Evening star., 1947-02-16
U. 5. Planning
.'FederaICity'
.ToAdjoin DC.
221 900 Would Live
In 21st Century
Model Area
(Plans tor Proposed Federal City,
Page AIS
By Rudolph Kouffmonn II

By Rudolph kouffmonn u
A 21st century Federal City"
equal in size to the District Of
Columbia and adjoining it on
the east, where 221,000 people
would be living by the year 1000,
is being quietly planned by the
Government.
The Star learned of this staggering
proposal yesterday through officials
of the Public Buildings Administra-
ton.
The new city-actually a huge
controlled suburb of the Capital
would be built on 70 square miles
OF land in the Suitland, Md, area.
1t would have a special charter
providing a large measure OF self
government.
The plan was started just before
the Nation entered the war but had
been under wraps until The Star
learned of it yesterday.
No cost is estimated for the plan.
No move has yet been made to seek
congressional authority for it. But
it has the approval OF Federal
Works Administrator Philip B.
Fleming and Public Buildings Com
missioner w. E. Reynolds.
Model for Whole Area.
What is more, the proposal leads
to a plan even more far-reaching.
Once established as guinea pig COM
munity for the motor age, it would
become a model for the whole
Metropolitan Washington Area.
Guiding genius for the new COM
munity would be a special Federal
City Land and Planning Commits
sion, which the plan foresees as
growing into a National Capital
Land and Planning Commission.
This super-body would remodel
the entire Capital into a unified
and efficient community by slashing
through the sectional interests
which have been the cause Of pres
ent patchwork growth.
The 72-square-mile tract would
embrace Andrews Field and have
as its heart and principal place Of
employment the Governments new
public building area at Suitland,
where Federal Office Building No.
8 and the Navy's photographic
Once already stand. At least 10
more buildings are planned there
eventually.
The land would be bought under
the plan by the Federal Government
in much the same way it originally
acquired the land in the District
more than $50 years ago. The Fed
eral City Land and Planning Com
mission would then lease or sell the
land to private developers. They
in turn would be required to adhere
to the ground plans of the special
commission. The latter would re-
tain in public ownership sites for
parks, Fairgrounds, highways,
schools and other public facilities.
Planned for Motor Age.
Planned especially to meet the re-
quirements of the motor age, the
land would be divided into IS cells
like those of living tissue by dual
so mile = an hour super-highways
linked with the Suitland parkway
and other major regional thorough
fares.
Each cell would be inhabited by
about 5000 individuals housed in
detached, sernidetached and row
houses and garden apartments. Each
would have a nucleus, like living
cell, consisting of a shopping CEN
ter, an elementary school for about
1000 students and other community
center facilities.
The super-roads forming commu-
nifty boundaries would have protec-
tive strips of open land. Major in
tersections would have grade sepa-
rations and community cells, would
feed into the major roads in a few
places only. Interior streets would
be small and would feed into large
parking areas.
The plan estimates that $4,000
Government employees would live
there. Their wives. husbands, chill
dren and those who provided the
subsidiary needs of the new city
would make up the other 10000.
Some might work. the plan points
out, in future Federal buildings
along East Capitol street. They
could get to work with ease over the
Suitland parkway and other top
notch regional extensions of the
Districts major streets.
Green Belt on Edge.
On the outside edge of the new
city would be a protective strip
a farm or green belt-where garden
truck could be raised and golf
courses and country clubs located.
Streams in the area would be
damned to create lakes and lagoons
for recreation. Dr..
The city would have central
business district and a small indus
trial center in addition to the Fed
eral Office area. Junior and senior
high schools would serve several
community cells at once and pedes-
trlan underpasses would keep peo-
pie Of the superroad system.
Compared to the present city as
it exists in the District, the amount
of land actually built on would be