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    : -:1 Di Congress Cataloging-in-t'ublication Data.,hrr lvI.- rtcmP(,lrrv urban planning/lohn M. Le\']r-8th ed.

    ln.ludcs bibLiotraphi.:1 reierences nnd index.l>lJN'l l: .li8 0 ll 6025,15 0 (alk.l.aper)ISBN 10:{l Ll'dl25l5 5 (alk paper)L. City pL. nhg- United States. 2. Urban policv-United States 3. UrbanizaiionUnited Staies. ,1. Sociology, Urban United Statcs l TiileHTt6t.l38 2009l(17'1216(1973 dc22 2uuiiut)l6lr.Executive Editor: Dickson Mussle -hiieAssociate Editor ilob DeCeorgeEditorial Assistanr Synamin BallaiiDire(tor of Marketing: tsrandy DarvsonSenior Marketing Manager: Katc MitchellMarketing Assistanl Jennifer LarlgSenior Managing Editor N'lary C.rrnisProduction I iaison: Debra WechslerProjct Manager: Shin)' Rajesh, IrltcgraCopy Editor: Mrrtha WilliamsOperations Supervisor: \'larv Ann Cloriande

    Director, Image Resource Center: MelindaPatelliManager, Rights and Pertrrissions: Zina ArabiaManager, Visual Research: Beth BrenzelManager, Cover visual Research &Permissions: Karen SanatarImage Permission CoordinatoI: Ang'john FerleriCover Art Design: Ja)'ne ConteCover Design: Maurcen EideCover Imager Robert Spencer/The Nch'\brkIimes PART 1

    PrefaceAcknowle

    THE BACKOF CONT1 An Ove

    The NeedThe Speci\Ato AreProfessionSatisfactioUseful AbThe Plan oNote 82 The UrbUrbanizatiUrban TieAlookAhSummaryNotes 29Selected B3 The HistColonial ALimited Me

    This book \a irs sct in 1u/ 12 Pal.itino b-v Intetra an!] rvas Printecl b]' lt.R. Dotuellev & Sons, In..The co\,er r\as printed by R.R. Donnelley & Sons,Inc.Credjis and acknowledgmerlts bo.rowed from othsour'ccs and reProdrrced, r!ith Permrssr"n.in thiq iextbook appear on page 422.

    --r r..1iinn Ltd.- : i.--:iion Singaporc, Pie. Ltd: - .::tion C.uaria, I td., -::,-n-lapan

    Copyright O 2009, 200 6,2003,7997,1991, 1991, and 1988 by Pearson Education, Inc , UPPerSaadle River, NJ,07458. Pearson l)fenticc I l:rLl. All rights rescr-i'ed. Printed in the United Staies of1::rrica. This publicaiidr is protectc.l b-v CoP) .iliht and pernission should b obt.rined from the:,:. iisher prior to any prohibited reprodLrction, storage jn a retrieval sysielr1, or trnn5mi\\t,)tr irr irrlv:.l_ .,r by anv means, electronic, mechanical, photocop\'inB, recording, or liket\-ise l()r-.-Jtiou rc8arding prmission(s), u,'rite io: Rights and P"rmission Dcparimerit.

    ::::! rn Prentice HallrNl is a traclemnrk of Pcarson E.luc,rtion, Inc.. _- : 'r i- ' r.Sr'lcr,.r 'r.lJ, m,rrL o Pea--o fl- .. Hallrv.. .' r.8i.t.r-- lr '.lnm. - nr le,--or IIjearson FdLl.atiorl Australia IrTY LinlitedPcarson Education Norih Asi,t Lid.Pcarson Educaci6n de Nlerico, S.A. de C.VPej]rsim Edu.ation N{il.r\.si.i lrte. I-id.

    111 98765'l 32ISBN-11: I ? 6 - 0 - 13 - h 0 a 5 q 5 - 0TsBN-1,0: 0- 1l-t0e5q5-5

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    innigr.rL.on tieurc ot {7br,,r lhe \ed 2uq0. A- therc tit-- ,tg.-l diltcrert a5\Lr'lrpt.or- dbo-tnurld lit\. Jnd irrn-;grdt.on.dnvery different resulis.

    ADN^, 71rc Grcuth of Citi1s in Er,c,1,r , iat'ru tit,t pr nied .n t8oqd b) (ornell Unr\'cr-i,y lre..,NY. lLrh7.

    CHAPTER 3

    The Historyof Planning: Part IThe history of city and town planninp;, in its full sense, goes back manycenturies. The logical and orderly arrangement of streets and public spacein Roman towns, for instance, indicates the existence of a high level of citplanning before the birth of Christ. However, since the focus of this book ipresent day planning, we do not present a full history of the subject. Thischapter begins with a brief note on the prerevolutionary period in theUnited States and proceeds through the first great age of suburbanizationthe 1920s. The following chapter picks up the story from the start of theGreat Depression and carries it through to the present time.The focus of this chapter, as of the book as a whole, is on events i1 theUnited States. However, the chapter does contain some discussion of planning in Europe as well, for the development of planning in the UnitedStates was and is closely tied to events across the ocean. In fact, today theAmerican planner who observes the practice of planning in Europewhether by visiting new towns in Scandinavia, France, or the Netherlindsby observing the preservation of historic districts in any one of a number ocountries; or simply by observing the sensitivity and wisdom with whichthe Swiss have treated a beautiful but potentially fragile natural heritagewill realize that there is still much that we can leam from the Europeans.Up to now planning in the United States and in Europe has had muchmore it-luence on other parts of the world tharl has the rest of the world hadon Europe and the United States. For example, some thousands of Third Worldstudents have studied planning ir.r the United States and Europe whereas therehas been little if any flow of students ln the opposite direction. But tharnbalanced flow of inlluence may change in the decades to come. At presenthere is a tremendous amount of modem urban plarlning activity in the Third

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    32 The Histor-v ot Pl:rnnng: Part I\\brld, particularlv in those nations that have erperienced ihe most raPideconomic growth. This ilcludes mtrch u'ork in exist.itlli cities, the Pianr-ring ofnulrerous ne\ / towns, the plannhg of modem public transportation svstems,and tl"re planring of highu'a1's to accommodate the verv rapid increase' in auto-mobilc ou'nersh.ip nolr' taking place lncvitablv, rve in the West will beginlearning from non-Westem expedence, both from successes and frorn failurcs'

    COLONIAL AMERICAPrior to the American lievolution, municipalities hacl sh'orrg porvers to controlthe usc of land and thus shape their ou'n form. These powers came (,ut of aEuropean tradition that treatcd the town or village as an indcpendcnt corporatioir, r'r'hich might or'r'n, control, or dispose of most of the land rvithin itsborLndaries. Man-v U.S. communitics started as llrants to individrrals orgroups, u,hich then, by virtue of the grant, had the por'r'er to disposc of )andwithin thejr borders. Communities had broad porr'ers to control ec.rnomicactivities within their bordcrs. For example, municipal gol'crnments fre-qr.rentlv had the pon'er lo decidc \,vhether an jndividrrtrl l'r'as to be allolved topractice a particular trade or to sct uP a business. Thus colonial towns had for-midable powers to shape their pattem of development. In that prclndustrialage, thel.also faced weakcr growth pressures than r'vas lilter to be the case'- Tocla1' one can see the results of prcrevolutionary town planning Jnmirny communities r,t,hcre subsequent groivth pressurcs were not so over-r'vheiming as to sweep awal' all traces of e;rrlier tires l Prerel'olutionaryplanling survives well in parts of New England n14';1v from major metro-politan ireas, including much of Nen'Hampshire and Vermont as well asparts of Maine, rt'estern Massachusetts, and parts of Connecticut andillrode Island. In faci, much of the charm of thesc areas comes from the factthnt so rnuch of the Past docs survive The urban pilttern that characterizessuch iowns-the town square, the reasonablc amounts of spacc betweenbuildings, the simple rectangular street Pattern are all legacies of theton n plinning of the period. The regr'rlar pattern of develoPmert and theop",r ,rr"ua in Savannah are also an cxample of prerevolutiorrar)' to\'\'npia.rning. Thc Iancl for the citv was a grant to a single individual, Jamesbglethoipe, who as grantee had thc polr't'r to plan and io impose anorderJy and a gracious p.rttern on subsequent developrnent'Thc Revolrrtion changed much of this. A certain amount of disorderr,vas one price to be paid for political and personal freedom a srnali pricefor whai was gained, but still :r price Quite obviously, the Revolutionended the praitice of creating municiPalities through the mechanism ofroval granti to irdir.iduals. More important, it placed thc bulk of politicalpor""iin the hands of the states, and it made substate units of governmenti'creatuLes of thc state," possessitlg only those powcrs granted them bv

    James Oglethorpe's 1733 planfrom ;rn 1E55 drawing (tup rigat bottom. ln both p1ans, notesecondary strccts, and the pro

    I innaan-x!trELI l!DJrJlE! !f:lfI flln ID xnn! nl::]J

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    cxpcrienced the most rapidin existing cities, the planning ofpr rblic rrdn.pondlion -y\t(,m\,lhe \ c'\ r.rpid inr rea.e il .tutor,.e irr tlre \4{,-t h ill beg nsuccesses ard from failures.

    Thc Hisior\ oi l'Luning: Rrri I

    Jamcs (lglethorpe's 1733 plan for Savannah (iop lefi) anLl the gracious and operr resulisfrom an 1i155 drarving (top rigli0. Iviiliam Pcnn's 1682 plan for Philaclelphia is shor,vnat bottom. In both plans, note ihe synlmctr-t the differentiation bcth,ccn primary arrdsccondarv sirccts, and ihe proYision of public operr space.

    had strongpowers to controlThcse polr,ers came out of a.rs an inciependent corpo_of most of the land within itsas grants to individuals orthe power to dispose of land1', 'r,^, q 1, Io LLrnlrol .,c,,t]ot]ti.n-runicipal governrnents fre_u.as to bc allon ed tocolonial tor,r'ns had for-ln that preindustr:iaillran r^.), l.'t. r to bc rhe c.treolltti,,n,tr\ torr rr planning inth pro..Lrrr'. here nol i,,o\cl-times.l Prerevolutionarv

    ,r!\ JV lrLJm m,rj,,r 6q1.3-,)nJ \crmonl J, tl ell .r\parts of Connecticut andareas comes from the factpattern that characterizesamounts of space betlveenall legacics o{ theof .levelopment and theof prcrevolutionarv townto a singlc indir.idual, Jamesto plan and to impose andevelopmcnt.A ccrtain amount of disorder.r,m;ll pri\ eobr iou>11, thc Re\ olutiorLthrough the mechanism ofit placed the bulk of politicalsubslatc units of governmcntpowers granted them by

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    3-1 The History of Planning: Pafi Tthe states. Municipal powers to control the use and disposition of landwere thus greatly diminished. The Constitution contains nulneroussafeguards for the rights of Privaie Property. (See, for example, the quotationlrom the Fifth Amendment in Chapier 5.) The proteclion of privateproperty rights Umits the capacity of a municipality to control dcvelopmenton priviteJy owned land. Fina111', the Revolution ushered in a verv differentset of aftitudes that u'eakened the influence of hierarchli social status, andauthority; strengthened the claims of individualism; and enhanced theprestige of entrepreneurial activitn That general change.in consciottsnessio.,or""d o -o." fieewheeling and less ordJrll' process of develoPment.2

