The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1913-08-06
CITY PLANNING
NOW pRACTICED
Municipalities Engage In Sci
entifiC Operations.
MOVEMENT GROWING FAST.

In Al! Sections of United States I'M
provements Are Being Made-Proh-
lem of Making American Cities Being
Attacked With Method.
City planning is just now receiving n
very belated recognition in the United
States. The new spirit, observes the
Kansas city Star, is slowly working its
way into the new civic life. 1t is sig
nilicant to note that the movement for
cities constructed on scientific lines
closely parallel the nation wide de-
mand FOR scientific municipal govern
ment
The problem of making over the cit
les that the hurlyburly of American
life hes dumped hapha2ardly in the
last century is being attacked by diff
ferent method almost in every city.
The movement is still too young for it
u have evolved any set and definite di-
rections. Then the individuality of
each city demands some different treat
ment.
In cities where commission govern
ment has been adopted the city officials
frequently are heading the movement.
Civic bodies have taken the lead in
others Too often it has been left for
women through their organizations TO
do the whole initial work. In other
cases the city beautiful" campaign
has rested entirely on one mans eff
forts.
But however the movement started,
however the treatment was admins
tered. the end desired is the same
Kansas City. Cohasset. Mass. or Seat
tie, Wash We have learned that some
Of MS must live in cities. therefore why
not make them as pleasant as we can?
Or MS John Nolan of Cambridge, Mass,
man who has made scientific plans
for twenty cities, expresses 1t:
What right have we to come to the
city 10 make money and then hurry to
the country to spend it? Many are
obliged to live in town They cannot
desert the dreary scene" And the OBJ
yious answer is that the dreary part
must be replaced
Thus the Connecticut river at Hart
ford was long II drab spot in an other
wise pleasing city. The river was,
iguratiyely speaking, IartforCKs front
door. and 1t looked like ana was its
common dump People had to shut
their eyes, hold their noses and plug
,heir ears when they came TO Hartford,
or else the impression of the river was
dismal shadow on the visit.
Hartford went along many years and
endured its river. Then somebody
proddcd a sluggish public conscience,
and Hartford decided 20 trim and pad
aud decorate that river until It was an
imposing ana digniiied front door for Il
city of 100000 people And Hartford
did. Concrete arch bridges, boulevards
ana parlways on both banks were the
result
Springfield, Mass. is another in
stance. Springfield grouped its mu-
nicipal buildings "to give" John 5.
Gregory said in an article in the
Worlds Work. beautiful form and
substance to their love for their city"
Boston is spending millions of dol
lars trying to overcome bad city plan
ming Boston's streets, you may re-
member. were mapped out by cows.
ANA the city that followed those four
lrggcd engineers made the streets only
about wide enough for a COW.
The cities where something is being
done are a legion. San Francisco IL
working toward civic center
unique feature OF which is a municipal
tl1eater Madison, Wis, is putting on
II new and better fitting dress, and ST
Paul and Minneapolis have recently
adopted park building schedules. Clcye-
land has seen the light and plans to
construct boulevard or two.