Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-30
CITY PLANNING 1ALTS BLIGHT
OF URBAN AREA, SESSION TOLD
ST. Louis Engineer Explains Causes, Symp-
toms and Remedies, Showing Wide Range
of Advantages In Study.

Business districts should not be left
to struggle or be shunted here and there
by every new and larger development
A business district should be definitely
designed in relation to all approach
thoroughfares and should be OF sum-
cient size to anticipate gradual future
expansion without sudden shifting. An
example of appropriate size, location
and design of a central business district
IS found in the city plan of Rochester.
street car routingS once determined
the size and shape of business districts.
, Today the automobile plays an equal
or even greater part. The most COM
mon form of blight is caused by the
invasion of stores and apartments In
single family residence districts. 1t
was a realization of the need for homo
geneity that led to the development of
coming, but zoning alone cannot pre-
serve or produce homogeneity. There
must be a mutual community Of interest
and action on the part of large num-
bers of property owners, especially IL
there is threatened invasion Of grossly
inappropriate uses"
Obsolescence q Factor.
"Obsolescence is undoubtedly large
factor in blight" Mr.. Bartholomew
said. 1--WE cannot prevent buildings
from becoming obsolete. We cannot
and should not prevent new types OF
design and construction. We should be
capable, however, of so regulating the
processes of transition as to avoid want
or waste and abandonment of areas for
no good reason.
Much is said and written today
upon the subject of decentralization OF
cities. The extent to which new out
lying developments Of commercial char
acter. particularly, comprise new
growth, as opposed to shift of such
businesses from the central downtown
area is difficult to estimate. AS the
access to the downtown districts be-
comes increasingly difficult, new growth
will undoubtedly take place In outly-
ing areas, but before we advocate and
encourage too extensive decentralization
of our cities we need to know very
much more about them. Some say
that the laws of supply and demand
will regulate the decentralization OF
cities. will they? Our blight districts
are largely the result of opening up new
areas of unlimited size.
1.-THE glamour of new things is IRE
sistible, and people insist upon having
new things at any cost so long as they
have the means with which to pay
| It is merely a question of whether we
| are going always to create new dis
| trtctS for our new types OF dwellings, OF
commercial buildings, or whether we
shall introduce the new buildings into
| the old districts and displace the Older
structures.
Common Sense in Process.
"There is less romance in the latter
process certainly, but much more Sounc
| common sense.
ITO limit the physical area Of cities
is not an unreasonable proposal, par.
ticularly since 1t can be accomplished
in more than one way and without
injury to any one in particular.
investigations now show that |
given number of people can absorb onl!
so much land for certain types of use
1 should therefore like to urge thai
every city examine closely the provision
! of its coming ordinance, both in use anC
bulk provisions, If there Is threatened