The Washington times., 1924-09-06
CITY PLANNING
CONFERENCE
IN n. !.
Complete Exhibit From Eu-
ropes Planners Being
Featured

NEW YORK (SpeciaD The an
nual International conference on city
planning for 1924 will be held in
New York at the time of the Archi-
tectural and Allied Arts Exposition
in this city from April 90 to May 2
next. At the same time and, in
conjunction with the exposition
which will be presented under the
auspices of the American Institute
Of Architects, there will be an inter-
national exhibition Of work in city
planning. Measures to procure ex-
hibits of foreign cities have already
progressed far and most of the cities
Of Europe which are active in this
direction will be represented, while
steps to secure displays illustrative
of the progress in planning Ameri-
can cities are now under way. me
Seventeenth National Conference on
City Planning to be attended by DELE
gates from all parts of the country
will also be a feature of the forth
coming exhibition.
The announcement was made yes
terday by George B. Ford, president
Of the National Confernc on CITY
Planning. It Is expected that the
ners will be unusually complete,
selective and comprehensive and, in
connection with the American dis
plays. will give a panorama Of the
worlds work in this movement. OF
interest will be the improvements
along modern lines carried out in
the reconstructed sections of France,
where the work is compulsory. In
Rheims. for example, over three
3ourths Of the city planning plans
have actually been put into effect.
Work was underway on the plans
Tor Rheims for five years." said Mr..
Ford, yesterday. "It was marvellous
to find the interest which the people
took in the project for the new
and greater city. Normally, Rheims
Is city Of about 125,000 persons,
but because Of it's situation in an
important and growing economic
district, the new plans were made
on a basis Of a population of
100000.
las in all cases where city
planning is intelligently under
taken there was no effort to change
the atmosphere Of Rheims or to
make 1T a different or modern
city. In fact the old spirit and
quaint beauty which had combined
TO render 1t, in the opinion of
many, one OF the worlds most
picturesque cities have been re-
constructed and preserved. 1t is
believed the additions in the way
of new thoroughfares both enhance
its beauty and increase it's economic
possibilities by enlarging it's ability
to handle traffic. There are today
almost as many people living in
Rheims as there were before the
war. 1t has been rebuilt very sub.
stantially. There is nothing shod.
dy about the reconstructed city.
1t is fully as picturesque as before,
as the narrow. winding streets have
been preserved and the quaint
buildings reconstructed. Facilities
for handling traffic have been in
creased by cutting new broad thor
oughfares through the centers of
the blocks. This was done on the
proved theory that the increased
values to abutting property owners
whose property was thus rendered
more accessible, warranted them
In giving up the required space to
public use.
THE people gave the idea their
hearty cooperation. Mayor Roche
OF Rheims, wonderful mayor,
pushed the plans which he was
quick to realize means much for
the future of the city. Even when
the city was in darkness, and in.
Tested by burglars and hold-up
men, the thirty-six councilmen
would walk in every night to at
tend the discussions. We had not
would always understand the plans.
But they would pick their own
piece of property out on the map
and were able to tell in what
way the proposed changes would
affect them. The plans were drawn
In 1920. And with three-fourths
Of the plans put into effect, Rheims
may be said to be the first city
In the world where complete new
plans have been carried out"
Interest in city planning is man.
Tested in many European coun-
tries, Mr.. Ford said 1t is par
ticularly keen in Sweden, the in.
ternational congress of 1928 being
held in Gothenberg. This year
1t was held in Amsterdam, in July.
The first national congress in the
United States was held in Wash.
ington, D. c., in 1908.
Former Speaker Joseph Cannon
presided with his classic long black
cigar tilted at the familiar angle.
Although in those days city plan
ming was little known to the public,
Mr.. Cannon had apparently brushed
up on the subject, for he gave the
delegates a most ennghtsning and
inspiring talk. The sixteenth ma.
tional conference was held this year
IN Los Angeles, in April, with 500
delegates attending from all parts
OF the country. The American City
Planning Institute, purely PROBES.
sional organization comprised oe
about ninety members, who have
elected to membership because Of
work done, will also meet in New
York during the Architectural and
Allied Arts Exhibition, next April.
Until recent years there has
been good deal of misconception
about the nature Of city planning
work." said Mr.. Ford. MANY peo.
pie have imagined 1t was some
wild'eyed scheme on the part Of
long haired men to put Utopian
and tmpracticable ideas into force,
On the contrary It has been de.
veloped into an eminently practic-
able science. The intelligent city
planning board or commission tries
to avoid Standardization. Standard.
ization is the curse Of harmony and
to a great extent Of economic eff
cheney. We all try to get away
from it. The modern idea is to
bring the best out Of each city, to
preserve its own personality, value
and character.
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