Evening star., 1928-08-12
CAPITALS GROWTH SHOWS
CHANGING i. s. CITY TYPE
New Problems Created for American
Communities by Expansion of Recent
Years Discussed at Virginia Meet.

into 2 stream which washes the shores
of a dozen other settlements.
These ugly facts are little known.
They are never advertised by chambers
of commerce. They are never shown
off 10 visiting delegations Intelligent
travellers never seek them out.
Ordinarily IL Is only disaster, ot Oh.
vi1usly impending calamity wniCb
srouses public opinion and these dill
gent followers of opinion whom We per-
maps misnan1e political leaders TO action.
Political scientists. however, are no
longer wholly condemned to the Cas-
sandra role--to prophesy evil and be
unbelieved They are still sometimes
dubbed 'highbrows' and charged with
being Impractical by those interested
politicians whose very practical pursuits
are disturbed by the disinterested pres
entatiOn of truth There is however,
an Increasing tendency to take measures
with regard to matters of governmental,
especially local governmental, organiza-
ton, upon the advice of those scientif1-
cally informed in such matters.
Automobile Causes Changes.
When I say that the automobile and
the paved highway have worked a revo-
luton in mans way of life. which must
ce reflected ultimately in change in the
| traditional units of local government, I
am speaking the simple truth. Be
lieVe me or not the fact will be the
same and I am offering a tip to the
practical politicians to prepare to ad-
Just themselves to the change Units
of government adequate IN the days Of
ox-cart transportation are no longer
sufficient they are even in some respects
ridiculous IN these days of the auto
bile and The airplaue No proposition
( is surer than that political agencies
must in the long run conform to eco
norniC and social reality. Abstract con-
ceptions, such as that of the city. must
! Weld eventually to the pressure of ne
cessity. Even older and more funda-
mental notions have been Scrapped In
| these days of progress.
In dealing with metropolitan prob
| lens. three methods have been en-
/ ployed. The first of these, out and out
| consolidation with the central city, has
| already demonstrated its futility. It
! is the failure Of territorial growth by
I annexation to keep pace with the
/ spread Of population which has pro-
/ duced the metropolitan problem. Fur
/ thetmore. the areas within which met
! ropOlitan conditions exist have become
| so great as to negative the feasibility of
| complete urban Capitalization. These
| areas include hundreds of square miles
/ In spite of their essential economic and
/ social unity there is in them a great di-
I versity of local conditions. These are
/ in the typical metropolitan district, not
/ only a variety of residential suburbs
/ for all grades of income. but industrial
| Certsrs with highly concentrated popu-
/ lations and stretches of farm and
woodland now thinly populated and
| which city planning science says must
[ remain much as thev are if the health
/ and well being of the larger community
/ is to be preserved.
Decries Capitalization.
Under such circumstances complete
centralization is both inefficient and
unjust. If all the territory Of Ale
gheny County, Pa. were annexed
TO Pittsburgh outright, for ex-
ample. efficient municipal administra-
ton of the more intimate services
usually supplied by a city government
/ would obviously BE- very difficult at
points Is or 20 miles from the city
hall, 1t would be unjust TO expose the
high property values of the present city
10 taxation for the extension Of all sorts
Of municipal Improvements. lOg-rolled
by the Cutlayillg sections of such a vast
area perhaps long IN advance of real
| necessity.
1T would be equally unjust to tax
/ these outlaying sections for the main
1 tcnance of the special services required
/ in the congeSted portions of the city
unless they were 10 share in similar
( advantages. There are. nevertheless.
( some services which must be rendered
/ in and by the whole community II they
are to be rendered at all.
! The only escape from this dilCr
/ Is the employment of some mo
( which will take care of the conn
/ needs centrally while leaving many M
/ ters to be dealt with locally. The
/ most common expedient has been the
creation of special metropolitan dis
/ tricts for the purpose of providing the
particular general services necessary IN
/ the community. There are many ey-
amples of such districts in this and
othsr countries. In the suburbs Of
Paris there are now SyndicateS or unions
I Of communes for the purpose of arrang-
ing for electricity, gas, water supply
and funeral ceremonies. Greater Lon
don has special districts for police,
water. harbor development river santa
I ton. etc, Boston has metropolitan
( commission which deals with water.
/ sewage and parks. Chicago has
sanitary district The East Side Of
9sAA GAEAitAStO DAY &laS "a FA4HAtC Qt1lA~
ties district which is developing a
water supply for that region. These
/ are only a few samples Of the extent
10 which the special district has been
reSCrted 10 for the solution OF metro
politan problems.
AiultiplieS Agencies.
While It must be admitted that the
administration of many of these spe-
ctai districts has bsen very successful,
there arc serious objections 20 this
method as a means of conStructivelv
solving the problems Of a metropolis
1t makes for the multiplication of
governmental agencies and the conpn-
cation of a system already too cOmpli-
Gated. II fails, further. TO provide for
the coordination OF metropolitan
services The state controlled and
SynoicaliSt types are applicable only 70
exceptional situations and the iudi-
reetly Seh-governing type is apt 20 pro-
duce large bodies In the attempt 70
represent every unit and 20 diminish
genuine responsibility to the electorate.
Special districts have been widely
adopted because when some one metro
pOlitan service became imperative it
was easy 10 sell the public on IL Sepa-
rateiy. or course. where several services
are handled BY the same district
authority. as Is the case with the Mas
SachuSettS Metropolitan Commission or
the Essex Border Utilities District In
the province of Ontario. some of these
objections disappear Such an arrange
ment however, comes very close 20
another method Of solving the Metro
politan problem, namely the federated
city
This method recognizes the fact that
the city OF today is not luSt a compaCtly
built~up section, chartered by the state.
as were the cities of the Middle Age but
a district Of great extent within which
the life of the people revolveS about an