    LIMITED MEANS AND GROWING PROBLEMS

    For example, Williamcalled for a system ofindividual structuresteenth centurv simplypeared as houses r,r'crthr''rrtlt 1t1".,' fromMany of the public ourc. I here lr a: nu -hocentury America, butgrowth pressures of tfanous aphorism, "thcenhrry latct describcTHE PRESSURE FOR

    As urban populationssures for rcform ntounmitrorc,'rrcenr wilh tthcse problems have inof urban open space,grimness of the nineteproblern of providingyears planning effort hment, to urban fiscalundcr llre heading ol:tion and quality. AndSanitary ReformIn thc mid-nineteentappalling by modernof on-site in a backacceptablc at low pohealth at high densitmost water for houcontamination of drinantibiotics and vactyphoid fcver werc rnmalaria, yellorv fe'" esion were not knownship between bactefuture. Hou'ever, it.w'.rmount> oi Jec.rr int

    The reductions in the powers of munjcipalities occasioned bv the Revolutionpreccded by only a very feu'dectrdes the emergence of enormous grou'thp."rr.rr", discussed in Chapter 2 Many municipalities grew rapidlv, withiittle publlc contlol over ihe pattern of growth ln most cases municipalplanning was in the hands of the commcrcial clite of the ciry3 Plannirrg thusLften foiuse.l on the commercial heart of thc citl' and ignored rcsidentialareas, particularly the less than prosperous ones. Often, planning wasconcenirated on steps that $'ould facilitate the commercial and jndustrialgron'th of the city, such as inducing a railroad to extend a branch line to thecitv ol improving the docks and the waterfront. Street patterns were oftenlaii out in such a manner as to facilitate tand subdivision and speculation'The rectangular "gridiron" pattem became cornmonplace for exactlythese reasons. Ii was easy to lay out, an.1 it facilitated subdivision andspeculation. More inaginative Plans and plans adapted to particularterrain and topographic features were relatively rare. As land values toseu'ith the grovvth of ulban populatiolls, Pressures on rem'rining open spaceincreased. Few rnunicipaliiies were r'l'illing to accePt the costs of acquiringlancl to protect it from development Rapicl grou'th, a strong regard for thesanciity of private Propert"v, the lure of quick profits from land develop-ment ;nd speculation, and a feeling that promoting commercial gron'thwas the number one function of mr"rnicipal goveflrment were dominantmotifs of the early-ninetecnth-century urban scene.There werc a few exceptions to the Picturc iust presented For erample,IlEnfant's plan for lVashington, D C., was a unified vision of how streetpattern, putlic spaces, and structures should form a grand desigr' And themotivation behind it was essentially civic, not commercial' In Savannah,Georgia, C)glethorpe's origilal plan contirued to guide the devclopment ofthe city Jnto the mid-nireteenth century. A number.of the public squatesshownin the figure on page 33 still renain But more often than not- the forccsof growth ran ramPant o\rer Plans made in the prerel'olutionary period'

    ,,,,ll,{14tfltilr

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    use and disposition of landcontains numerous(See, lor erarnple. the qtr,rta-5 r flre protecti('n of prir alr-to control developmentushered in a very differentof hierarchy, social status, andand enhanced thechange in consciousnessprocess of development.2

    occasioned by the Revolutionof enormous growthgrer,r rapidly, r,r ithlh. ln mo,t .ase. mrrniciprlelife of the city.3 Planning thuscity and ignored residentialones. Often, planning wasthe commercial and industrialto extend a branch line to theStreet pJttcrn5 h ere oflensubdivision and speculation.comrnonplace for exactlyit f.icilitdtcd subdivirion anJplans adapted to particularrare. As land values roseon rcmaining open spacethe co5t, of.rcquiringa strong regard for theprofits from land develop-commercial growthgovernment were dominantscene.

    presented. For example,unified vision of how streetform a grarld design. And thecommercial. In Savannah,to guide the development ofnumber of the public rqunres(,ttcn rhan not, thc for. esthe prerevolutionary period.

    'lhe Flistor! ol I'lanning: Part I 3For examplc, Williarm Penn's plan for Philadelphia, formulated h the 1680called for a s\.stem of broad streets, public open spaces, and setbacks arourindividrral structures. But the growth pressures that begarr in the late eightccnth centurv simply overwhelmed the plan. Tlre side yard setbacks disippeared as lrouses wcre built wall to rvall in block-long ro$'s. Allevs wcre cutlrrough blocks trom one face to the other and then fiilcd n ith ror,r, housingManv of the public open spaccs disappeared into commercial or resicientiause. Thcre was no shortage of gracious and athactivc city plans in eighteenthccntury America, but most of them, like Philadelphia's, did not suwive thgrowth pressures of the nineteenth centurv By and large, Cah.in CooJidgc,famor-rs aphorism, "the business of America is busines-s," though uttereicentury latcr, described early-nineteenth-century urban America quite n cll.

    THE PRESSURE FOR REFORMAs urb;u.r populations and the densi{, of urban devclopnlent increased, pressures for reform mounted. U.S. planning history and tradition to a large extenmirror concem u'ith the problcms arising from urban growth. Ot er the ycarthesc problems have included sanitation and public healt\ the disappearanceof urban open space, housinpi quality and overcror,r,ding, the ugliness andgrimness of the nineteenth-cenhrv industrial city, trrffic iongestion, and thpr-oblen of pror-iding urban populations with adequate mobility. In recenyears planning effort has also been directed to problems of urban unempktymel1t, to urban fiscal problems, to a varictv of issues that might be lumpcdulrder the hetrding of social justice, ald to issues of environmental preservatiorr.rn,,1 qr ra lih. Ard th i. lirtinq is f.r r. Irom completL..Sanitary Re{ormIn the rnid-ninetecnth centur.y, sanitary conditions in most cities wereappalling by modern sianclards. Human wastes were ger.rerally disposedof on site in a backyard septic tank or cesspool a situation that isacceptable at lon'population densities but a major menace to publichea lth at high densities. The mentrce was compoundcd by the fact thamost ivater for household use came from r,r,ells and streams. Thuscontamination of drinking water sources \vas common. In an age beforeantibiotics and uaccinaiions, watcrborne diseases like cholera andtyphoid fever n'ere major killer.s. So, too, were insect-borne diseases likemalaria, vellor'r' fever, and tvphus. The mechanics of disease transmission wcre not known in thc mid 1800s, for understanding of the relation-ship between bacteria and disease was still sevcral decades in thefuture. Holl'c\.et it was rvidely unclerstood that environments with largeamounts of decaying material or stagnant rvater bred disease, perhaps

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    36 The HistoN ol Pl|r'ininS: Part Ibecause of "r.ap6rs" giyen off bv putrcfving naterials or perhaps forsome other reasol.

    Ser,r'ers, rvhere thev eristed, seruCd not to carr,v au'av or-gilr.lic \\'astesbut to carrv off storm water and Prevent t-lood ing. Verl of te'r.t thcv wereconstmcted Large enough for tr man to go inside to makc rcpairs Waterflo$,rvas too slow and too intermittent to citrrv oif wastes, ttnd so sctt'ersthemselves of ten became "elongated cessPools."lClearlv the situation cried for reform. About 1840 a simple bur ve'r'vimportant in\,enlion that pronrised to be the agent of lqfolnl u'65 r.r'rlde inEnglanct. This u'as tlre "watcr carriage" sewcr' lhc insight behind theinriention was rernalkablv simple. If a scr'ver pipe u'as macie lyith a rela-tivelv small diilnlctcr ancl n'ith a cross section somclvhat Like an eggslicei through ihe long wav ancl provided u'ith a sufficient sotrrce ofrvater, it w,ou1d esscntially be self cleansing lhc lvater velocitv t'or-tid besufficient to carrr. off animal carcasscs, fecal matter, and so on In thiscase, householcl wastes, instcad of bc'ing dumped in on site cessptlols,could be piped into a common sewer anrl transported for lnilcs beforebcing rcleased into the environment The prospect for impro'"emcnt inprrblic health was enormous.But builclirrg a r'r'ater carriage seu'er svstem for a citv l'ecluircd plarrningon a major scale. Since the system n'as operatcd bY gravitr'; thc topographv ofthe city had to be taken into accoulrl in the layout of streets. Because the

    system depended on a necessary l.olume of flor,r,', streets hacl to be built withclowns so that rainwater r'r'ould be diverted into thc se$ er' Decicling u'hereto install ser'r'er lines meant that some clata on populatJorr clistribution andpresent hcalth conditions were nceded. The "sanitarY survev" oi the lateninetcenth ccntury-.t napping of houses, cases of contagioLts clisease, andpresence of outhouses and cesspools and the likc-u'as perhaps tlre firstiystematic dtrla collcction and maPping effort to bc seer.r in nranv cities Theinnount of planning required to provide seu'ers to a citv did not constitute acomprehcnsivc planrring effort. But it clid require thitt at leasL ()lle aspcct oftlre cih be cort-iderl'J a. a ir ltolc

    Planning for adequatc u'astc disPosal lvi'rs onlv a pnrt of thc largergoai of a Ejcnerallv healthful ervironrncnt. It u'as rrnclerstood that dark,damp, crot'ded places r,,'ere associatcd r,r'ith hight'r- r.ates of diseasear.rd cleath. Thus a marle complete planning effort t't'or-rld inclrtcLc prur isiunof open space, consideration of sunlight and vcntilation, and some con-traclual arrangements (see Chapter 9) to prcvent L'xcessive densiiy ofilevelopment. In clenscly devcloped urbarl areas, little could be doneabout these Iattcr considerations Providing servers rvas largelv a nratter offitting, hon'ever it could be clone, a svstem to an existing p.Ittcrn of devel-opment. Holveyer, in developing new areas, a moLe comprehensiveapproach could be taken.

