E PLANNING OF THE MODERN CITY NELSON P. LEWIS i^: THE PLANNING OF THE MODERN CITY A Review of the Principles Governing City Planning BY NELSON P. LEWIS Member of the A uterican Society of Civil Engineers, the A nterican Society oj Municipal Improvements, the National Conference on City Planning, the Permanent Association of International Road Congresses, the Avierican Road Builders' Association, the Munic- ipal Engineers of the City of New York and the Brooklyn Efigineers' Club. Chief Engineer of the Board of Esti- inate and Apportionment of New York City FIRST EDITION FIRST THOUSAND NEW YORK JOHN WILEY & SONS, Inc. London : CHAPMAN & HALL, Limited 1916 Copyright, 1916 BY NELSON P. LEWIS i>>i(>« or HHAUNWOHTH ft CO. aOOKKINOflK AND *>MIHTIM IIHOOKlolitan District of Boston .... 137 36. Palisades Interstate Park system 144 37. Location of a monumental building with respect to grades of approach- ing streets 152 38. Location of the Pennsylvania Station and Post Office, New York, with respect to the street system 1 54 39. Location of Grand Central Station, New York, with respect to the street system 154 40. Plan of express track level, Grand Central Terminal, New York . . . 15O 41. Plan of suburban track level, Grand Central Terminal, New York . . 157 42. Location of Union Station, Washington 159 43. Location of principal railway station, Frankfort 160 44. Proposed location of new courthouse. New York 163 45. Plan of San Francisco civic center 165 46. Area of benefit for acquiring Central Park, New York 179 47. Area of benefit for acquiring Prospect Park, Brooklyn 180 48. Plan of Gary, Indiana 190 49. Gyratory system of traffic regulation at Columbus Circle, New York . 215 50. Proptjscd adaptation of the gyratory system of traffic regulation to a rectangular intersection of two streets with roadways 55 feet wide . 216 51. Examples of the subdivision of exceptionally wide streets 229 52. An instance of excessive provision for roadways in a very wide street to the exclusion of parking features, and proi)oscd modification , 231 53. Section showing sub-surface structures in Broadway, New York . . 233 54. Location of three railroad bridges crossing a boulevard 200 feet wide within a distance of about half a mile and all at diflercnt angles . 25S 55. Showing typical regulations governing character and use of buildings which are imposed upon si)ecific areas in Leipzig 272 Figures and Diagrams in Text ix FIGURE . PACE 56. The system of radial highways leading out of Philadelphia .... 292 57. The State highway system of New York 295 58. A county road system in Ohio 296 59. Plan of Forest Hills Gardens, New York 310 60. Plan of a suburban development in the outskirts of San Francisco . .314 61. Diagram showing proposed distribution of the cost of acqviiring streets of different widths 371 62. Diagram showing a method of grading assessments for benefit , . . 372 SUBJECTS ILLUSTRATED BY PLATES PLATE PAGE 1. The skyline of lower Manhattan Island, New York, at four different periods 12 2. Views showing tall buildings and narrow streets of New York . . .13 3. Plan of the Strand-to-Holbom Improvement, London 42 4. General features of the plan for the new Indian capital at Delhi ... 43 5. The Pittsburgh " Hump " (upper); a portion of the harbor of Hamburg (lower) 58 6. The harbor of Duisburg-Ruhrort (upper) ; Plan for the improvement of Jamaica Bay, New York (lower) ^p 7. Two views of the waterfront of Rio de Janeiro .66 8. Grand Central Station, New York, and its underground connections . 67 9. The New York Connecting Railroad and the Hell Gate Bridge ... 74 10. Two views of the elevated rapid-transit railroad in Queens Boulevard, New York 78 11. The railway terminals of Berlin (upper); Lower Broadway, New York, under which a four-track rapid-transit subway is being constructed without interference with the street traffic (lower) 79 12. Two views showing the construction of a double-deck rapid-transit rail- road under a busy street 82 13. A double-deck, four-track, rapid-transit subway with the steel erected . 83 14. View of William street. New York, under which a double-track rapid- transit subway is being built 86 15. Plan for Canberra, the proposed capital city of Australia 87 16. A typical section of the plan of Paris, showing the arrangement of streets and boulevards (upper); Plan showing the over-intensive use of land in Charlottenburg (lower) no 17. Three examples of curved streets m 18. A depressed central heating plant, using the chimney of an adjacent church (upper); View of the site of Canberra (lower) 132 19. Plan of the parks and parkways of Kansas City 133 20. The boulevard system of San Francisco 138 xi xii Subjects Illustrated by Plates PLATE PACK 21. The system of parks and connecting parkways in the Borough of The Bronx, New York 139 22. Prospect Park, Brooklyn, and the parkways leading from it ... . 140 23. Two views in Toronto's wild park 141 24. The Kensico Dam in New York's water supply sj'stem 146 25. Two typical views of the Bronx River, New York 147 26. Views of the Charles River waterfront, Boston, before and after the creation of the Charles River Basin 150 27. The proposed grouping of public buildings in Washington, view looking east 150 28. The proposed grouping of public buildings in Washington, view looking west along the Mall 151 29. The Monroe Palace in Rio de Janeiro (upper) ; A railroad office building and freight house at .