Evening star., 1953-10-22
Architects Told
Cities Face
Atomic Danger
ODM Official Warns
New Patterns Needed
Suitable for Age
By Robert j. Lewis

BY Robert j. Lewis
Many large cities may be
doomed in the event of atomic
warfare unless they adopt new
patterns suitable to this new age
we live in," a Government Off
cial warned an architects session
here today.
THE atomic age presents prob
lens in urban design that dwarf
all other problems that have ever
confronted architects and city
planners, not to mention public
administrators, engineers. finan-
cierS, politicians and plain be-
wildered citizens" Tracy Anger.
director of the Office of Defense
Mobilization's urban targets di-
vision, said.
Urges Solution Soon.
Unless these problems are
solved within a reasonable time.
he said, they may be taken over
by our overlords, while we, or our
survivors, do the pick and shovel
work OF putting plans into ex-
ecution."
Addressing a morning session
of the American Institute of
Architects Middle Atlantic Re-
gional Conference in it's second
day at the Statler Hotel, Mr..
Anger said a first step should
be to prevent further concentra-
tion in cities of the normal year.
ly population increase.
Every year the country is
growing at the rate of about
2.125.000 persons, of which about
three f1fths flow into so metro
politan areas where a high per-
centage of our strength is al
ready contained, Mr.. Anger said.
THE Nations vulnerability to
enemy attack is being made
greater at the very time that the
enemys capability of launching
attacks is increasing" he said.
Would Increase Safety.
eff those millions could be di-
verted to small cities or un-
crowded areas-satellite to the
big centers or independent of
them-they would be safer, the
big cities would be safer, and
the Nation they serve would be
safer, too"
The ODM expert said at the
outset of his speech he assumed
the gravity of the situation fac
ing this country" was we'll under
stood by his audience. He
pointed out some steps needed
to protect the country were
largely military but that in the
nOn-military field it was vital
to deprive the attacker of tar
gets worth the trouble of seek
ing them out"
mo enemy is likely to attack
unless he can count on a knock
out blow" Mr.. Anger said. THE
more we concentrate our pro-
duction and our population in
large cities. the more we tempt
the attacker to those cities. The
more we disperse our targets,
the more we are apt to dis
courage any attacker. 1t is not
concentration but space that
gives us our best defense, and
it is. space, too, which can make
for better living"
Lists Three Steps.
Mr.. Anger listed three main
answers" to reduce a city's vul-
nerability to attack:
l. Channel more of the Ma
tons essential production and
population into the less populous
of the countrys 4,284 urban
places.
2. Reduce the population den-
sity in cities since, ut is far less
profitable to the enemy to bomb
an area with 10000 to the square
mile than one with 10000 and
the same principle holds true if
the target is made up of in
dustrial plants or Government
buildings"
3. Action to increase resist
ance of structures to blast and
fire through spacing and use of
less combustible materials in
construction.
Mexico Project Praised.
Yesterday an overflow meet
ing heard a lecture by Luis Vera,
assistant chief of the Pan Amer
ican Unions Housing and Plan
ming Division. Mr.. Vera, a Chill
can architect. hailed the de-
velopment of MexicoS Univer-
sity City project as one of the
foremost projects of it's kind in
the world.
In the final conference seS-
sionS tomorrow, panel discussions
will be held on the architects
part in the redevelopment of
cities. Also to be taken I'D will