    Sqnitation anprobablv the outstarrdof the nineteenth centuall these elements n'erfully keycd to the contand storn \l'atcr. The lphysical ieatures t'asreasons. For exampJe,the United States in thwith swampy and poodrainage patterns coulit did so becausc it emosquitoes n'as not tbeneficial effect couldand pianlings was alsoand ventilation. In fajudged by the extent totion, and an adeqt-1ateeffcclive prer.entives oUrban Open SpaceThe intercst in sanitnincleenth-centurv panalogv th.rt was uscdhouse a healthier ho.r city. Many splendidmid-ninetcenth centunLaw Olmsted and Calin rnany other cities. Ttrvo and-one-half nrilesbv dense urban dcvelopfully landscaped pieceBrooklyn is a rnuch lcsdesign t'ork, I'rospecareas, connecting pathfrom mile upon mile owas true for the parksthesc areas not becn accovered r,vith a dcnse ccial activitics. Othcr exseen todav irr Buffalo,Rochester-, Knoxville, a

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    rnaterials or perhaps forto carr),a\vay organic wastesflooding. Verv often thcy wereto make rep.lirs. Watercarry off lvastes, and so sen,ers

    \bout lR ld.r srmple but r err,rlr''rt,'l roh,1l.t tv,r. m;.le iirsew:er. The insight behjnd thepipe was made with a rela_Iion .,,meh l],it lilo .rn -.,-i,r itrt .r .lt.ti!ier'tt .,-,l.,r..7The water velocjty rvorrld benatter, and so on. In thisdrr6pgd jr on -ite ce.\p,,ot\,t ".lt-porleJ folnile: belurcprospcct for improvcn-rcnt in

    [or .r t ilr |r.quired plannL.gb1 g'ar itv. ihc tupotrrph) oll,tr orrt ,'[.lreel:. Be,rusc thestreets had to be Lruilt u,ithirrlo tltL -,'!^ cr. DocidLrg r,r hcre

    , 'rr pepLrl.6',I] or-trib,rtion )ncl"sanitirry sun,ev,,of thc lateof contagious disease, andlike-was perhaps the firstto be seen in many cities. T,heto a city dicl not constitute athi]t at least one aspect ofI'as only a part of fhc larger[t w.ts understood that dtrrk,hip;her rates of diseasellorL ir ou ld in. lrrd,, pror i.i.rn! cnLil.rtiun. .tnLl somc ,.,r1-prevent excessive clensity ofareas, little could be doncwas largely a matter ofar existing pattern of devel_a nore comprchensive

    lhe Ilisto,v 0i l'Lu1nh8: Part I 3Sanitation and Integrated Dzslgn. Fr.cdcrick Lai.r, Olmstcclprobably the outstandinll U.S. planner/urban designer of the second haof the ninetecnth centuni designed a nunber of nelv communities in rvhichall these elcnents were part of an integrated design. The design v.as carefuliv kcved k) the contoLrr of the l.rnd tor adcquate drainagc of toth sel,age.ind stornt \^'itter. The locatiorr of srvampy,rrcas, bt.ooks, streamq, and othephysical features $'as titken into account for hcalth as well as aesthetic

    reasons. Iror example, it was known that malaria, r,vhich r,r'as rvidespread inthe United States in the micl-nineteenih century, was somehor\,' associatedwith srvampv and poorlv clrained areas. Thus design that was scnsitive todrainage patterns cor.rld minimize the incidence of the disease. The fact thait clid so because it climinated the breeding area for malaria-carry ingmosquitoes r4ras not to be understood for sevcrili more decades, but theberreficitrl effect could be achieved nonethelcss. Thc location of open spacesand plantings \.\'as also considered for their effects on the adequacy of lighand ventil:rtion. [n fact, in Olmsted's mind, planning was largcly to bejudged by the extent to r'r'hich it reduccd disease. Sunlight, good air circulation, and an .tdequatc amount of \ eBetJtion were, in his vie!\, the moscffectir-e pret'entives of disease.Urban Open SpaceThe intercst in sanitation dovetailed u,ith another preoccupation onineteenth-centurv planners, the provisiorr of urban parkland. In ananiilogy that was used at the time, just as good ventilation would make ahouse a hcalthier house, so too would p:rrkland serve to ventilatea city. Many splendid examples of municipal park design date from themicl-nincteenth centurv. Nerv York's Centtal Park, designed bv FrederickLaw Oimstecl anc-l Calvert Vaux in 1E57, furnished inspiration for parksin manv other citics. The park covers a t.ectangle in Manhattan roughlltrr'o-and one-half n-Liles long bv one-haif mile Lvide. Bordered on ali sidesbv clcnse urban der.eloprnent, it provides the Mitnhattanjte r,r,ith a beauti-fully landscapcd piece of countryside in ton'n. Across the East l{ivcr inBrooklyn is a much lcss u'ell-known bui equallv fine piece of Olmsted'sdesign rvork, Prospeci Park. A splcndid system of meadou,s, lvoodedareas, comccting paths, and tr,r'o artificial lakes provides an idyllic relieffrom mile upon mile of densc rirbanization. In the casc oI both parks, as\vas true for thc parks of many other citics, there is no doubt that hadthese areas not been acquired for.public use, thev u,ould have soon beencor-ercd with a dense carpL.ting of residences, stores, and other cornmer.-ci.ri activities. Other exanplcs of Olmsted's wor.k in park design can beseen todav irr Buffalo, Chicago, Montreal, Detroit, Boston, Bridgeport,Iiochestcr, Knoxville, and Louisville.

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    38 The Hisiory of Planning: Part I

    Rnerside, a Chicago suburb, was planned by Frederick Lau' C)lmsted anda"i;;;;l;;;;;iiv "ii".,r'. ci"il w"r rhJcu^-ilinear street pattern, closedtrention tu lilling lL' 'trePt p.rltern to the loPL)SraPlly Prc5er\atiL'n o[grccndrea5,.rnd sepJraii',n ol trafilc Irom locJl tr,llfic'lr("lll(ommonlr u'edde-igntechniques toda)i.Housing Re{ormA major item on the agenda of ninetcenth-century urban reformers n'asthe condition of housing for the urban poor.s The issue of housing forthose who do not have enough income to obtain on the private marketwhat society deems to be adequate housing h'rs becn on the planningagenda er.ei since. In the nineteenth century, housing reform largely tooktfre form of pressing for legislation that mandated minimum standards forhousing quality.In'New York City the first legislation regulathg tenement constructionwas passed in 1867, ind other legislation foltowed at intcrvals thereafterthe city's 1901 Tenement House Act is considered a landmark in thistraditio;. It cut lot coverage back to 70 Percent and required a separate bath-room for each apartment, iourtyards (for light and ventilation) whose widthwas determined by building height, and improved fire safety measures'It also set up a Tenement House Commission, with a staff of inspectors and

    enforcement powers.codes backed by somAlthough muchmust also note whattook a conservative dhad been adopted inthe disappointment omoney was investedMunicipal governmeand financier. Local aresponsibility of govcost. The sort of policywas exemplified bV thof suburban land, plworking-class familiesapartments along r,rprevailed in the Unitmarket and that the mGovernment was notcapital. Even LawrencHouse Act, belier.ed thousing and that suchgeneral planning issupublic monies shouldThe United Staand housing subsidieCermany, France, thegone very far in thathousing that has beenUnited States r,r'ouldarguable. What thehowever, is that onematters of political idtechnical merits or dein the United States.The Tradition of MuAnother part of dre planineteenth century migins are generally traStockbridge, Massachurapidly, at first largelNational League of lmp

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    Lai,v Olmsted andstreet pattern, closeprescrva tton ol grecnctrmmonJy uscd design

    urban reformers waslhe i-rLrs of hou.inA forobl,lin on the private mjrketha-.been on lhe planninghou5rng relorm ldrgel\ io,,kminimr-rm standaids fortenement constructronat intervals thereaftera landmark in thisand required a separate bath_and ventilation) whose widthfire safety measures.ivith a staff of inspectors ancl

    The Hisiorv of Planning: Part I 3enforcement po$'crs. By 1920 at least forty other cities had enacted buildingcodcs backed by some enforcement machinery.6Although much was accomplished through housing regulation, wemust also note what $'as not done. Housing rcform in the United Statestook a conservative direction. The more far-reaching housing policies thahad been adopted h somc European countdes were rejected here, much tothe disappointment of the nore radical reformers. In Europe much publicmoney n,as investcd in building housing for workers of modest meansMunicipal govemments often played the roles of iandowner, deYeloperand financier. Local and national governments took the \riew that it was aresponsibilitv of government to provide adequate housing at acceptablecost. The sort of policy that appealed to the more radical housing reformerst'as exemplificd bv the city of Ulm, Germanv The city acquired 1,400 acresof suburban land, planncd the area, buili housing, and sold it at cost tor.vorkhg-class families. The city also subsidized the building of cooperativeapartments along u'ith related community facilities.T But the view thaprevailed in the Unitcd States was that housing is to be provided by themarket and that the most govemment should do is to regulate the market.Co\.emment was not to be a landowner, a developer, or a source of housingcapital. Even Lawrence Veillcr, the moving force behind the 1901 TenemenHouse Act, believed that only local government should concern itself withhousing ancl that such concern should be limited to regulatory matters andgeneral planning issues such as street layout. He opposed the idea thapublic monies shoulcl be spent on housing.The United States subsequentlv did mor.e toward public housingand housing subsidies (see Chapter 4) but, in contrast to Great Britain,Gcrmany, France, the Netherlands, and other European nations, has nevergone very far in that direction. The great majority of Americans live inhousing that has been built for profit by the private market. Whethcr lheUnited States r,r'ould have been wise to follow the European approach isargu;rble. What the divergence between them does clearlv indicirte,hower-er, is that one cannot separatr major planning quesiions frommatters of political ideologl-. The European approach, regardless of itstechnical merits or demerits,looked too much like socialism to bc acceptedin the United States.The Tradition of Municipal ImprovementAnothcr part of the planning tradition that emerged in the second half of thenineteenth century might loosely be called municipal improyement. Its ori-gins are generally traced to the founding of an improvement socjety inStockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1851.8 The cir ic improvement movement grewrapidlv at first largely in New England and ihen nationally. In 1900 thcNational League of Improvernent Associations n'as foulded, to te supplanted

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    The History of Planningr Part Ih!'o )rears later bv the American League for Civic Improvement. The agendafor the hundreds of civic improvement oIalizations included diverse itemslikc tree plartings, antibill-board campaiSns, paving of streets and sider'r'alks,provisiolr of drhking fountains and public baths, provision of parks and recreitional facilities, and numerous other public matters. The movemcnt initiateda tradilion of public concem ivith plalning issues ancl helped build a clinrateof opinion thai was recePtive to municipal and regional plarning, and itcontinues in force to the present.The Municipal Art MovementToward the er.rd of the njneteenth centurt there formed an interest inmunicipal aesthetics thal is generaLlv referred to as municipal or ci\ ic arL.A fusion of art, architecture, and plamring, it attcmptcd to tra scend themere utilitarianism of the late nineteenth-century citv and to make it aplacc ofbeauty as well. Though later criticized for attending to the cosmeticispects of urban life rather than the mosi pressing problems, thc movementhad a strong component of idealism.