\lbany, New York (lower) 151 30. The New York Public Library at night and detail showing fountain . .154 31. Grand Central Terminal in New York in 1906 when operated by steam . 154 32. Two views of the Grand Central Terminal, New York, in 191 5, after reconstruction and the abandonment of steam operation . . .155 33. Park Avenue, New York, looking north from the Grand Central Terminal 155 34. The Forty-second street front of the Grand Central Station, New York 158 35. The Union Railway Station in Washington (upper); the Union Railway Station in St. Louis (lower) 159 36. The Municipal Office Building, New York, with street passing under it . 162 37. The Municipal Office Building and the Woolworth Building, New York, as each is seen from the other 162 38. Proposed circular courthouse for New York (upper); The civic center at Springfield, Mdss. (lower) 163 39. The Cleveland grcnip plan 163 40. View of San Francisco's civic center (upper) ; An old aqueduct in Rio de Janeiro (lower) 166 41. Two examples of high-school buildings in New York 167 42. A "bungalow" firc-cnginc house in Portland, Ore. (top); Entrance to the Santa Fc Railroad Station at San Diego, Cal. (middle); Railroad station at Barstow, Cal. (Ixjttom) 170 43. Plaza at main entrance to Prospect Park, Brooklyn 171 44. General plan of Fairmount Parkway, Philadelphia 174 45. The Cambridge Bridge over the Charles River at Boston 174 46. High Bridge, New York 175 47. Washington Bridge, New York 175 Subjects Illustrated by Plates xiii PLATE PACE 48. Waterfront of Rio de Janeiro with sewage pumping station (upper); A sewage treatment plant at Essen-Nord (lower) 178 49. Aerating fountains at the Ashokan Reservoir in New York's water supply system 179 50. Concrete bridge over a ravine at the upper end of the Ashokan Reservoir. 190 51. Plan of an industrial town near Duluth 191 52. Workmen's houses in the industrial town near Duluth (upper); cottages in Colony Gewerkschaft, Emscher-Lippe (lower) 196 53. Cottages in Colony Altenhof, Essen 197 54. Typical houses for workmen in Colony Alfredshof, Essen 204 55. Plan of Colony Gewerkschaft, Emscher-Lippe (upper); Plan of Colony Alfredshof, Essen (lower) 205 56. Plans showing the tramway system and the omnibus routes of central London 210 57. Parking automobiles on one side of a street in Seattle (upper); Un- symmetrical arrangement of a street in Essen (lower) . . . .211 58. Another example of the treatment of streets in Essen (upper); A wide sewer inlet in Pasadena (lower) 222 59. Fifth Avenue, New York, on Easter Sunday 223 60. Examples of effective street lighting and ornamental lamp standards . 242 61. Some examples of lamp standards to be found in towns on the Pacific Coast 243 62. Views showing the lighting of Fifth avenue and the high cflSce buildings of lower Manhattan, New York 244 63. The Boston State House at night and the battery of lights by which it is illuminated 245 64. Two examples of the flood lighting of public buildings: Public Library in Lynn, Mass. (upper) ; City Hall in Waterbury, Conn, (lower) . . 246 65. Examples of the illumination of towers 247 66. Two views showing the effect of placing trees on the street line instead of the curb line 250 67. Two details showing the character of development at Forest Hills Gar- dens, New York 251 68. Entrances to a suburban development near San Francisco . . . .252 69. Entrances to two of the St. Louis " places " 253 70. Entrance to and view of Hortense Place, St. Louis 254 71. Arcade along the Rue de Rivoli, Paris (left); Front yards in Berlin (right) 255 72. A well-shaded street in Redlands, Cal. (upper); Roses in a street in Port- land, Ore. (lower) 258 73. The Stockton Street Tunnel, San Francisco 259 xiv Subjects Illustrated by Plates PLATE PACB 74. Bronze base of one of the flagstafTs in front of the New York Public Library (upper) ; A bridge carr>'ing a railroad over a street in Phila- delphia (lower) 260 75. Views showing the elimination of a grade crossing by raising the railroad and lowering the street 261 76. Views showing the elimination of a grade crossing by elevating the rail- road and retaining the street level 268 77. Views showing the elimination of a blind grade crossing by straightening the highway 269 78. Two railroad bridges across Queens Boulevard, New York . . . .270 79. Views showing encroachments upon Broadway, New York, and the improvement caused by their removal 271 80. Examples of the obstruction of public streets in Vienna 294 81. Two views along the Columbia Highway in Oregon 295 82. Views along the Columbia Highway 298 83. Snapshots taken along the Columbia Highway 299 84. Publishing plant of Doubleday, Page & Company at Garden City, New York 310 85. Plans of two typical English garden cities 311 86. Views of " Station Place," Forest Hills Gardens, New York .... 314 87. Plan of, and view showing cottages erected at, Billerica Garden Suburb . 315 LIST OF TABLES TABLE PAGE I. Rate of increase of urban and rural population in the United States from 1900 to 1910 20 II. Increase in population of typical German and American cities from 1880 to 1910 21 III. Estimated cost of constructing double-track railroads of various t5^es under, upon or above the surface of city streets under different conditions 85 IV. Relative cost of development of the same area under different methods of subdivision 126 V. Park statistics of various cities 132 VI. Distribution of parks in New York according to Boroughs .... 