Evening star., 1938-03-05
Dutch LEAD ALL
|NPUBL|CH HOUSING
UndesirabIes Are Put in
CoI0nieS-Min0rities
Also Segregated.

report Oh SLuulcS III NOTCIleTH EUROPE
made public by the American Institute
Of Architects, which will hold It's seven
tieth convention in New Orleans
April 10 to %, with housing as the
principal topic. Recognizing varying
degrees and kinds Of needs, they have
organized colonies Of "undesirables'
and have segregated other small min
critics in "a successful social venture
Of great significance" Mr.. Gray says
Holland alone" he continues
seems to have faced the problem
created by the undesirable. the most
needy, and the least responsible Of
the slum dwellers in the old slums
I'm Amsterdam" according to Mr.
Gray, formal regional director oi
the institute, they have built in open
areas on the edge of the city two rela-
lively small groups of one-story apart.
ments for the 'undesirables.
"These quarters are severely simple
and Of rugged construction and finish
They consist OF living room, bedrooms
and a water closet, kitchen with q
gas outlet and shelf for gas stove, q
tap and drain for cold water, and nc
more, for they are houses for the
asocial-those who are the neighbor-
hood trouble makers. drunkards, peo-
pie Of low intelligence and in some
families, idiots
There are provided separate bath
houses and laundries, each In charge
OF an attendant. The baths are free
but for the laundry there is a nomi-
nal charge. The apartments open on
generous courts and vegetable gardens
are available for those who have the
inclination to work them There is a
clubroom where housewives and girls
are taught sewing and the boys vari-
Gus kinds Of work. There is a day
nursery for the children from "a to
years old, whose mothers must go ou,
to work. The older children 60 to
the standard public schools.
Each group is In charge Of q
full-time woman superintendent, a
trained social worker, assisted by the
male attendants at the bath and
laundry and the nurse in charge Of
the day nursery. No families are
compelled to live in the asocial
group. but most Of them find their
lot here so much better than in their
former quarters that they are Loyalty
attached to them.
143 Families Graduate
Since the completion in 1926 and
1882 Of these colonies, housing 1877
families, as many as l43 families have
been graduated to the better quarters
Of normal neighborhoods as reward
for good standing. Under other cir
cumstances many Of these tenants
would be frequent public charges in
various houses of detention, asylums,
at q greater cost to the public, and
with little chance Of the family rising
to anything better To my mind this
Is successful social venture Of great
significance. 1t makes an important
contribution both to housing STAN
dards and to housing methods"
Similarly in Amsterdam other small
minorities-not undesirables-ha e
been segregated, Mr.. Gray points out
THUS old folks, who have attained
the age when their pensions are
available but who still have sufficient
energy to do little housekeeping and
care for little garden, can live
quietly in an attractive compact one
story cottage, one of a row, built on
q by-street, or about central garden,
In well organized neighborhood-a
charming environment.
Each house has q water closet,
but instead Of bathroom there is q
snail sheet metal portable tub hang
ing ON the kitchen wall. Everything
In a Dutch home is so immaculate
that the tub does not seem out Of
place. There Is usually no heat in
the bedrooms, for Holland has
relatively mild climate, and the dress
ing may be done in the living room or
kitchen, kept warm by a stove or
range. This same arrangement seems
to be equally appropriate for families
having children under the adolescent
Gge.
1T is essential to such an arrange
ment, however, that the tenants have
habits of orderliness and cleanliness
The highest standards Of living which
we observed in the various countries
visited were not always in the best
equipped homes, but often in those of
simplest equipment, where the people
knew how to live. When people have
inadequate standards Of decent living
1t then becomes important to give
such advice and training as are given
in Amsterdam to the 'asociar group
otherwise good housing is of no avail.
Small apartments for bachelors,
men and women, old and young, are
scattered in the garden city groups.
The Jews from the old Ghetto have
q very attractive neighborhood. The
Roman Catholics, a relatively small
minority, have garden suburb GEN.
tered around a simple but very beauti-
full little church. The wisdom Of the
segregation Of some of these minorities,
usually somewhat estranged, may be
questioned from some points of view.
but it Is well to bear in mind that
similar traditions and tastes make
Tor neighborliness and that it is i'm
portant to foster whatever will add to
neighborliness and neighborhood CO.
operation-the first step toward good
citizenship.
"The advantages may more than
offset any disadvantages. The munich
pal and national loyalty Of these
groups is fostered through the COM
mon school system; so in time they
will learn that they have more in
common than at variance"