    Thc tlarkrrcss rolls arwav, and the buildings that have been shadows siandforth distincily in the grcy air' The iall facades glorn" as the, sun riscs; theirwindolvs shine as topaz; iheir Pemrants of \ie.lm tu8qrng flutft'rinllly fromhrp.n rhintr"\., dre (l-.,ngcd 16 51 1.1' pl..n'r'' \^lr.rl' rFr n.t- ditlgl 'oar''arid trgly i" crthrr tra sformed or lridden in sh;itlou' The streets, bathed inthe fre.ili morning light, fairly sPrrkle lhejr Pavenrcnts trum. trpper u'indou'sappearing smoot-h ancl clearr. There "eem* to be i nc$ crt) ft'r thu rvork of anei" aav_. . . There are born a nert' dleam and a nerv hope Andofsuchistheimpulse to civic art.Distirguishing bctr'r'een "civic art" and "art" in its usual meaning, fhe samewriter stated,

    It is municipal first of all. If rnen seek lt the,v seek it not fol ait's sake, br'Lt forthe city's; they are first citizcns ancl then, ir1 their ou'n wali artists iealous of thucity's iooks because they are citizens theyso band tllemseives togethcr andso commission sculptor:s, Painters, artists, and landscape designers.for the glo-rifying of civic artinoi just because it is art, but bccausc it is civic 'rThe results of the movement are still visible all over America in theform of arches, for-rntains, statues, and other works of urban design anddecoration. The inspiration for the movemcnt came larS;ely from Europe.Onc has only io look at the photograPhic plates of Robinson's classicr'r'ork to see his inspiration: St. Paul's and the Thames cmbankment inLondon, the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, and other public areas in Europeancities. The motivation to catch up r'r'ith the Europcans stemmed in Partfrom the economic growth of nincteenth-century America, for it was

    weallh ancl Jeisure thwhich was not purelyThe City Beautiful MThe Cit1. Beaqtiful rnocivic improvement, aconsidered to mark theExposition in Chicagosary of the discovery othe object of a major coDesigned bv Danand urban designcr ofdesigner of Centrai Trarkintegrated combinationand otlrer buildings. Ilvhad seen it. By itsell, thener, the architect, ald th

    ln this "Whire Cibaccustomecl to Llrbcivic d..srgn ard behketj rt Intlccd it mment of extensive bOne cffect of theof plaming activity iBeautiful movement tegovernment had clear cpublic spaces. The resuin civic centers, municipexample of City Bealroundings in Washingt

    try and axial lavout (i.ethe reflecting pool trndity, tire classicism, andare hallmarks of the Cmcnt obviously has clargue about whether apublic spaces are produportant. Perhaps r,r.'hatof scale than intent. Theular points in the cjty: aBeautiful movement socenter, a boulevard, a p

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    Ci\-ic Imprtvcmcnt. 1he agenclaincluded diverse'itemspaving of streets and sider,valks,plor ,,inl of p,rrlr a1J recrc-ntdhL r:. Thc m,rreq..111 1nj11n1.4and helped build a clirnateand regional planning, and it

    v, lher.e formeci an interest in1,',t' munic jp.rl trr. jr ir rrt.rt .)tLemptod lt' tran,cerrtl tirecity and to make it afor atten.l ing to the cosmeticproblems, the movementthat have been shadorvs stand

    ade. e,l, h .r- th. ..rl i-.-, ilrei.\rl.Jm. l-.ring rlutterrnJtll fr,,nrrre \,\ r'.1lp\. r r^,,- dingl. .,,..,...,,, -1r..d,,r1. I(e -trer 1. [.,16.,,1 ;nmrt't\ I,urn lpp.. n.Jl,1,,r,.1,, b, .r -c\\ ,;t) tor th,.\^ork ot Ia nerv hopc. And of suc.h is thein its lrsual meanin, the same

    \ i r.l ir nul ,ot ar't . r.rk,., out Iolo\\ n \\ .t\. .ll t-l_ it.".uu, L)f lh.,.^ L,.rn,l ll-L.nr-.lr e- togcther "noe,r*ri;r,rr- ior t1,.3.,"hut bec.1u5e it is ai\ ic .'all over America in ther rv,'rL. or urban de*ign,rnd.,trne l.rrgell trrrrn f 1116p1,.pl,re. oI l(obins,,n'r cla.,rctlre llt.rmcs ernl,anlmenl rnpubli. ,rrc.:. in furupelnI uropern- stcmm,-d in p.trlAmeric.t, lor it rvas

    Ihe llist0 \ 0i Plannjn8: Part I 41wealth and lcisure that ga\-e us the fceling that rve could afforcl thail.hich r'vits not purelv functional.The City Beautif ul MovementThe Citv Beautiful mor.cment brought togethcr the idcas of municipal artci\.ic improvcment, and landscape dcsign. The event that is generallvconsiderccl to mark the beginning of thc novement is the 1893 ColumbianExposition in Chicago. Intenclcd io celebrate the four-hundredth annir.er-sarv of ihc cliscovery of America, though it opcned a year latet it had beenthc objeci ol a major conpetition betu'een a number of cities.Designcd bv Daniel Burnham, possibly the most prominent architecard urban designel of the da9 and Freclerick Lan,Olrnsted Jr (the son of thedesi;5ner ofCcntral Pnrk), the fairgrounds presented thc visitor \,vith a ciuefuUyinlegrated combinatjon of lanclscapcd areas, promenades, expositjon hallsard othcr builLlings. Bv the tir.nc the exposition closed, some 2fr nilLion peoplchacl seen it. Br,itself, the exposition opened the nation's eves to \,\,hat the plan-ner, the architect, alrd thc landscape architect, n'orling in concert, coulcl cio.

    In lhis "\thiie Cit)"' oI almost 7il0 trcres ChicaS;oans and mjllions of visitors,accustured io utban ugliness, saw'for ihe first timc a splendicl erample ocivic design and beauty ir-r ihe classic pattern and on a grand scale, and ther-likL.d it. lndeed it marked the begimitlg in this country of orderl).arr.x1gri-ment of extensivc buildings and grounds.l0. C)ne cffect of the exposition was to set off a tvave of a particular typeof planning activitv in Anrerican cities. Plans coming out of the CiiyBeautiful mor. ement tendcd to focus on those things over rvi.rich municipalgovernmenl had clear control str.cets, municipal art, public buildings, andpubiic spaces. The results can be seen today in dozens of citics, partiiularlyin civic centcrs, mrrr-ricipal buildings, and the tike. Probablv the best-know-nexamplc of Citv Beautiful plannirlg is the Mall and its inmediate sur-roundings in \{ashington, D.C. The carefrrlly designed Vistas, the symme-

    trv and axial layout (i.e., thc Washington Monument placcd at one cn

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    Two examples of the fruitsof thc municipal art CityBeautiful mo\.ement threequarters of a century latei.Above, Grand Army plazain Brooklyn, New York,and, belor', the PulitzerFountain at Fifty-ninthStreet and Fifth Avenue inManhattan.

    BeautifuL movement, as fartradition is concerned, wasparticularly within thethe erposition. In 1906of cornmerce, commissionedof planning was funded bvwith $85,000, and th"ea gift in 1909. The plan wasof radial and circumferentialthe city center Thus in itsas a city plan. Jt laid out ansriggested the uni{ication of

    The llistor! cJi Plrllning: Part I 4rail freight tenninals. Chicago's Union Station is one outgrorr'th of the planWithin the city, extensive plans for street $'idening and ovcrpasses acriticai points \'vcrc suggested. A system of parks and wildlife preserr,.esboth w'ithin ancl proximate to the citv \,\.-as suggested.ln a remarkable act of foresight, the plan's sponsors appreciated that ihepolitical and public relations side ofplanning was just as importanf as the technical side and sei about fostering the public will to accomplish the plan. Theoriginal plan u,as a lavislrlv printed and expcnsive docunent that could har.eonlv a limited circulation. Io make ihe concept of the plan kno\a,n to the populace at large, a summary r.ersion was printed with pd\.Jte funds.nd giien tocve4r ploperty ol\'ncr in the citv and to every re.nier who paid rnore thal $25per month. Shortly thercafter a version of the plan l,r,as done as a textbook andwidcly uscd in the eighth gracie of the city schools. Not only did this reachmany students as they r'r'er e about to leave school for manv students endedtheir cducation u'ith primary school at th.rt timc-but tlre pi.rn also found its\\,ay into manv households by this loutc. The plan rvas also promotedbv means of illustrated lectures, a popular form of entertainment in thapreelcctronic age, and also by a short motion pictluc, ,4 ft Ie of One City.

    The Columbi.rr-r Forrf tain at the 1893 Columbian Expositior ir1 Chicago.

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    1-1 Ihe Historv of l-Lrrrning: Part IThe city responded $'ith thc creation of a lrlantring Commissioncharged with lhe responsibilit)' for carrving out the plan As a stratcg\" theplanners dccided that one concrete accomplishment llas needed to demon-itrate that the plan \,\.'as not simply an idle dream The parLicular projectwas to carry Twelfth Strcet across the r;rilroad Yards souih of the Loop on aviaduct and tirus facilitate the flor'r' of traffic \\'ithin the city's do\'\'nto\\.n'\\4ren this r'r'as accomplished, skepiicism about thc practicalitv of ihe planu'as greatlv rcduced, and one project after anothcr rvas fundcd bv bondissuci. By 1931 close to ,$300 million had bcen rtrised bv boncl issues andspecial assessments to fin.lr.rce vitriou:i elements of the pl;rn llobertL. Wrigle-v- Jr., Iists the foJlor'r'ing as some of its accol plishmcnts:. . - The doubled deckcd \{acker Drile :rncl severai large bridgt's rt r'rt rnaitrrimpro|enents along the main stem of thc Chicago lii\'(rr ' The South Blanchof ihe Chicago Rivo;\'vas straightened, dnrl harbol facililies u i:rc crllarged in thedon'ntonn rirea and ;rt Lakc Calumet The famots Navv Picr uts blrili lilr outinto Lake Michigan. Non' land rvas slorvlv built uP as the Lake \\'ils ptlshed back;tncl ovcr 20 milis of lake-kont p.rrk .1rrd beaches rt'r ie'l An'i $'ithjn thesclakc-front parks notable mnserrms .rnd '.rihcf ir\trtLLirLlrrs \\ el e der-e1oped, muchtis Burnlt.rm and his assotr,ltcs Llad suIgested The 'luil\ lnq iort'st Prcscn es\^-rerJ-tlr err'_,tcJu,'lt h\ l-llln'\ ia'lJd'o 12_+rU r'a'Bv jts verv impressivencss, both as a documcnt ;intl as real accottt-plishmcnt, the Plan of Chicago defincd for a long time ihe planner's andperhaps also thc irformed citizen's view of rn"'hat.r plar strotricl be ln parilculai, a plan should be comprehensive, and it should have a relativelvlorrg time horizon. The plan was to be effectuated largt'1v through publiccapital investment on publicly owned land. Support bv tl.rc citizenrv $'asessentiai io provide the political will for rnaking the necessitry investment'Some modern concepts of planning rt'ere absent from thc Plan ofChicago. Among these \\'ere a concern \^'ith social issues, the notion offrequent plan rei'ision and updating, trnd tht'r'iew that tl.rc pubiic shoulclputil.iput" in the making of thc plan rather than justreceivc and approvc it

    as a finisired document. The pJan has sometimes becn criticized for itscmphasis on land and structures and its slighting of sociaJ-issues Butjudg-ingthe plan by the standards of a later dav is not entirelv fair' As a productof its time, it is a remarkable accomPlishmcnt.