134 VII. Number of licenses issued by the London Metropolitan Police for cabs, omnibuses and tram cars from 1903 to 1912, inclusive .... 208 Vin. Relative obstruction caused by different vehicles, as estimated in London 210 IX. Fatal accidents in streets of the six largest cities during the year 191 1 . 211 X. Areas and dates of the several additions to Los Angeles 294 XI. Some statistics of English garden cities 305 XII. Increase in land values in New York, from 1899 to 1913 .... 402 The Planning of the Modern City CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY IS there any occasion for another book on the general subject of City Planning? A number of volumes devoted to this subject have been published under various titles, while many reports dealing with specific conditions and localities afford excellent illustrations of the manner in which city planning problems may be approached and solved. These reports often contain more valuable suggestions than are to be found in books which attempt to cover the entire field and to lay down funda- mental principles rather than deal with concrete examples. This being the case it may be asked: "Why make another contribution to a field so fully covered? " The answer is that the present volume is to be devoted almost entirely to the engi- neering aspects of city planning, or to city planning as an en- gineering problem or group of problems. It is the hope of the author that municipal engineers will find the following pages of some value in bringing to them a somewhat keener realiza- tion of their part in, and responsibility for, the constructive work of city planning as well as city building. Most of the liter- ature of this subject has been contributed either by architects, who emphasize its architectural or artistic side and appear to consider it an architectural problem, or by students of city gov- ernment, who seem to regard it as an administrative problem. This volume is just as frankly written with the idea that the fundamental problems of city planning are, and from their very nature must be, engineering problems. The Planning of the Modern Ctiy Subjects will be discussed that are not generally considered as failing within the scope of the engineer's activities, but they are all subjects with which one who is responsible for the develop- ment of the city plan should be familiar. Perhaps the most important characteristic of any design should be its adaptability to altered conditions. If this be true with respect to a build- ing, an industrial plant, a railway or shipping terminal which can be enlarged or replaced or even moved to another location, it is much more important in the case of the ground plan of a city, which cannot be rearranged or transferred to another place. There is no undertaking, therefore, which demands more careful study of what has happened elsewhere, what is likely to happen in a particular place, and the development of tenden- cies which are sure to result in changes in the methods of living and conducting business, than the working out of the general plan for a city or for the successive additions to an existing city. The books and periodicals devoted to city planning are not only agreeable reading, but are instructive and valuable con- tributions to the literature of the subject. They are profusely illustrated with plans of ancient cities and pictures indicating how they must have appeared in their day, and with numerous views of many of the world's greatest and best-known buildings or groups of buildings, some of which have done duty in nearly every book yet j)ublished upon this subject. Such illustrations will be very sparingly used in this volume, or will be conspicuous by their absence. Photographs will be used, not because they are attractive pictures which would add interest to a book of travel, but in order to illustrate the efTect of a certain plan, treatment or policy discussed in the text. The preference will on the other hand be given to diagrams and plans which, while they may not make as strong an appeal to the casual reader who turns the pages, will indicate what has more recently been done and what is being planned and executed at the present time, and which will make more clear the jHiqK)se of the author and speak more convincingly to those whom he is most desirous of reaching. The accomplishments of those who built ancient Introductory 3 Palmyra, Cyrene, Athens and Rome are well worthy of admira- tion and may be an inspiration to the municipal engineer who is responsible for modern city planning, but he will make a mistake if he uses them as models. In many of the cities of antiquity there were superb buildings, or groups of buildings, or impressively beautiful and dignified approaches to or con- nections between them adorned with colonnades and arches which were masterpieces of architectural design, but the plans of the cities themselves were rigidly rectangular, with exceed- ingly narrow streets, and are examples of the very thing we are now trying to avoid in city planning. The forums of these cities were excellent examples of