Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1911-05-29
PLANNING FOR THE
CITY BEAUTIFUL
International Exhibition in Support OF
Campaign of Education.

future, and cities both great and
t-small are studying the question The
following article from the latest NUM-
Der of the Survey. the organ of the
charity organization at New York, is
a timely one:
! Conservative Philadelphia is takin;;
Il great step forward. simultaneously
| with the national city damming con-
ference, which met at Philadelphia
| May Il, 16, Il was opened the first
municipal city Damming exposition
to be held in America Mayor John
/ Z. Rayburn is a firm friend of good
city planning. For more than two
years a commission has been at wOSk
on a comprehensive plan for remodel
| ing the street plan of Philadelphia.
charging and lettering its docks aud
transit facilities and, in short, study
| ing in its broadest sense the whole
| future development Of the city. Some
| of the drawings resulting from this
work have recently been shown in the
| city hall, but today the whole exhibit
ton was on view, and the public had
an opportunity of seeing and judging
the great improvements proposed.
In conjunction with this exhibit,
there was an international exhibition
of city planning, for which the city
of Philadelphia has made a very gen
erous appropriation and which was
on view free to the public in the cor
ridors of the city hall from May 10
to June Is.
The great purpose of the Philadel-
phia exhibition is to start a campaign
of education, to attract people to the
city hall and once there To show
them geographically and expeditiously
by means of plans, beautifully pre-
pared perspectives. and photographs
what seeing men are doing to
make the cities of the world not only
more beautiful to look upon, but bet
ter places to live in. 1t is hoped that
not only Philadelphians, but people
from all parts of the country may
come to this exhibition, and with the
aid Of competent guides it is proposed
to have them learn the great lesson
OF good city planning and spread it's
propaganda through the city and over
the land.
Where we are now Just on the
threshold. the Germans have been
for twenty-five or thirty years. They
absorbed the city beautiful from
Haussmann's Paris, with its broad
boulevards and we'll placed monu
ments and public buildings, then went
on further into unexplored territory
which the French had never touched.
Starting. as a rule, with the old fOrti-
fled towns as a nucleus, they have
created a system of building zones,
the height of buildings. the proper
ton of the lot covered diminishing
in each zone on leaving the center.
thus insuring more space for air and
sunshine.
They have planned radial streets
after the French manner, but with
constantly increasing width on leaving
the center. so as to create a great
path for fresh country air to come
blowing in to the very vitals of
great city. In planning residence
streets. they have wisely con-
structed them of a very moderate
width. as they do not have to serve
the needs of more than the most local
traffic. BY making these narrower
streets they 4. have saved money on
paving and left more available build
sistsntly to keep away from the
checker board plan, the curse OF our
American cities. have designed infor-
nal planning with winding, pictur-
esdue streets in residence quarters.
and sometimes. on steep hlllsldeS'
have decreed that, for the best aes-
thetic effect, houses should he buir
only on the upper side of the road.
They exert a constant pressure 10
segreCate factories in quarters where
they will be least Objectionable, ana
nrovide clean, wholesome quarters Tor
their Industrial classes, so near inc
factories that the workers may reach
home on foot or on bicycles, thus
having no car fare.
This is by no means the sum OF the
German activities, but from every SIN
qIa one of these mentioned an Amer
loan town planner may learn some
thing and every one Of these policies
could he practiced in almost all our
American cities to their vast better
ment.
But America is waking up. The day
Of the American city with its out
skirts MANNED to suit the whims of
thousand different real estate agents
is passing. Already sixty cities IN
tho United States have called in eX-
merits who have made exhaustive re-
ports. suggesting remedies for bad
conditions caused by Illogical city
planning and recommending future
on modern rational lines
Soon. as in Germany, each city VIII
have an expert town planner or
commission of experts charged with
the problems of its growth
The problem is an enormous one.
IT involves questions of transporta-
ton and traffice. sewerage, the clever
of mountainous sites
(what modern city planner would, Tor
instance. plant gridiron street plan
on the precipitous slopes OF San
the proper utilization
of water fronts, the shaping of city
blocks so as to provide the best
housing facilities This is not the
half of the problems involved in max !
ing a good city plan, but enough to
make one realize in a measure its I'M
portance.