    THE PUBLIC CONTROL OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

    turn of the ccntury', thPl'ivatelV oWned land mOne jmportant ption ol public controllate nineteenth centestablish the right ofclid not own. The capan'as fairly well establiCourt decision ciid notone in lr'hich a munidensity with which lathe physical configtiralines, ctc.) of developnumber of zorres dispdensities, and design fThe zoning process, arsdescribed in detail in CThe Rush to ZoneThe 1920s saw zoning ospeecl. The causes are nwere beir-rg establishedordinancc enactcd in Nmight be done. Automvehicles per year. Withmercial districts, wasownership was promocontrol congestion in cdential areas by commconmunities, both inpower to zone lookedthe status quo againstPerhaps a single familfilling stations, used carsinglc-family housts cowaV to protect it from thThcn, as now, zonfor shaping the future, bihough no court would()t zoning might raise prfor manufacturing, andin the eyes of tl're farmeand industry u'as one of

    The reader mav have noticed that all the elernents discusscd in connection'ivith ihe Plan of Chicago essentially pertained to public 1and, nhether itl(as aciually in public ownership at thc timc or rvas to bt'accluiretl af somelatcr tirnc. ihitl.,c.,t on pr.rblic-owned latrd l'as not accidental, for at the

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    of a Planning Commissiono I tlre plrn. \.,].tr.ttcg\. thL,rnen I r,r.', nccded 1,, dcr r r,,n_Jrc,rm. l lrc p:rli.ul;r pr,,j.crr.rrrl.,o rth ,,r t1.,.,,,. On,,,rvirltin tltc cilv . downt.ru n.th,'1,rr. ric.rlitr r,l rhe pl.rn,rnorhct lvJ- JuI]ded b\ bulrclraised by bond issues arrdclem*nt> or thc pran. I{r,b|rtits .rcrrrrnplishrrents:.F\.r,,1 lar_e b,id."- vr( "e -n,rj,,r' r,.r;o l( r e;.. . p1 \ \ur,tn Br.irl.rrlr,rrnur '.r.r,ili(\r^("F,.dnrgeil .n trtp'.r-no.r- \. r r lie. rr.rr Lrr lL L.r .r,r(p - h.r.rl.\\,r!J\L-trcJb,rlrrc--.lr.,o . . . \,rJ h itnir tJ.(.cr i '-rih. tinn- !^. rc .l, \ . lup.d, n ru, h-'e,J. lhe,,rrL11irrg orp\r t,r,.\er\(.-12,.100 .rcres.ll

    document and as real accom_a l,'nS time ihe 1,l.rrurer ,, andu h,'r J plarr ,h,,Lrll h". l1 1,a._ir ,lrorrlJ h.rrc a r.l.ttirclrla rqcl.\ throu$lr publicL)\ thL, cjtilortr\ \,\J>thc nccessarv invest;ent.absent from the plan ofsocial issues, the notion of\ ie\\ th.rt the pUbiic :huuld

    r r jrr.l reccir c,rrrJ .tppru\ e itbeen criticized for itsof -o, i,rl i,sue-. Bul ,udg-n.rt enri*ch f,rir. A-.t lroduct

    Thc Hjsbr\ of PllrnfLng: Part I 45tunr of the centurv the public had little control ovcr the uses to wirichprivately owned land might be put.()nc important palt of the history of planning has becn the evolu,tion of public control over prir,rately owned land. Beginning in the verylate nineteenth centur\r, a scrier. (,f laws and corrrl c.rses began tbestablish lhe right of local government to control the usc of land that itclid not orvn. The capacitl. of govelnment to zone land for di{ferent usesrvas fairly r.vell established by 1920 or: so, though thc dcfinitive SupremeCourt decision dicl not cornc until a ferv years later. The zoning process isont'in l'hich a municipal go\rernment cltn cxercise control over thedensitv u'ith which land is der.eloped, thc tvpes of uses permitte.l, andtht'phvsical configr-rration (heights of buildings, setbacks from propertvlirres, etc.) of development. Typicall1', the community is dividcd into anumber of zones displayed on a zoning map, and thc permitted uses,densities, and design for each zone arc speciiied in the zoning ordinance.The zoning process, as rveli as some relaLccl tvpes of land use controis, isdescribed in detail in Chapter 9.The Rush to ZoneThc 1920s saw zoning ordinances appear across the natictn with remarkablespeecl. Thc causes arc not difficult to see. The legal precedents had been orrvere bcing establishecl, and a r.ery complcx but lcgallv defensible zoningordinance en.tcted in Ner^"'York Citt'in 1916 gavc sone notion of whatmight be done. Automobile ou,nership rvas climbing at roughly 2 millionvchicles per vear. Within built-up trreas, congestion, particularlv in com-mercial districts, r,vits mounting. Beyond that, widespread trutomobilcorvncrship \,vas promoting a vast l\'ave of suburbanization. One wav tocontrol congL.stion in commercial areas and prevent the invasion of r.esi-dential areas b1' commercial development r,r'as througlr zoning. To manycommunitics, both in older;rreas and on the suburbanizing fringe, thepo\'ver to zone looked likc ihe best $'ay to protcct r,r,hat n,as desirable inthe status qrio against the vagaries of rapid economic and social change.I'erhaps a single familv neipihborhood was threatened with invasion byfilling stations, used car lots, and hanburger stands. Zoning it so thlt onlysingle-family houscs could be built seerned like an effective anc-l a costlessu.av to protect it from the undesirable side effects of progress.Then, as nou', zonir.rg ra,'as nut r-rnlv a tool ot planlilg rnd a techliquefor shaping thc future, but also a devite Jor tlcfense of an eiisting order Andthough no court n'ould accept this as a 1cgitimate purpose of zonhg, the actof zoning night raise property values. Zone a pasture on the edge of townfor manufacturing, and dreams of a prosperous reiiremcr'tt wor.rld glimmerin the eyes of the farmcr rvho olvned it. In fact, overzoning for commerceand industry rvas one of the hallmarks of the ear.ly agc of zoning. For-aside

    discussed in corurectiolto public land, whcther itor was to bt acquired at somer'r,as not accidental, for at thc

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    The Flisiory ol Planning: Part Ifrom thc pJeas of expectant proPerty on'ncrs what municlPalit)' did notneed more jobs for its peop)e and more tax dollars for its coffers?As we shall see, most planners regard zoning as only one aspect ofplanning and, particularly, as one tool for implemerrting the master Plan lnihe "url1' 192t-ls, ,oning often preceded planning and, in the minds of manl',becams almost synonymous r'r'ith planning (a confusion that is much lesscommon but not unhcard of todav). That l'ie$' is not tcrriblv surprising Anov techniquc with apparently substantial po$rer to alter events hadappeared on the scene, and it t'ould take a r'vhile before its limits ;rnd itspotential for abuse would become' cviclent.In 1921 it was cstimated that there were 48 municiPalities with acombined populationofl1 million that had zoning By-1923 the figures hadrisen to 2i8 municjpalities arrd 22 million people l2 The rnol'e tou'ardzoning was further accelerated in 1924 wl.ren the U S DePartment ofCommerce hear:led by Herbert Hoover came out il'ith a model state zoningenabling act. Drafted bv Edward M. Bassett, the attorncv $'ho had drawnup New York City's zoning ordinance a few years earlier, the StandardEnabling Act encouraged many states to adopt their or'vn enabling actsThcse acts, t'hich specifically ar.tthorized local zoning laws, encouragedmanv more municipalities to enact zoning laws Lrecause it rcassured themthat iheir ner'r'iaws woultl be able to l'ithstand court chalienge'The Growth of Community Master PlanningAlthough the singlc most important trend in planning ir the 1920s'ir';rs thespread and acceptance of land-use controls, other events were occurrirg aswell. In city after citv planning rvas institutionalized rvith thc establishmentof a plannirrg commisiion. In some cases commissions had paid staffs thatdid the actuil plan-rnakirg. More frequentlv, plans and zoning ordinanceswere drai'r,n up by planning consultants. Roughly two dozen planningconsultant firms wcrc activc in the United States in the 1920sCommunity plans of the period tvpically covered ihe follorving'13

    Land use (often consideled synon,vmous \\'ith zoning)Street PatternTransitRail (and u'here appropriaic, !\'ater) transPortationPr-1blic recreationCivic art

    The goals of thcse ptans typicalJf included a numbcr of items One was anordeil,v and attractive paticrn of land use. Related to this was avoiding thejuxtaposition of incompatible land uscs, for cxample, a factory in a residen-tiul ui"o. Another goaL was achieving a well-functjoning system for bothprivate and public transPortation Still another wtrs to;rchiel'e an adequate

    system ()f parks andand attractiye designcity hall, were commcommunity attractivebehind the more spBeautiful movementBy modern staneglected housing, exh4res werc permissiblefor public capital llvesners are often more poCitizen participation atoo, many planners odown once and then flowed as the buildingdre pialr is to be periomelt in directions notBut these limitatical plan for the 1920s xthe focus on publicBeautiful move.ment oipality, ancl it addresseAs is the case towhere thc planner r,'periods. But a certain ntunity, the chance to plPalos Verdes in Califor:Kingsport, Temessee;the new communitiesessentiaily residentialupper-middle class. Otou/ns and containcd pclass as well. Sorne weshort of full developmeFor example, Raage," rvas rougNy haifcompleied and toclav ssuburban development.a fine residential arca. Ptrips to Radbum. Largeways, and a sheet pattevery attractive living enwaiting lists are long, aRaclburnites. By that ulcommuniry In general,

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    municipalitv did notdollars for its coffers?zoning as oniy onc aspect ofthc master plan. Inand, in the minds of many,(a confusion that is much lessis not terribly surprising. Apower to alter events hada l'hilc beforc its limits and its

    were 48 municipalities with azoning. By 1923 the figures hadpeople.12 The move towardwhen the U.S. Department ofout wilh J model 5tate zonintthe attorney who had drawnyears earlier, the Standardadopt their own enabling acts.local zoning la.ivs, encouragedlaws because it rcassured themcourt challenge.

    planning in the 1920s was theother events were occurring aswilh ihe establishnenihad paid staffs thatplans and zoning ordinancesR,'uRhlr tn,r 616r7sn plaruringin the 1920s..or ered the follovr Lng.l'with zoning)

    transpottation

    number of items. One was anto this was avoiding theexample, a factory ir a residen-system for bothwas to achieye an adequate

    The Ilistorv 0f Plannjngr Part t 4s\rstem of parks and recrcittional areas. Goals of n.runicipal beautificationand atiractive design for public spaces, for example, ihe area around thecity hall, rvcrc common. Safeguarding property va lues and n.rking thcommunitv attractive for business rvere very common gcneral motir.ationbehind the more specific goals already noted. The imprint of thc CiiyBeautiful movcment and the Plan of Chicago are clear.Bv modern standards these plans were less than complete. Therneglected housing, except in the sense that zoning speci{ied what housingtvpes n'ele permissible in the various zoncs. They generally neglected to planfor pr:bLic capital inveshnents, ['hich in the r.iert'of most contemporary plalners are oftcn more powerful shapers of land use than are land-use controlsCitizen participation as !\'e kro$' jt today was still beyond the horizon. Thentoo, manv planrers of the time thought of the plan as something to be laiddon'n once and then {ollovved, much as al architect's drawings are to be followed as the building is erected. A more modem view, as we shall see, is ihathe pian is to be peliodicallv monitored and revised as events take development in directions not anticipated in the plan or as commtLnity goals cha]lge.But these limitations having been noted, it must be said that the typical plan for the 1920s was a major step forward in comprehensiveness fromthe focus on public places and public spaces that dominated the CityBeautiful movcment of a decade or trvo earlier It covered the entire municipality and it addrcssed a number of matters of municipality-wide concern.As is the case todal-, most plaming took place in established placeswhere the planner worked within the constraints inherited from earlierperiods. But a certain number of plarrrers did have the ultimatc design opporturitl', the chance to plan a comrnunity de novo. Mariemont near CincirnatiPalos Verdes in California; Longview, Washington; Chicopee, Massachusetts;Kingspori, 'I-ennessee; Vcnice, Florida; and liadburn, New Jerscv are arnontthe ncw communities planlccl in this pcriod. Some, like Mariemont, r,r,ereessentiallv residential and very ofteir ended as expensive residences for theupper-midi1le class. Others, like Chicopee, were developed as industriaton'ns and contained placcs of emplovment and residences for the workingclass as r,ye.jl. Sorne were completed in the 1920s, and some were stoppecshort of full development by events beyond the planners' control.For example, Radburn, New Jersey, billed as a suburb "for the motorage/" \\ras roughly halFbuilt when the Great Depression began. It was nevercompletcd and todal' stands surrounded by conventional post World War IIsuburban devclopment. But the pad that was completed is, in the eyes of many,a fine rcsidential area. Planners and students of urban design still make fielltrips to Radbum. Large blocks of internal open space, a system of intemal path-$'ays, and a shcct pattern that keeps the automobile from intruding make it avery attractir,e living environrnent. House prices are high, vacalcies are low,rvaiting lisis arc long, irnd manv residents seem to take special pride in beingRa

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    The Hisior)'of PlanninS: I'art lstood the tcst of tine quite !ve11. When the planners had ;r clean slate, the]' oflendid vcry r'r.ell. The more diJficult feat rvas, and still is, to do u'ell in an trrstitgcorlmunitli \.!here ihe plarmer is stuck u'ith thc decisions (and mistakes) of thepast and mLrst corfront a sea of special interc'sts and local politics.

