Americaa .J^
S52 A5 1958
fubltr IClbrar^
This Volume is for
REFERENCE USE ONLY
From the collection of the
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ibrary
San Francisco, California
2006
AMERICAN PLANNING
AND CIVIC ANNUAL
• • • *'*AMEWCAN'I»LXNNIN1G' AND CIVIC ASSOCIATION
• •','»'', Officers and Board of Directors
Fredebic a. Delano, Washington, D. C, Chairman of the Board
Horace M. Albright, New York City, President
Habold S. Buttenhbim, New York City, First Vice-President
Richard Libber, Indianapolis, Ind., Second Vice-PresiderU
Earlb S. Draper, Knoxville, Tenn., Third Vice-President
O. H. P. Johnson, Washington, D. C, Treasurer
Harlean James, Washington, D. C, Executive Secretary
Flavel Shurtlbff, New York City, Counsel
Mrs. Dora A. Padgett, Washington, D. C, Librarian
Habland Babtholomew, St. Louis, Mo.
Edwabd M. Bassett, New York City.
Alfbed Bettman, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Mbs. Edwabd W. Biddlb, Philadelphia.
Lotas BbowiO/OW, Chicago, 111.
Hbrmon C. Btjmpus, Waban, Mass.
GiLMORE D. Clarke, Pelham, N. Y.
Jat N. Darling, Des Moines, Iowa.
Miss H, M. Debmitt, Pittsburgh, Pa.
A. P. GiANNiNi, San Francisco, CaUf.
John M. Gbibs, Conover, Ohio.
Henrt V. Hubbard, Cambridge, Mass.
B. H. Kizer, Spokane, Wash.
Jambs M. Langlet, Concord, N. H.
J. Horace McFabland, Harrisburg, Pa.
J. C. Nichols, Kansas City, Mo.
Mbs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Wash-
ington, D. C.
L. Demino Tilton, Santa Barbara, Calif.
Samuel P. Wetherill, Jr., Philadelphia.
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON
STATE PARKS
Board of Directors
RiCHABD Libber, Ind., President
William A. Welch, N. Y., Vice-PresiderU
W. E. Carson, Va., Vice-President
O. H. P. Johnson, D. C, Treasurer
Harlean James, D. C, Executive Secretary
Horace M. Albright, N. Y.
J. L. Bablbb, Mo.
HowABD B. Bloomeb, Mich.
Sam F. Bbewstbr, Tenn.
Paul V. Brown, Nebr.
David C. Chapman, Tenn.
Stanley Coulter, Ind.
Newton B. Drubt, CaUf.
Charles N. Elliott, Ga.
James F. Evans, N. Y.
Herbert Evison, Va.
Mrs. Henrt Frankel, Iowa
Robert Kingert, 111.
Harold W. Lathrop, Minn.
Herbert Maier, N. M.
Charles G. Sauers, 111.
James G. Scruqham, Nev.
N. E. Simonbaux, La.
Alexander Thomson, Ohio
H. S. Wagner, Ohio
Tom Wallace, Ky.
Conrad L. Wirth, D. C.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2007 with funding from
IVIicrosoft Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/americanplanning09amerrich
t'' ■ vBe *«>> cr. «
Kinnerly Peak from Kintla Lake, Glacier National Park
Photograph courtesy Department of the Interior
AMERICAN.
PLANNING ANE) CIVIC
ANNUAL
A RECORD OF RECENT CIVIC ADVANCE AS SHOWN IN THE
PROCEEDINGS OF THE CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL PARKS
HELD AT WASHINGTON, D. C. JANUARY 20-21, 1938; THE
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON STATE PARKS, HELD AT
NORRIS. TENNESSEE, MAY 11-14, 1938; AND THE NATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON PLANNING. HELD AT MINNEAPOLIS.
