The Washington times., 1930-12-13
WARNING GIVEN
TO CURB HOME
BUILDING
llndhoIm Points Out That
Population Increase in Ten
Years Totals 52,106

a warning TO contractors to
60 slow in building new buildings
is contained in pamphlet is
sued today by S. c. Lindholm,
engineer of the District Zoning
Commission, who has recently
completed a study of the hous-
ing situation.
The pamphlet, entitled what
the Builder Can Learn From the
Census" points out that the in.
crease in population between the
1870 and 1880 census is SO, ,106, and
o stury Of housing as compared
with the population shows an ex'
cessive overbuilding.
Progress Reviewed
Lindholm, in discussing the in.
crease in housing during the past
10 years says:
"AbOut $4,000 new family
accommodations were erected,
One-half Of them in apartment
houses. The increase would
give one dwelling or one apart
, ment unit to each LIZ Of the
new population. On the face
Of it this shows an excessive
OverbuiIding.
can analysis by district
shows that the excess is not
SO extreme in the residential
sections, but the final figures
reveal sufficient danger to cause
the builder to take heed"
The census disclosed that the
downtown section, comprising the
area south of Florida Avenue and
west of North and South Capiol
Streets, and including George
town has 33,757 fewer inhabit-
ants as compared with 1920.
Decline Shown
This decline of 33,757 in the
downtown sections means that
outlying residential sections have
Increased by 85,863 and Of this
number 1915 are located in
Anacostia, it was held. Lind
holm'S investigation revealed that
the large distances in tn e
sparSely settled AnacoStia section
present housing problems so dit-
ferent from the DiStrictcS west
Of the AnacoStia River, that the
2 900 dwellings and 81 apartments
may not be an excessive In
crease.
Lindholm adds:
"There is no doubt but that
mart of the residential sections
were Overpopulated in 1920 and
that q surplus sought homes In
the new buildings: but the com.
parisOn of population and hOus-
Ing shows that an average
tenancy of "a per family unit
points to an undue percentage
Of vacancies and 0verbuiIding.
Sections Outlined
The pamphlet outlines various
sections of the city where the
population increased or decreased
and the number of dwellings
available to provide for families.
Lindholm holds his invescl-
cation tends to show:
/. A large exodus from the cen.
tral, closely built-up section OF
the District.
2. The presence here OF many
apartment houses and hotels TO
care for q transient as well as resi-
dent population. Demolition OF
old dwellings has been confined
almost exclusively to the down.
town section.
8. An apparent excess OF new
housing construction in the popu'
lous districts bounded by Florida
and Concord avenues, Rock Greek
park and North Capitol Street.
The excess of new housing when
compared to the population in
crease may, however, not be sig
snificant in the districts where the
population in 1920 was large.
/. An apparent excess Of hous-
ing between the Potomac River
and Massachusetts, Avenue, west
of Georgetown.
4 A considerable excess OF
housing cast Of Twelfth Street to
the Anacostia River and between
Pennsylvania Avenue and Benning
Road.
g. A balance, slightly favoring
housing, in the section north OF
oCSeorgetown ana between MaSsa-
chusetts Avenue and Rock Greek
park and in the sections border
ing on Eastern Avenue.
z. The attraction OF the new
apartment houses along Connectt
cIIt Avenue as a probable cause
Tor the desertion of older ones in
the densely populated centers.
8. A warning to builders to al
low the population to catch up
with present housing accommoda-
tions.
/. 9. A hint to house owners to
adjust rents and prices to mar
ket which shows such fluctuations
as the census figures indicate.