    N{astel plan for Radburn,Ncrv Jerseli done in the1920s, ai left. At lower right is.r detail ior a couri s11o\\'i11!;the separatiori of vehicularfrom pedesiri:rn traffic. Thehousefronts face ther,r,alkwar.on the periphcry ofthe Lrlock \\rith \'ehiclllnracccss lrom thc centcrroadwal at thc rcar of thchouses. That gcncral plan hassilicc been r-1sed in n-ianYplanncd comrnunities. Atlou er left is an internalpathwav for pedestrian use.

    THE EMERGENCE OFl hc l,j2ds Jl.o -,lr\,) Han idea that h;rd becSubrrrhenizrlion ,rlJrapid ly m6slc cilr bouand social city-often

    Perhaps thc mosthe Nerv York City regi.inretr,rwn t,',rrtr I

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    lhHjstor\ of Plannng: Irart ITHE EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL AND STATE PLANNINGhacl a clcan slate, they oftenstill is, to do well in *l "ri"U,lgthe decisions (and mistakes) of theand local politics.

    Master plan for Radburn,Ne\\' ]erse, donc in the1920s, at left. Ai lower right isa detaiJ for a court shorringthe separation of vchicrrlarfronr pcdestrian traffic. Thehousetronts facc ther,,llrv.rr orr rhe peripherl .rlthe bl.'c( n ith r.ehrcularaccess from the centerroaclwav at the rear of thchou-e. llrlt q,.ncr,tl ,.tJn h,,5sirce becn used rn minlPl rrre.l cnrn611-11;q'. [11(xfer left is an internalpaihlt,av for pede.strian use.

    The 1920s also saw a gro$'ing interest in planrring for an entire urb.rir re,Jiunan idea that had been foreshadowecl by the Burnham Plarr of Chicago.Suburbanization ancl the emergencr. t,f w idespread .rutomobilc or,nershiprapidly made city boundaries obsolctc as the functional city tlre econonricand social cit\,'-often spra$,led across dozens of political jurisdictions.Perhaps the most compr.ehensive rcgiorral plan r,vas one dra\^ n LLp tothe New York Citv region. The area then contahed a population of 10 million,since grown to over l8 niliion. The plan covered 5,528 square miles, of i,r'hichonly 300 u'ere New York Citv itself. The remainder consisted of nearby cctunties in Ne!\' York Starte, Fairfield Corrntv in Connecticut, and aborrt 2,000s,quarc miles in adjacent parts of New ]ersey.Thc plan \{as drawn up by a nonprofit, nongovernrncnt group, theComnittec on a Regional Plan. nhich lJLer me tJrn(,rph t'seJ into theRegiorral Plan Association (RPA), a group thaf exists to thc present timc.Funding for the plan, roughly $500,000, u,as proviclccl b1r a philanthropl,,the Russell Sage foundation.ll The comnittee had no politicalpower orstatus h,h"rtsoever. Thr"rs r,vhatever: influence it hird came purely from lheforce of its ideas and vr,hatever public and polilical support those ideascould garner. Yet over the veat-s ihe plan has had considerablc cfl-ect on thephvsical shape of the region. Not only clid it help guide the deveiopment othe Ner'v York rcgion, but ltlso it ser\ ed a5 a nloLlel tor mut! other mctro-pulir.rr r .rr*.r pldnn tg r'[t,,l l, irr dcc.tde- {o conto.l l.re first task of the plar.rncrs r.vas simplv to detine the region. The cr.iteria they used, rvhich are still har.l to inprove upon, r,r ere desirrbccl in thisrva1,: (1) "thcr, Ithe region's boundaries] embraced an area 1,!'ithin \,r,l.tich thepopulatiorr citn and does travel in a reasonable timc fron home to place ofwork"; (2) "thcv included the large outlving recreational areas w-ithin easyreach of the metropolitan ccnter"; (3) "thcy followccl ihe boundaries ofcitics and countics at the periphcry"; and (;1) "they had regard to the phys-ic.rI rh.rrr, rerisl., - srr, h .r- h atcr.hcd, Jnd r\,tterr^.t\ s. IThe tritnsportation sections crrvertd highn'av, r.rii, u..tter, .lrd perhapssulprisinglr. for the peliod, air transportation. The highu,av por.tions en\ isioned a compJex of raclitrl and circrrmferential routes, manv of which havesincc been built. Jn a fcr,r' cases routes that u,ere envisioned originaJly as railroutcs hat'c subseqLrentlv been built as highr,vays. Bv modern stiindards theplan \'vas perhaps or,.erlv focused on physicaL features and capital in\.esi-ment and underemphasized sonre social and cconomic issrlcs. But it wasstill a remarkable document in that it provided a unified vision of a three-state reion containing hunclreds of separate municipalities.Regional plans appeared Jn numerous other parts of the countrv dur-ing tlrc 1920s. John Nolen, a prominent pianner and landscape architect, in1929 listed about fifteen.l6 Many, lile ilre plan fur the New Yrrk region,

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    Thc FIisbr) of Pla1lning: Part I\\,ere entirely private \rentures. For example, the Tri State District plan forthe I'hiladelphia area (parts of Pemrsvlvania, Nerv Jersey, and Delar'r'are)was paid for by private subscription. Others, such as that done bv theBoston Metropolitan Planning Commission, ar official organization cr-eatecl bv legislative act, r"ere publiclv fulded lnsevcralcases large corrntiesengaged in regional planning even though the planning took piace r'r"irhin asingte politicaL jurisdiction. On the East Coast, Westchester Countv/ Nc\'vYork, with an area oi about 450 square miles, engaged in ertensive regionalplanling activity through the mechanism of the county parks comnrission.the results of that effort are visible todav in the form of parkways and asplendid couniy park system of some 15,000 acres. On the West Coast, thelirgest countv effolt \\'as Los Angeles County, with an area of about 4,000square rniles. Unlike the other regional pLans of the era, it included acounty zoning plan, believed to be the first jn the Unitc1 StatesIn all cases other than counties, regional planning efforts had fo be 'ar-ried out in the face of the fact that there is no apProPriatc political entitv cor-responding to an urban region. Thus there is inevilabiy a question of wherethe political power to carrl'out the plan will be found. Intergovernmentagreemcnts may create some poiitical basis for carrying out the plan. ln sonlecises public authoritics, r'r'hich have sone of the powers of gol'emmerrt, havebeen ireated. Perhaps the best known of thesc is thc Port Authoritv of Nen'York and New Jersev r'r'hich has built or operated bridges, trurnels, port facil-ities, bus tenrinals, and airPorts and which has plaved a substantial role inshaping the Ner,v York region. But as a generality, the rvcakncss in tegionalplar.rning efforts n'as and is the mismatch betwee'n the nature of the tasks andihe fragmentation of the underlying politjcal structure. In the 1960s RobertWood wrote a book on the New York legion, with its complex of city, town,village, and county governments as well as numerous school districts, se\\'erdistricts, and othei quasi-govenrment organizations lT The book's lille, 1100Ca?en1fitnfs, states h a phrase the essence of tl-Le problem.'I-] e 1920s also saw the begirlnings of statc planning e{forts. Sbtrtcwideplanning is bedeviled bv a problem th;rt is somewhat the oPposite of theiegional plenning problem. The region is a natural unit that lacks an applupriatt poJitical structure. The state is the opposite, a political structrrre whoseboundaries do noi defurc a "natural" planning rurit Most states have bound-aries that do not conform to any geographic, economic, or social reality. Forexample, Neu, York State, which was the first state to attempt a stater'r'icie plan-ning effort, extends from Montauk Point on I-ong Island, roughly due south ofRhode Islard, to the shores of Lake Erie. The residents havc Jittle in the way ofcommon interests other than that thev are subject to the samc state govern-mcnt. The siate of Colorado has a natural break whc're the Rockes dse uP outof the Great Plairrs. Thc eastem part, in a topographic aid an economic sense,is part of the Great Plains. But the t'estem Lrart of the state, in a]l ecolromic anda topographic scnse, is part of the Iiockjes. The slatc's rectargular borders bearno relationship to these reaLitjes. Comparablt' corlments car.r be made for most

    states. Yet despite thesestrides in staten'idc plagrowth managcment is

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    the lri-State Di,trict plan forNcw Jcrsey, und Delaware)such as that clone by theJn otlicidl orBdni,/ation cre-In several cases large countiesthe planning took plaie within aWeslchester County, \euenEdged in ertensive regionalIhe counl\ parks commi.>ion.in the lorm of pdrk\\Jy5 dnd .lacres. On the \4est Coast, thcwith an area of about 4,000plans of the era, it included ain the United States.plaming efforts had to be carappropriate political entitv cor-inevitably a question of wherebe found. Intergovernmentcarrying out the plan. In somethe powers of govemment, haveis the Port Authority of Newbridge', htrnel., port iacilha: played a sub>tartial role irtlte weaLness in regionalthe ndture ot Lhe la5k5 alldstructure. In the 1960s Robertwitlr iLs compler of city. town,districts, sevr LrrT The book,s title, i400the problem.planning efforts. Statewidesomewhat the opposite of ther-urit that la6ls an;pp16p1i-a political structure whoseunit. Most states have bound-economic, or social reality Forto JltempL a statevr ide plar-lslarlj. roughll due.outh o,have Little in the wav ofI h, tj.te .dme st,lte govemu here the Rocljes ri.e up outand an economic sense,of the state, in an economic arldstate's rectangular borders bearcan be made for most

    The Flistorv oa Plarurns: Part I 5states. Yet despite these problcms, a number of states have made substantiastrides in statewide plaming, particularlv n'ith regard to environmental alrdgrowth management issues, as will be seen in subsequent chapters.

    Transportation plans donefor the Nen' York IlcgionaPlan in the 1920s. A larsepart of what was plannedhas subsequently bccnbuilt, though some of tht:transit links havc beenbuilt as highways. Thehighrvav map (left) coversabout 10,000 square miles,and lho iransit map(below) about 2,500 squaremiles.

