Evening star., 1938-05-28
REBUILDING SEEN
WORK OF FUTURE
Replacement Gives Chance
for Substantial Revival,
Dean Willis Says.

An increasing proportion OF real
estate business activity in the future
will probably be Of replacement ratf1-
er than of a new business character,
but this replacement demand offers
not only an opportunity for sub
stantial revival of house construction,
but also constructive chance for the
rebuilding of our cities, it was pointed
out by Dean Joseph H. Willis OF the
Wharton School, University of Penn
sylvania. in an address before the Ma
tional Association of Real Estate
Boards.
With little rebuilding since 1929"
Dean Willis continued, the next 20
years may easily see the reconstruction
of nearly half our urban structures
But, he added, to take advantage OF
this potential opportunity will require,
among other things:
A tightening of the disproportionate
tax burden on real estate.
Better zoning and planning of our
cities.
Lower costs of building construction.
Public policies that encourage and
facilitate the demolition of houses in
blighted areas.
Cooperative ventures in large-Scale
clearance of such areas.
Must Act Collectively.
The difficulties listed are not In
surmountable, DR.. Willetts said. but
they cannot be effectively attacked un-
less those concerned with real estate
are prepared to act collectively and in
a long-run way in their study and at
tack.
with the improvement that has
occurred in building design and the
possibilities opened by new building
materials. with the obsolescence by de-
terioration, flood and in other ways,
and with very little building during
the depression, substantial opportu-
nifty and need exists for really active
revival in residential building" DR..
Willets said. The economic life OF
most buildings is said to be about 30
years.
with this revival thus involving a
large rebuilding as we'll as new
building program. the real estate busi-
ness faces with all its complexities the
task of the rebuilding of our Ameri-
can cities.
I'm particular it must decide what
to do with the distressed areas.
Many Cities Suffering.
mo evidence need be cited to show
that parts of most of our larger Am
erican cities are suffering from blight
and decay. This blight arises in part
from the attractions of the suburbs
and the means of reaching them al
forded by transportation facilities.
But the blight and decay into which
psrts of our large cities have fallen
arise also from unnecessary conditions
for which the cities are responsible.
ut is not extravagant to assert that
uncontrolled, poorly planned. haphaz-
ard city growth has caused a prevent
able loss to American cities OF many
billions of dollars a year.
Largely from the men engaged in
the business of real estate in its broad
est sense must come the answer TO
the question whether We shall be able
to plan our cities, reconstruct the
bliet1ted areas and make cities really
Iva Bile. If you. in cooperation with
proper community agencies. work out
this vast program. you will not only
find good business opportunities Tor
yourselves. but also greatly expand
employment and contribute generously
to living conditions.
Significant experiments have been
tried in Great Britain and in this
country.
Emphasis on Taxes.
"Our d!sproportionate emphasis on
taxes on real estate is one factor to
be faced here There can be no real
improvement without more effective
coming of cities and more effective
general planning Of their growth and
development 1t should be the policy
of the city and its ordinances to en-
courage and facilitate demolition OF
structures that are dangerous to phys
ical or social health.
Rebuilding on large scale such as
Is necessary in certain circumstances
will probably entail some kind of gov
ernmental or private cooperative ven-
lures on large scale. Public utility
housing commissions are a suggestive
possibility. And beneath all, the VEN
ture will require lower building costs"
The problems you face today in
the business of real estate are the
problems Of mature business, and not
only the problems that characterize
the period of youthful and exuberant
growth.
"All the drive and resourcefulness
and courage that characterize the
most individualistic period Of your
industry will continue to be necessary.
There is no substitute for them But
something more is needed. You face
harder problems and problems of
somewhat different kind. Your attack
must be, in sveral important respects,
q cooperative attack.
The Real Difficulty.
"The real difficulty with our private
capitalistic enterprises is the frequent
dilatoriness Of their attack on the
common as distinct from the indi-
vidual problems, the problems that
transcend individual businesses or
fall between individual managements.
These common problems are, increas-
ingly, the ones that plague us. You
have the instrumentalities for such
action through your real estate boards,
your national association and through
your proposed national real estate
foundation. You have in variety OF
ways been seeking to establish your
occupation on professional basis.
That is a most significant and en-
couraging development"
Dean Willets quoted studies not yet
published by DR.. David Wickens OF
the National Bureau of Economic Re-
search as revealing that the peak OF
home construction was reached in