The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-06-13
LITTLE. COST FOR
 BEAUTIFYING CITY
CITY PLANNING EXPERT TELLS HOW BRIDGEPORT COULD BE MADE MODEL CITY AT
 SMALL EXPENSE.
Gives Address Before Business Mems Association Last Night and Inter- ests Many in Project Which Presi- dent Davis is Working For.

ests Many in Project. Which Presi-
 dent Davis is Working For.
 Plans by which Bridgeport can be greatly beautified and benefited were interestingly presented last night in an address on "City Planning" given
 by Charles W. Leavitt of New York and White Plains, an engineering ex- pert on civic betterment. The ad- dress was given before 75 people wlo gathered at the invitation of the It followed the monthly dinner of the association at the Stratfield. At the dinner there were 90 members pres ent After the dinner the diners ad- journed to a room above and MT. Lea witt gave his talk, illustrating 1t with stereopticon views. The address was thereby made very practical and in- structive. As pictures of streets, roads, squares and so forth were thrown on the screen MT. Leavitt of fered suggestions whereby similar
 be put into effect in Bridgeport.
 Bridgeport was complimented by the speaker upon having beautiful parks and splendid possibilities. of civic inn provement.
 After the audience was seated Chas. D. Davis, president of the association, asked that any irregularities in the pictures be excused as the room was not large enough to operate the ster-
 eoptfcon machine satisfactorily. He
 then introduced MT. Leavitt briefly.
 The speaker explained that the trend
 of population to. flock from the coun-
 tries to the cities in the countries
 across the water had made terribly
 congested conditions because of the
 lack of early city planning. The cities of Europe were perhaps more congest-
 ed than any in the world. One req son for. this was the old fortihcations and walls that surround the cities. arranged for the comfort of such large
 numbers of people. The desire for
 wealth and the better facilities for
 obtaining it in the cities led to the
 influx. After wealth came the desire for more comfort, better education. sewers, water supplies, fire and police protection and better living conditions in general. In this country 1t is cas- fer for the cities to expand and yet not enough thought has been given to this question of expansion. As beginning in city planning the speak CT said it is necessary to first consider
 "what you've got"
 Arteries of travel are necessary and need especial attention. Then comes the location of the business section and then the residential sec ton with parks and public play grounds between. After the main ar terial system has been thought out 1t is necessary to consider the entrances In most American cities the railroad entrances are of the most vital con- cern. The water entrances are less thought Of in recent years than be- -k~~ae railroad traffic. MT. Leavitt spoke of Bridgeport's harbor as being tone of the most splendid water entrances q have ever seen"
 After considering the entrances the Buildings should be considered and then the park system. The speaker considers that Bridgeport is well pro- vided with public parks and that only the future growth of the city and the subsequent demand for more park areas are necessary to be considered. He thought it wise to get all of the desirable park areas possible, now, as values are bound to increase as the years go on.
 About the playgrounds MT. Leavitt said that there were not enough in Bridgeport, but that good start had been made. He also spoke of splen- did possibilities of making Yellow Mill park pretty pleasure park, there OcluS every ddNduLdSc there. MT. ASA- witt considered Seaside park as one of the most beautiful oceanside parks he has ever seen and Beardsley park is one of the prettiest woodland parks he ever entered. The wisdom of giv- ing attention to the suburbs was pointed out. Schools should be plac- ed in relation to the population so that they will be in the centers from which the pupils come.
 'aThe subject of city planning is not a new one at all,'' said the speaker. He went on to say that the principal outcomes from city planning are an orderly arrangement, clean living and sanitary conditions, and good citizen ship, more civic pride and healthy and pleasant homes. London was pointed out as an example of failure to plan for the future growth of the city. He said that vast sums are now being expended to rectify the conditions. In has advanced to very practical ex- tent. The school children in those countries study city planning. In this Washington and Philadelphia I are practically the only real large cit les and old cities that were built on some idea of early planning. Chica- go is making rapid progress San Francisco is having great difficulty | and never will get right. The big | Panama fair in San Francisco will l mean much to that city by way of inn | as the plans are to make l some of the fair plans adaptable for | permanent use. MT. Leavitt said that | town planning does not necessarily | mean the expenditure of money. Ex- cept in the original expenditure for | plans, no more money will need be | expended than at present. Simply ex- pend the money in accordance with | some good plan. The usual expendi- ] lures will suffice to make for better | city if some good plan is followed. l Otherwise conditions of congestion, un- sanitary living and inconvenient traf- | fic arteries will result
 The first picture shown was that of l an old fortified town. undoubtedly or iginally laid out as camp. then found to be a good place to live in and made into city. The streets | lead up to the center like the spokes of a. wheel. MT. Leavitt said that Paris is the best planned city in the | world and that it was made so purely | from a business object Money comes | Into the city through it's state of per lection, being attractive to art stu dents, tourists and others. Pictures of | early historic maps were shown and | illustrated the tremendous difficulty the French city ha had and the very great undertaking necessary to make It over into its present well planned | state. Vast sums of money have been