    FEGIONAL HICHWAY SYSTEM

    lflMrla sLt3uRSAN RAeD TRAIiS r Flrri

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    5: The History of Planning: Part iGRANDER VISIONS

    The history of planning so far recounted is a largelv pragmatic onc, that ofa profession seeking to solve problems \,vithin the existing urban framework. But there has also been within the profession a minority with muchgrander ambitions-one that seeks noi simply inrprovement of the eristirgpatieln but also a najor restrllcturinof the form of human scttlenentAlthough the issues change, the tension bet\\'een those who see plamring asan activity that optirnizes development under the existing rulcs and thosewho hold a mole radicaL view, rt'ho see the proper rolc of planning.rsrewdting the rules, is one of the central themes of plannlng hisbrl'.18Pethaps the mosi influentjal of all reformers and visionaries was theEnglishman Ebenezer Howard. A court stenographcr by profcssion,F{ort'ard conceived a vision of the city of the futrLre and of a svstem of suchcities. He set it forth in a short and t'ery simplv written book, Ctrrden Citit:sof Tomorrozu, pubished in 1902.19 Howard obselved tlre congestion and pol-lution of the latc-njneteenth-century London and concluded that hope forthe future lay in divcrting population gt'owth to new urban ccntcrs Peoplemoved from the countryside to the congestion of thc city for corrpellingeconomic and social reasons, but thev Paid a great price. The solr-rtion to theproble.m was to create new to$'ns ("garden cities" in his tcrminoJogy),which r,r'ould offer the economic and social adVantages of the citv com-bined with the tranquilliiy, healthful environment, and closeness to naturethat had been lost in the nineteenth-century city.Howard proposed the following general design. Thtotal developmcntwoulcl have an arca of about 6,000 acres (there are 6:10 acrcs il a squarc mile).The urbanized area itself would have an arca of about 1,000 acres and be laidout in a circle about 172 miles in diameter. A garden and a grouping of publicbuildings u'ould constitute thc core and u'ould be accessibie by radial boule-vards. Thc core would be linged b1, residential areas divided into ncighbor-hoods bv the boulevtrrds. The residential ring would, in turn, be ringed bycommercial and industrial establishments. The commercial and industrialring would be encloscd in a circular rail spur, u,hich would connect the cit-Y toother garden cities and io the central citv of the region. Around the trrban arcawould be agricultur al and institutional uses. The dimensions of the citywould be such that anv resident would be within a fen' rninutes' walk of boththe city core and the places of work on the peripherv. Yet he or she n'ould livein an area from which industrial uses and heavy traffic were excludedThe city, by virtue of qrrick rail access, t'ould have close etonomiclinks to other cities, but it r'r'ould have enoutih cconomic actiVitv $'ithin itsboundaries so that the Sreat majority of its rcsidents wou ld not have tocommute. Total population ir the citv u'ould be about 30,000, rntl thercmight be another 2,000 or so people in the 5,000 acres surrounding the cityIn the words of Lewis Mumford, perhaps the best known U S i.vriier on

    architecture and urbaninore than just a bucolic[t should]. . . Lre larsocial life.It should nor solely a dormitorural ones, shouldappliecl thc slightli'a retum to the "simpr'r'as secking higher lshorrld be big enougthe necessarv divisioihe big ciiv tendcd toHoward perceir.edthe garclen citv mightsystem of cities, all at a mnying illustrations. As M. . . a cit)t no mattetained. He pointed oportation each wolrthose of thc others; stional equivalent ofHor'vard, as did masaw thc fragmcnted priurban form bccause eachor her lancl as irtensely aof the community. Thusland, with profits from laThe plan is a r.emwas a doer and an orgaorganized purchased a

    London and proccededabout jt in 1945, F J. OsbFor Letchlvorth was,ideas. Tt has iodn) a and garder-rs in'Jth ;rmpeoplc fincl employmand the pdnciples ofssruplus revenue for th

    A second planled comrCitv, r.r'as begun by Horv

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    a largelf. pr.agmatic one, that ofthe existing urban frarne_a minority r,r,ith mrrchimprovement of the existingthe for.m of human settlement.lho'e ir ho.e1.pJ.1nn jslg arthe,'ri-tirrg rule5,,nd It.],,\etlte propcr role of plannirrg .rrol pliuming hisiorv.tband r.isionaries was the'lenograpllr,r b\ proles. iun,lufltr

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    The History of Planning: Pafi IUltimately, Howard's work inJluenced urban development in dozensif not hundreds of communities from Radbum in the United States toChandigarh in India. Radburn is very nuch an outEirowth of the gardencity movement, as are Columbia, Maryland, and Reston, Virginia. In west-ern Europe numerous new communities were built after World War II todeal with a desperate shortage of housing resulting from the low rates ofconstruction during the Great DePression and the destruction of housin6;

    during the war. These communities, too, are an outgrowth or extension ofHoward's garden city vision.

    6aslqee-dftftrThe plan for the entire 6,000acres is shown at the upper left.Note the radial routes dividingthe city into sectors and thecircLrm ferential rail Line. Onesector is shola'n at the lower left.Note ihe Crand Avenue andschool. At the lower right is aschematic illustration of thesystem of garden cities. Replacethe intelrnunicipal railway witha modern belhvay and thegarden cities with suburbansubcenters like Tyson's Comer,Virginia, and the design looksrelatively modern.

    N95.DlaeRA]+

    != q.Drrcrrr oilLr

    In the last lwodesign, also referredd iscusred trends in(see Chapter 10). It clework as its proponehas been a spate of countries. There, tooence, albeit with soanticipated. For: examLumpur, Malaysia, into develop as a ITcenter, bills itself as "ence to its hoped fotechnology.23 Both itsKuala Lumpur sugges

    SUMMARYThis chapter covered tcolonial period to thDepression. The Consgo\rernment. Thus muing only those powersexpanded the rigl-Lts ofprocess. The combinedpalities to control thearies. Early-nineteenthminimum of planninghaphazard developmeseries of reform moveagenda of plarurirrg in

    Among the movement to secure urban nunicipal improvemenCity Beautiful movembrought io millions ofcould accomplish, isBeautiful movement. Tthe age of modern citycians, and citizens aboushould be implernentedThe tradition ofevolved slowly, in part

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    urb.rn der elopmenr in dozcn:in rhe Urritcd Slatp\ lo,tn ,,utgrtrwlh oi the qardenRe.ton. \ irgini..r. lri we.t_were built dfler !{orld War li toresulting from the low rates ofdnd the dcstruction oi hou:in;ian outgrowth or extension olThc plan for the entire 6.000acres is shown .ri thc uppur leflNotu thc r.rdial rorLte. ii-,i.1,noihc city into sectors rnd rhe "crcumterential rail line. Onesector is shown at the lower leftNote the Grand Avenue andschool. Ai the lowcr nght is aschcm,ttjc illulhrLirln ot thesystenl ofgarden cirjcs. Replacethe Intermrrd.Lpal rJjl\. r\ \vitha modem beitn,ay and thegarden cities rn ith suburbansubcenters liJ

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    55 The History of Planning: Part I"taking" issue. However, roughly by the time of World War I, the riliht oflocal governments to exercise substantial control over the use of privateproperty was reasonably weJl established. Post-World War I suburbaniza-tion, facilitated by a rapid expansion in automobile ownership, propelledhundreds of communities into zoning and master planning. The sameperiod also saw the beginnings of regional planning as thc automobile dis-persed jobs and residences, creating vast urban regions.

    NOTES1. For a detailed account of P.erel'olutionaryplanning, see }ohn W Reps, I/re Mal

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    time of World War I, the right ofcontrol over the use of pri\ atel'ost -World War lsuburbaniz.r_ownership, propeJledmdster planning. The sameplanning as the aut6mobile dis_regions.

    London, t917, p. L fir.L s6;1;onin 1403.L. Wrigle) lr., ..the lldn orin Krueckeberg, llanrrrgp.58.p. 70.Ametica Citu planniflo n 1atp.228.p.261.Pkn rJ Nr]lU \ort and tts fnovo|j,l. Cornmirtee on ihe Regional fldr otand lts Environs. WilLam t. FellPrinrers. lhilddelphja, lq2o, p. tJJ.a _ (onfemporar) des

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    CHAPTER 4

    The Historyof Planning: Part IIThis chapter covers a ncarlv eight-decacle pcriod frorn ihe beginrring of theCrcat Depression to the present time. The Depression vcars stand as anisolatcd decade sandn,iched bctr,r'een the prospcrous 1920s and the begin-ning of World War 11. The period from the end of tire rt'ar to the present isvery different. Although marked bv e11orlrlotls social, Political, and tech-nological changes, it is a more or less continuous period. The I930s r'r'as aperiod in ll'hich capitalism functioned very poorJy and in r,r'hich thcenemy abroad, fascism, was on the political right. ln the'postr'v.u preriod,capitalisrn in the United States, b)' and large, functioned r.vcll, and thecnemy abload, communism, was on thc political left. C)rLr formeL ettemieshad been defeated and were no\'v our allies. Our forrner allv r'vas non' ourmortal enemy. Thcn, in a series of remarkablc events be'ginning in 1989,tlre Sovict ernpire in Eastern Europe and then thc Soviet Union jtself brokeup, arrd the Cold I{rar appearcd to bc over. These events r.vill affeci thebackground against which pianning issues are decidcd t'ell into thetwentv-first centurV.One therne of this book is that one cannot undcrstancl thc'historv ofplanning by itself. One must see planrring in a historic and an ideologicalcontext. This brief curtrast betu'ecn thc 1930s and the postr'var cta is hcreto remind the reader to view the last eight dccades of planning historyagainst a changing ideolog;ical backgrourrcl. Whether the r--onflict refe'rretlto as the "r'r'ar on terror" rt'ill have a rnajor effect on planning remains tobc scen.