the effective grouping of tem- ples and public buildings; they were the show places of the city; each was a small unit of the city plan and as such they were admirable. They were not connected with each other, and each seems to have been located without regard to the general city plan, but rather to have been designed to emphasize the power and glory of a particular period or individual. The model of Imperial Rome in the fourth century, exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Frangaises in 1913 by M. Bigot, was much admired and was undoubtedly of great architectural and archaeological value and interest, but it illustrates very forcibly the fact that these units were put down wherever a place could be found for them, and that they were not parts of a general plan for the entire city and could not, therefore, be called good examples of city planning in the modern sense. Interesting as may be these old plans and their restoration on paper, and profitable as their study may be to the archi- tect, they oft'er little valuable suggestion to modern city planners unless it be a caution against a concentration of effort to pro- duce a grand climax at the expense of the rest of the city. The conspicuous feature of the twentieth century city and its organ- ization is the consideration given to provision for the health, comfort, convenience and recreation of all of the citizens, the rich and the poor, the dweller in the finest residential district and the denizen of the slum, although it is conceded that the The Planning of the Modem City modern city should have no slums. In the ancient cities the plans of which are most studied, the number of free citizens whose interests were deemed worthy of consideration was very small in comparison with the slaves who made up the great bulk of the population, but who had no rights and were thought to be entitled to little regard; yet art and architecture flourished. The members of the smaller ruling class thought nothing too fine for their city, and we, in our admiration of the masterpieces they created, forget how the submerged nine- tenths lived and the small consideration shown for them. In view of the vastly different conditions which exist to-day, when the welfare of the submerged fraction, be it large or small, is one of the chief concerns in city planning and administration, it is obviously unwise to look to the alleged restorations of these ancient cities for illustrations of the fundamental or constructive work of city planning or the work which would naturally be done by the engineer. Other sources quite generally drawn upon by writers on city planning are the medieval cities of Europe, more particularly those of Germany, France and northern Italy, the chief build- ings of which, castles, churches and town halls, are often so effectively grouped about squares or " places " which are now considered masterpieces of city planning. Mr. RaNinond Unwin observes that the charm of these old towns is not due to the better plan of their streets, but to the dignity and individ- uality of the buildings. The object seemed to be to do work well and that it should look well when done. Time has mellowed the colors and sagging beams have relieved the angularity. Compared with the modem suburb with its freedom to do as each likes, and with the obvious lack of serious effort to adapt each building to its site and surroundings, these old towns are beautiful. But the social conditions prevailing in such towns at the time these much admired "places" or groups were created, while far better than those in the cities of anti(iuity, were very different from those which must be provided to-day. It is true that efficient administration has effected an adaptation of Introductory 5 these old plans to modern social conditions, has preserved the old and has made the new conform with it to such a degree as to preserve the character of the town and the local color without impairing or curtailing the rights or the enjoyment of the masses other than to such a degree as is necessary to prevent abuse of or injury to public or private property, a lesson which it appears very difl&cult to impress upon those for the betterment of whose condition most writers on city plarming appear to be chiefly concerned. This is conspicuously the case in the United States, where citizens of foreign birth and descent, who have some knowledge of the municipal administrative methods and accomplishments in the Old World, are insistent in their demands that the same things be done in American cities, but are at the same time indignantly resentful of the restrictions upon the use of private property or even the improper use and occupation of pubHc streets, parks and buildings, which are so rigidly enforced in the cities of their native lands and upon the enforcement of which the attainment of these results are in large degree dependent. While some of the illustrations of the subjects discussed have been drawn from European and South American cities, most of them are taken from those of the United States, and it may be thought that New York and other eastern cities are given undue prominence. This does not mean that conspicuous progress in the solution of city planning problems has not been made in other cities. In fact, some of the most notable under- takings