MINNESOTA. JUNE 20-22, 1938
EDITED BY
HARLEAN JAMES
AMERICAN PLANNING AND
CIVIC ASSOCIATION
901 UNION TRUST BUILDING. WASHINGTON, D. C.
1938
*i
THE AMERICAN PLANNING AND
CI\'IC ANNUAL is sent to all paid
members and subscribers of the American
Planning and Civic Association and of the
National Conference on State Parks, who
may purchase extra copies for $2 each.
The public may purchase past American
Civic Annuals, past American Planning and
Civic Annuals, and the current Annual for
$3 each.
A complete set of the nine volumes may
be purchased for $15.
Copyright 1938
By American Planning and Civic
Association
R©forencf»
AS
JBount t^leoBont 9tt*»
J. HorEtce McFarland Company
HarrisburK. Fa.
'VvAJL/W^
9C5165 Oi 28 "M
CONTENTS
NATIONAL PARKS .,„,
Introduction Horace M. Albright 3
National Parks in National Thrift Arno B. Cammerer 4
The Defenders of the National Parks ... J. Horace McFarland 7
Conservation vs. Exploitation Frederic A. Delano 9
The Olympic National Park Harold L. Ickes 11
Growth of the National Park System
National Parks and National Forests — Different Forms of Land
Use M.L. Wilson 17
Qualifications for National Parks 0. A. Tomlinson 22
A National Park Platform 25
Mrs. Roberta Campbell Lawson, Mrs. William A. Lockwood,
A. D. Taylor, Ovid Butler, Horace M. Albright
Forecasting the Future
The Future of National Parks in Region One . . Carl P. Russell 33
The Futm-e of the National Park Service in Region Two
Thomas J. Allen, Jr. 38
A Forecast of the Future of the National Park System in Region
Three Herbert Maier 39
Conservation in Region Four Frank A. Kittredge 45
Recreational Use of National Pareb
Ideals John R. White 49
Present Uses Edmund B. Rogers 54
Park, Parkway and Recreational-Area Study . . . Harry Curtis 57
Relation of Operators to Recreation Don Tresidder 61
Wilderness Areas
Development of National Parks for Conservation Thomas C. Vint 69
Wilderness Aspects of National Parks .... Jesse L. Nusbaum 72
The Primitive Areas in National Forests
Service of State Parks to National Parks
Wildlife on the National Forests ....
National Parks and Wildlife
A National Park Service Fish Policy . .
C. M. Granger 77
. Richard Lieber 81
. . H. L. Shaniz 85
Joseph S. Dixon 89
David H. Madsen 92
STATE PARKS
The President's Message Richard Lieber 97
Responsibilities of the State Arno B. Cammerer 101
Education
A Program of Education in Landscape Management Roberts Mann 103
New Attitudes in Conservation Education .... Pearl Chase 111
Taking Conservation into the Schools .... John C. Caldwell 115
State Park Planning and Adaunistration
State Park Architecture Albert H. Good 119
State Park Organizations : The various kinds : Their good and bad
points R. A. Vetter 122
A Park Administrator on State Park Landscape Architecture . . .