    PLANNING AND THEThe 1930s was a pecuoptimism about plannopened up. Yet on balatime was somethingwish to see the scopinclude all planncrs-of a tantalizing oppor

    Th. countrv begof 1929, and economicyears. By the time Pres1933, the unemploymeof goods and services pthat the ftee enterprisecormect idle rvorkers \favored planning in aPlnnning rs an amost minor control ovecunont i. pl.tnning. Ballv fLrzzv. In generalDepresrion lcnded luTherc was relatir.by what principles. Wideological spectrum. Rtisi who would adjust afor large-scalc restructuol lhe interior Ha r, 'ldTugwell and Hcnlv Wachange and a major shiApart from thcmuch mt,re rr iJlLrg lr, eradical. Finally, there $body, which h modemThe Court t rned outeconomic experimentaA nLrmber of pl.tSome pr.r-i.l lo the prtracc.3 One initiativestate planning efforts.both as a job creation mcommunities used fecldeve)op maps and datmunity master plans. I

    58

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    Part IIt1,r-t the hcginnir.tg,,t theDeprc.,iorr rcai .t.rn.l .r. ,in

    lu2U- and tlr.,beginencl of the war to thc present issctcial, political, and tech_period. The 1930s il as apoorlv and in rvhich the'i6ht. Irr Lhe po.tirrr p,.rio,llLtnLt;i,n(,Ll r,rell, .tn,,l llrcl, tL. Our i,rrr,,r .n*mre:Our fornrer all1, l,as norv ourtrt5 ocginnitr* iI' l,jUu,lltcs,,r iel t nit,n il.clfbrolrThese events lvill affect tireare decided rvell into thcunderstarnd the l.ijstory oflrj.to"i, .rnd.rn iJ..rl,,gi.alantl thL'po.tir.rr r,rr ir herudccades of planning historl,\\ he,lrcr tltp.,)nfli( t rpterrccleffect orr planning remains to

    Thc Hisk)rv oI Planning: Part IIPLANNING AND THE GREAT DEPRESSION

    The 1930s rvas a peculiar time in the history of planning. It a$'akencd greaoptimisnr about planning, and indccd, several new areas of plamring r,r.eropencd up. Yet on barlance, for those who had great hopes for planning, thitime r,r'its somcthing of a clisappointment. To those planncrs u'ho u'ouldrl.ish to sce fhe scope of planning greatlv enlarged-and this does noinclude all planners-the Depression years still have the bittersweet tasteof a tantalizinEi opportunity nearll. grasped. What happcned?The country began to slidc into deplession r,r'ith the siock market crasl.of 1929, and economic conditions gradually worsened for the next severayears. By the time President Franklin D. Roosevelt r,r'as inaugurated in March1933, the unenrplovment r-ate $'its in the 25 percent range, and the cash valueof goods and sen ices procluccd had fallen by almost half since 1929. The facthat the frce enterprise systenr I'as clearly mal{unctioning and was unable toconnect idle n'orkc.rs lvith iclle machinerv crcafed an intellectual climate thafavored planning in a n'av that the prosperous 1920s had not.Plnntriug is t.rn ambiguous term. It may include everything fronr themost n.rinor control over land use in a small town to Soviet-stvle centr.alizedeconomic plannirrg. llut political moods and movements can be intellectually ftzzv. In general, the economic distress and disillusion of the CreaDeprcssion lc.nded to favor rnore plarrr'rg, whatever the .ivord might meanThere r.vas relatively littlc consensus about what ought to be plamed obv ivhat principles. Witlrin the Ruosevelt administration there rvas a wideicleological spcctrun. Roosevelt himsclf r,r'as not a radical. He was a pragmatist it'ho rvould adjust and tune the svstem as requircd but who had no agcndafor largc-scale resh'uchlring. Some in his administration, such as the secretaryof the irtcriot Harold Ickcs, lvere relatively conserl'ativc. f)thers, like RexfordTLrp1ve1l ald Henrv Wallace, n'ho r,l'ere well to Roosevelt's left, favored majochange ancl a nrajor shift of economic power from private to public hands.Apart from the administration there was a Congress that, althoughnruch norc t'illing to expet'imcnt than it had been in better-times, was hardh,radical. Filallrl there r,r'as the Suprerne Court, then a relatively conservativebodr,, r'vhich in modern tcrms might be clescribed as "strict construction ist. "The Corrrt turnecl out to be a major limitation on the amount of social andeconornic expcrimentation in rvhich ihe national govemmenl might engage.A nurnber of plaruring initiatjves began during thc Creat Depression.2Somejlcrsist to thc present time. Othcrs have sunk u'ithout leaving muchtlace.-'C)ne initiativc. that lasted rt'as ihe federal funding of local andstate planning efforts. Fecleral funding was provided for planning staffsboth as a job crcation mcasure and as a commitment to planling. Numerouscommunities used federal furnds to build and staff plamring depar.tments, todcvelop maps and clatabases, and to fornruLate plans, including many com-munitv master plans. In the slolv-growing, fiscallv strained environment o

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    lle Historr of PLaruling: Pari IIthe 1930s, many plans simply sat on the shelf. But the federal funcling didheJp build the sizc and technical competence of the profcssion.Federal funding and increased siate interest in Planrrilpi ilccclcritte.l atrend that had begun in the late 1920s, namell', the creatiorr of state planningagencies. By I936 cYerv state except one had a state plannilg board. The fbcusof these boards variecl greatly. In many, particr-rl;rr1y those ir wlich agrlcu Lturewas a dorninant Part of the economy, the focus $'as on conservntion andfarmland prescrvation. In others the primary focrrs was on utbiln issucs,including housing qualitv, ser'r'age trcahnent, waicr Pollution, thc pror.ision ofadequate recreationaL facilities, pubLic finance, and urban govemance. Mrrcl'tof the u'ork of state plannhg agencies focused simplv on finding the facts,whether that meant mapping areas of soil crosion in a rurtrl area or stuclvir.igpublic filance and the structlrre of government in a metropolitan areaThe federal liovernmert rnoved into the provision of lorv-cost htlusing,an area in which it has remaincd in one u'a1'ol another el'er since. Themotivation ll'as twofold. Firsi r,vas the obt'ious tio;rl of impror:llg thc housingof the poor. Thc second goal u'as expansion of construction .is .lt $'av of stimu-lating the econom)r At first thc federal govc'rnment built public housingdirectly. Then a Suprene Court decision forcecl a change in thc program, andthe federal govemmcnt swjtched to providinS; financial suPPoIt, both capltaland operating, for local pr-rblic housing authorities. Thcre are rodav somrwhatover I rnillion units of public housing ir the Unitcd Statcs and severa I millionunits of privatelv or,r'ned but pubLicly sr-rbsidized units That pubLic presencein the housing market lrad its origins in the Cireat Dt'pression.In the mid-1930s, ihe Resettlement Administration embarkt'd on a program of new to\\'n building. The progltrrn lost favor with Ctlngress after a timeald was discontinued in 1938. Hoh'cvct threc ncu' communities, Crt'enbelt,Maryland; Creen Hills, Ohio; and Cireendale, Wisconsin, !\'ere constnr.tedThe housing initiative of thc federal goveffunent that had the most farreaching effects was not onc that fell in thc realm of plamring but rather in thcrealm of finance. That 'as the Provision of mortgtrge ilsurance by the FederalHousing Administration (FHA) noted brieflv h Chapier 2 ancl cliscrrssed inmore detail in Chapter 18. Fcrt', if anv, acts of tlre fecleral gol'emment have hadmore effect on the pattern of settiement ihan did FHA mortgage insurance.The conceptual basjs for Urban Rener"'al rn"as a.lso a Depressitru er.rdevelopment. Economists and othcrs within the fcderal governmentforesaw thc difficultrr that central cities rvould havc in comPetjng withsuburban areas for development capit.rl, largel)r bccause of differences insite-acquisition costs (scc Chapter 11). The solution proposed was the CitvRealty Corporation, an organization that r'r'orrld use feclcrai subsidv moniesplus the por'r'er of eminent domain to producc markctable dcvt'loPnrentiites at below cost.l World War II swepi the Ciiv Ilealtv Corporation off thenational agenda, br-rt the idea, under a different name. Lrecame one of thebases of the Honsing Act of 1949, lvhich established Urban Reneu'al.

    Still another Depwas to become thc inidea for a time, but it1956. This initiated tl,l rgc-t -in6lL c,"r.tru.The DepressionPlanning Board (NRmember of FDll's so-cthe dreams of those r(ertain amor-lnt of useand state planning enatural resources on athe timc, notecl earlienation and in 19"13 rpreoccupation rvith wAnother cause lvas ticanvas w-ill naturally sWht tht r lre \lillargely a matter of iclemissed opportunit\,. Fsocialist monstcr in iidamagc.Finallv, the Deprcning cffolts, the bcst k(TVA). Established incontrol, poil'er generaplirnned on a major scpow,er, which facilitatevalley. Thc creation orecreation planning. Aernment, the TVA occlarge-scale legional plaOihcr regi, 'nalC,'mmi-ri,'-. Lhc C t,lL'lleti, 'n.r I Pl.rnnrng ( i,constrr-rction of thc Bou

    f H E POS TWAR PERIOWorld War II providcdela issues. Thc conversment of the 1930s, annation's political focus

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    tsut the federal funding ciidof the profession.ullcr*-l L l.l,rrurirrg nr|.eler,Jt, J .lthe r redti,rn ot -t.rie olJnnirro.t.tte pl.llrring borrd. fh. i ,. u.thu.e in ir hich.Lgrirulturr-llcur w.r- on ron\er\dlion rnofocus rvas on urban t.ssues,lvater pollution, the provision ofand urban govemance. Much-implJ on Irrrclinr tho iaLr_,L't.t tur.]J Jrea Or,llrd\ Utoir a mehopolitan;rrea.

    Ur.rr i.ion nl lorr -c,,.t horr,:rg.wav or another ever since. TheLi- ge,rl ut irnprcrringlheh,,r.5urgc''n\tru\ {t,,n.15d \^d\,rf \tintu_orrilt puL.li h,,11,rr1qd ch.tnge in lhe prugr..rm,.r rJfir;urcial suppor.t, both capitalThcre trre toda\. somewhatUnited States ar-rd serleral millionunrl'. fhJt publi, pre,grr.gDuLrtesrron.

    embarkcd on tr profavor with Congress after a tinrenew commlinities, Greenbelt,Wisconsin, r,vere constructed.that had thc most far_ft,ruilg but raLlrpr Lr thein.ur.rnr e b1 the I edr.-alin Chapter 2 and discussccl infederal gor.erment have hadFHA mortgage jnsurance.ir al r,r a. .tl:o d D\-prc,.ion cr.lthe tcdcrrl B\\vcrnmenrn,rro in competing iritlrber.rrrrc rrt Jilrerence: inproposccl was the Citvuse tcderal.ub,iclt monre,u\ ( m.r'kel,rble Jcrelopmertil\ lleJlt) ( (,rpor, ion ufi tlrcnane, became one of thcUrban Renewal.

    Thc Hisior'\'of I'la ing: Part ]t 6Still another Depression-era initiative was the first planning for whawas to become the interstate highu'ay svstcm. World War II shelved thidea for a tinre, but it reappeared as the National Defense High\,'av Aci o195{r. This initiatcd the building of the interstate highway svstem, thlargcsi singlc construction projcct in U.S. history.1he De'pression also saw the creation of the National ResourcePlirnning Board (NIiI'B) under the leadership of Rexford Tugl.ell,

    member of FDll's so-called "brain trust." Though the board never fr-rlfilLethr-. cireams of thosc \4'ho favored the rnajor move to the left, it djd docertain anrount of usefrtl \\,olk. One contribution was the support of locaand state planlring efforts. Anothcr was thc making of an inventorr. onatural resources on a national scale. In the confLicting political currents othe tinre, noted earlicr. the board did not make much of a mark on thnation iind in 19,13 rvas dissolved bv Congrcss. The war and nationaprL.occupation with lvar-rclated matters $'as one cause of its demiseAnothcr causc rvas that an)i organization that seeks to plan on a broacanvas r'r'ill nah-ualJv step on toes and make enemies.Whether the NRPB's dissolution is a c.ruse for sorrow or rejoicinglargelv a mattcr of ideologli From the left its djssolution looks like a majomissed opportunit\,. From the riliht jts dissolution looks like a slaying of thsocialist monstL.r in its crib bcfore it could grorv to maturity and do andamage.Finallr,, the Depression era saw the start of a number of regional planning efforts, the best known of $'hich was thc Tennessee Valley Autholit(TVA). Established in 1933 to providc a combined approach to floocontrol, por,,er gcncration, and natural resource conservation, the TVAwaplanned on a major scale. Dams that ser\ied for flood control also producepor,ver, w-hich facilit;rted rr-rral electrification and


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