and accomplishments of this kind have been in the smaller towns of the interior, where the people appear to be more ready to appreciate a new idea, to realize a change in conditions and to adopt and carry out plans for readjustment than is the case in the more conservative towns along the Atlantic Coast. While most of the Hterature of the subject, even that produced by American writers, abounds in references to and illustrations of the cities of the Old World, and while some of these writers appear to believe them to be the only models worthy of being followed and that American cities can best be used as examples 6 The Planning of the Modern City of what should be avoided, the author is convinced that the cities and towns of the Western World afford ver)' many examples of sane and reasonable planning as well as of the things that should not be done. Perhaps more of the text and illustrations would have been devoted to the cities of Europe had it not been for the difficulty of securing reliable data at the time these pages were written. Then, too, the fact that the countries which have contributed so much that is admirable and worthy of imitation in city planning, and especially in city administration, have for the time abandoned their constructive work to engage in one of destruction, that many of the public squares which have been so much praised and so freely draxNTi upon for illus- trations are now littered with the ruins of the imposing buildings, churches, libraries, universities and town halls, which surrounded them and gave them their character and distinction, makes one somewhat reluctant to speak about them. When the war frenzy shall have passed and the period of reconstruction and readjustment shall have arrived there will be an opportunity to see how those people who have won the praise of the world as city planners and builders will go about the task of rebuilding that awaits them, a task rendered especially difficult by reason of the impoverished condition and the exhaustion which will follow this carnival of waste and destruction. It will be inter- esting to see to what extent an effort will be made to reproduce the old, picturesque effects with some of their attendant incon- venience and to what extent changed commercial and economic conditions will prompt an adaptation to modern methods of living and conducting both public and private business. While it would be unfair and misleading to say that much which has been written on the subject of city planning is inac- curate, it is true that much has been presented on hearsay, and statistics have frequently been given that are obviously incor- rect or at least misleading. They were undoubtedly thought to be entirely trustworthy and to verify them would have in- volved much time and trouble, a fact of which the writrr of these pages has been made p;iiiifull\' aware. Some writers Introductory 7 have indulged in savage criticism of what they have observed or been told about conditions in other countries or cities, much of which is due to misunderstanding or misinformation, and they appear to derive more satisfaction from denunciation than from commendation, yet some of these conditions and practices, while at variance with the ideas of the critic, may be fully justified by the circumstances. Much information must be secured at second hand or by correspondence. When inquiries are addressed to foreign cities either they or the repHes to them are frequently misunder- stood, but, after making an effort to secure pertinent information, the temptation to use such as may be obtained, even though not entirely satisfied as to its complete accuracy, is very strong. It is not improbable that in some cases the data given in the following chapters may be found to be somewhat incomplete or defective, but the author has made every effort to insure their accuracy, and, where believed to be doubtful, statistics which it was desired to include have been omitted. An effort has been made to distinguish between facts and opinions, and, where opinions are given, they are not presented as conclusions which settle questions under discussion. Where the opinions or conclusions of others or data compiled from them are used, the authority for them has been stated, but in going over the literature of any subject it frequently may happen that such opinions or conclusions coincide with those which one has already formed , and the expression of them may conform so closely with the language used by others that the reader may think that they have been appropriated without credit. In some cases the opinions of leading authorities may have been so often quoted and accepted that one comes to believe that they were his own from the beginning. If such instances occur in this volume it is the hope of the author that they will be attributed to the in- fluence w^hich the master exercises upon the student, and of which the latter is sometimes unconscious, and not to a dis- position to appropriate the ideas of others and put them forward as his own. CHAPTER II THE CITY PLAXXIXG MOVEMENT ( ^ I ^HE wide interest in city planning which has lately mani- ■^ fested itself all over Europe and America indicates quite clearly that it is a subject in which the people generally are interested; not only those who live in large cities, which may undertake some costly and pretentious schemes of improve- ment, but dwellers in the small towns and even villages are eager for information upon the subject and are ready to devote their time and energy to the study of plans to make their com- munities more orderly and attractive. Conferences and exhibits are frequent and largely attended whether in Europe or America, books and magazine articles upon the subject appear at short intervals, and one quarterly publication is devoted exclusively to the subject of " Town Planning."