for the expression of originality without breaking away from tradition.