Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1919-05-09
FRIDAY, MAY 9, 1919.
SHOULD CEDAR CITY BE PLANNED?

A a rule, the cities and towns of Utah are bet
ter plated and laid out than those of 9TH
er towns and cites of the country thanks to the
foresight and good judgment of their pioneer
leader. Brigham Young, who had many of the in
herent instincts of the architect though lacking
the technical training necessary to produce spec
ialists in this line But the cities and towns laid
out under the direction of Brigham Young have
wide straight streets and regular blocks of uni
form SIZE The chapel or tabernacle was located
in the center of what was expected to be the city
limits. But here, even the foresight and archi-
tectural instincts of this great leader ended Town
planning on broad and comprehensive scale as
1t is done now in many places was not thought of
until recently But at that Utah cities and towns
were In advance of those in many parts of this
country, and in the old world, where it is not in
frequently the case that the original settlement
was apparently located on cow trails with no at
tempt at survey or systematic engineering.
The growth and development of cities and
towns has been process of evolution, and as the
various problems of civic life and civic improve
ment have arisen, they have been met by the var
lous communities as best they could under the ex-
listing conditions, and naturally there has accum-
uated wealth of knowledge and experience in
connection with the meeting of these problems
BY degrees these varying experiences have forced
upon the minds of thinking people the fact that
proper and systematic planning in the early set
Element of these cities could have avoided many
very costly and disastrous mistakes, and this idea
once conceived has led to the development of ex-
perts in town planning who have sought out and
compiled the mistakes and problems of town de-
velopment, and devised plans and means for their
prevention in connection with younger growing
cities and towns. The benefits to be derived by
the exercise of this system of town development
apparent and self-evdent that it will be
only a matter of very short time until its en-
plOyment will be the rule instead a the exception
Most OF the larger cities even at this late date,
have employed, are now employing, experts in
town planning with view to remedying bad con-
ditions, the mistakes of the past just as far as
possible, and the avoiding of them in the future.
Naturally, the sooner town gets in line with
the progressive movement in this matter the few
mistakes there will be to remedy
For instance, in well planned and regulated
city, there should not only be Main street,
school building and church. but there should be
parks and Fairgrounds There should be ample
provision for culinary water so that the water
system will not require to be reconstructed and
rebuilt every few years; there should be ample
provision for growth and development and schools
and other public property should be so located as
to be most accessible to the inhabitants. There
should be proper fire hydrants and fire depart
ment; there should be on the start the most fav-
orabe location of electric light and telephone poles
and wires; there should be convenient arrange
ment OF business houses, with the small corner
groceries where the people can reach them with
the least effort and expense. There are hun
dred other matters that will present themselves
to the mind of even the lay member, to say nothing
of what an expert who has made these problems a
life study, could suggest. And by having these
properly planned and regulated at the outset, a
much more harmonious, convenient and beautiful
city can be developed, and at a very considerable
saving in cost; for it has been proven times with
out number that mistakes in location and planning
expensive. Take for instance the long, I'M
handy blocks into which Cedar City was origin
ally laid out, How simple and easy to have cut
them through the center with street or a wide
alley, yet how costly, unsystematc and unsats-