/ The National Conference on City Planning of the United States holds annual meetings which bring together large numbers of engineers, architects and landscape architects, who may be called professional city planners, together with city officials and others who have shown keen and intelligent interest in the subject, and the British Town Planning Institute, more recently organized with head- quarters in London, holds frequent meetings for addresses and discussions. A great international town planning conference was held in London in 1910 and others, less international in char- acter, have been held in Berlin and Leipzig. At the Congress of Cities in Ghent, in 19 13, much attention was given to the subject, and a special exhibition of town planning, organized by Professor Patrick Geddes, of Edinburgh,' was a conspicuous feature of the exposition held in that city during the same ' This entire exhibition was unfortunately lost through the sinking by ihc German cruiser " Emdcn " of the ship in which it was being taken to India in the autumn of 19:4. 8 The City Planning Movement 9 year, although both the congress and the exhibition were devoted chiefly to the sociological aspects of the subject. An excellent exhibition was also held in New York at the close of 1 913, the amount of material furnished for which far exceeded the space available for its display. Notwithstanding all these meetings and discussions and the great amount that has been written and said, there seems to be more or less uncertainty as to just what city planning or town planning means. Some appear to consider it the design- ing of spectacular effects in the grouping of public buildings and the establishment of civic centers, the creation of imposing open spaces, the cutting through of broad avenues or the straight- ening and widening of existing streets, the reorganization and rearrangement of transit facihties and terminals, in short, the rebuilding or making over of cities and towns. These might more properly be called the correction of mistakes or the remedy- ing of defects due to a lack of proper planning, rather than the more fundamental work of city planning which should have as its chief object the avoidance of the necessity of costly recon- struction. What, then, is city planning? Many definitions have been written, some long and some short, some emphasizing the architectural and artistic side and others laying chief stress upon its social aspects, but few of them appear to recognize it as an engineering problem. Mr. George McAneny, who has rendered distinguished service as President of the Borough of Manhattan and President of the Board of Aldermen, of New York city, says: " City planning simply means getting ready for the future in city growth. It is the guidance into proper channels of a commu- nity's impulses towards a larger and broader life. On the face it has to do with things physical— the laying out of streets and parks and rapid-transit Hnes. But its real significance is far deeper; a proper city plan has a powerful influence for good upon the mental and moral development of the people. It is the firm base for the building of a healthy and happy community." 10 The Planning of the Modern City Mr. Charles Mulford Robinson says: " City planning is an efTort to promote urban eftkiency by the closest practicable adaptation to function in the city's every part. Such adapta- tion involves pleasantness of aspect because the city serves life and is a home as well as a workshop, and it involves physical and social fitness as well as commercial and industrial cfilciency, partly because there could not be maximum economic efficiency without such aids and partly in recognition of the fact that life is more than money getting." Mr. Arnold W. Brunner says: " The basic principle of city planning is to increase the working efficiency of the city. No far-seeing business man would undertake the construction of a large manufacturing plant without making provision for future expansion and other possible contingencies, but the building of a city, our most important and complicated enterprise, often proceeds in a haphazard fashion without preparation for change or growth. The result is the confusion and congestion with which we are all so familiar." Mr. J. P. Hyncs gives this definition: " City planning means the anticipation of the city's development and providing for it, legislatively, socially and financially, before the demands of an increasing population become prohibitive in cost. The reverse is exemplified in congestion of population and traffic, inadequate and belated public works and uneconomic financing in cities that lacked the foresight of city planning." Mr. George B, Ford defines it as follows: " City planning is the name given to the science and art of providing for the most practical and agreeable development of a city or town. It would prevent the recurrence in newer districts of the mis- takes of the older. It would profit by that which time has proved worth while in the experience of any city. It would determine the relative urgency of the various needs, and plan a consistent program of i)rocedure covering every phase of the subject. It would concentrate on these matters in turn and get concrete results." The definition frequently used by the author has one merit, The City Planning Movement 11 that of brevity. It is this: City planning is simply the exercise of such foresight as will promote the orderly and sightly develop- ment of a city and its environs along rational Hnes with due regard for health, amenity and convenience and for its com- mercial and industrial advancement. While the inhabitants of any country are usually inclined to think their own institutions and customs far better than, and to be somewhat intolerant of, those of other countries, there appears to be a disposition to attribute peculiar merit to the planning of the cities in other lands. The English, for instance, greatly admire the wide streets and the effective grouping of buildings in German cities, while the Germans are charmed with the garden villages attached to some of the great manufacturing plants in England, although nowhere, perhaps, have more attractive homes been made for artisans, or have these homes been arranged in a more pleasing manner than in the several colonies established in connection with the Krupp works, at Essen. American writers on city planning have been extravagant in their praise of the planning and arrangement of Old-World cities and are constantly comparing them with their own towns to the great disadvantage of the latter. Such unfavorable comparisons are too frequently jus- tified, and yet some admirable things in the way of planning have been and are being done in the cities of the United States. Can this tendency be attributable to a sort of national modesty, which prompts one country or the people of one country to admire and praise what has been done in another country? Probably not, as national modesty is a quality rarely, if ever, manifested. It seems to be due, rather, to an almost universal disposition to be attracted by and to admire effects with which one is unfamiliar, provided they do not too violently offend certain customs and standards which are so ingrained as to have become habits. When the tall buildings were first erected in American cities they were declared to be monstrosities, not only by visitors from abroad, but by most Americans. The architects, except those who were fortunate enough to secure 12 The Planning of the Modem City commissions to design one or more of them, were especially offended, as they were held to \-iolate the most sacred archi- tectural traditions. As the character of their design improved, and some really beautiful effects were produced, the American architects were still severely critical, and it was not until for- eigners began to admit that many of these buildings were really beautiful that Americans began to realize that they had pro- duced something which was admirable. (PI. i.) That the erection of buildings twenty, thirty and forty stories high, close together along streets of ordinar>' width has had a very serious effect upon traffic and other conditions and that they have injuriously affected each other as far as hght and air are concerned (PI. 2) and that they have seriously impaired the land values is only too evident, and New York and other cities are now struggling with the problem of controlling the height, bulk and arrangement of buildings, as will be told in a later chapter. The tall buildings themselves, so far as their appear- ance is concerned, are not altogether condemned. One well- known architect has enumerated three points in their favor — their beauty in the aggregate is most impressive, they represent a distinctive type of national architecture, and they have become the artistic expression of a commercial necessity. Professor Patrick Abercrombie. in the pages of the Town Planning Renew, has made a number of interesting comments on the achievements and salient points of city planning in dif- ferent countries, some of which will be briefly abstracted.' Sweden was, perhaps, the first countr}- to enact a compre- hensive town planning law, which ai)i)ears to be based upon the assumption that a plan is requisite for every town. The results obtained through the application of this act may be subject to criticism in that the insistence ui)on wide streets has tended towards a monotonous gridiron t}'pe, which in some cases has been forced upon the old and irregular parts of the cities. Germany has, perhaps, achieved more modern town planning than any other countr}', and yet, if judged by legislation, tlie • Timtt Planning Reviru\ \o\. IV., p. gS. PLATE 1 iiililh'i ■|ihiMlllir''-"'-"Ti ' "' The sky line of lower Manhattan Island, New York. The views, beginning at the top, show conditions in 1876, 1803, 1904 and IQ15. The smaller scale of the 1915 view fails to show the great increase in the mass of buildings during the last period (p, 12). PLATE 2 Some cx.implis dt the way in whit h Maiiliattaii l>laiul, New Vurk City, has biin