D. N. Graves 125
State Park Engineering Charles C. Estes 127
Problems of a State Park Superintendent . . Harold W. Lathrop 130
Elements of a Good State Park Plan S. Herbert Hare 133
What Does the Average Man Expect to Find and Do in a State
Park? Paul V. Braum 135
vi CONTENTS
Recreational Programs paok
Recreational Development in the National Forests C. M. Granger 137
Recreational Development in the National Parks . Carl P. Russell 141
Accomplishments of the Park, Parkway and Recreational-Area
Study Conrad L. Wirth 144
Camping Trends and Public Areas . . . Julian Harris Salomon 146
Value of Water and Shore Line for Recreation . . H. S. Wagner 151
Interstate Relations
Interstate Agreements and Compacts George W. Olcott 153
Parkways and Freeways Earle S. Draper 156
The Appalachian Trail Paul M. Fink 159
State Park Development in the South
Alabama Page S. Bunker 163
Georgia Charles N. Elliott 164
Florida H. J. Malsherger 166
Mississippi J. H. Fortenberry 168
Louisiana Nicole Simoneavx 170
Kentucky Bailey P. Wootton 171
South Carolina R. A. Walker 173
Tennessee R. A. Livingston 175
T. V. A C.A. Towne 177
PLANNING
The Need for Planning Bm. H. Kizer 181
Planning a Housing Program 189
Charles B. Bennett, Jacob L. Crane Jr., John IJdder
The Value of Planning to Public Officials 196
Neville Miller, George W. Coutts, Clifford W. Ham,
Daniel W. Hoan, Arthur C. Meyers, Edward C. Ruiz
Traffic Studies in Relation to City Planning 199
7. (S. Shattuck, D. Grant Mickle, Hawley S. Simpson,
Fred C. Taylor
County, Metropolitan, and Regional Planning 211
Earle S. Draper, Roy F. Bessey, Hugh R. Pomeroy, Flavel Shurtleff
Rural and Agricultural Zoning ^0
0. B. Jesness, J. M. Albers, Ernest H. Wiecking
Urban Land Policies 241
Harold S. Buttenheim, Philip H. Cornick, S. R. DeBoer
The Administration of a Planning Office 251
Elisabeth M. Herlihy, Gerald S. Gimre, L. Segoe
Trends in Planning Law, Legislation, and Litigation 266
Alfred Bettman, Dwight G. McCarty, Ira S. Robbins
National Planning 281
Frederic A. Delano, Henry Matson Waiie, Abel Wolman
State Plannmg 289
Morton L. Waller stein, Morris B. Lambie, Robert H. Randall
Education for Planning in the United States 291
Carl Feiss, Frederick J. Adams, Donald C. Blaisdell,
Henry V. Hubbard
Migration and Economic Opportunity 307
Carl C. Taylor, Ben H. Kizer, Rupert B. Vance, George F. Yantis
Capital Budgets and Improvement Programs 816
Myron D. Doums, Robert Kingery, Harold M. Lewis,
Harold A. Merrill
Planning Promotes Progress E. D. Rivers 339
NATIONAL PARKS
PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE CONFERENCE ON
NATIONAL PARKS, CALLED BY THE AMERICAN
PLANNING AND CIVIC ASSOCIATION, HELD
IN WASHINGTON, D. C, JANUARY 20-2I, I938
NATIONAL PARKS
Introduction
HORACE M. AliBRIGHT, President American Planning and Civic Association
and Past Director, National Park Service
THE first National Park Conference was held in 1911 in Yellowstone
National Park under the leadership of Secretary of the Interior
Walter L. Fisher. Dr. J. Horace McFarland and Howard H. Hays, who
are here today, attended that conference. The 1912 conference was in
Yosemite Valley. Strange to say, that conference was devoted to the ques-
tion of whether or not automobiles should be admitted to national parks
and the outcome was that automobiles were admitted to Yosemite in a
limited way. They tied them to logs with chains so that they would
not run away and frighten the horses. It was at the 1915 conference
in Berkeley, California, that Stephen T. Mather appeared as Assis-
tant to Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane. That was my
first national park conference. The next meeting was in Washing-
ton after the passage of the bill to create the National Park Service.
Dr. McFarland was present representing the American Civic Association
which had been closely identified with the proposal and passage of the
bill. We had our first national park art exhibit over at the National
Museum. Conferences were held subsequently in Denver in 1919, in
Yosemite in 1922, in Yellowstone in 1923, Mesa Verde in 1925 and in
Washington in 1926. The conference went to San Francisco in 1928
and to Yellowstone again in 1929, the year that I became Director.
In 1932 we met in Hot Springs and in 1934 in Washington.
In 1936, at the time of the Superintendents' Conference in Washing-
ton, the American Planning and Civic Association organized, in con-
nection with it, a public conference of interested citizens. This year,
again, we meet at the time of the conference of officials so that we may
profit by the collaboration between the National Park Service and the
Association.
I may say that the American Civic Association is a very old organ-
ization and that in the beginning it sponsored the National Park Service
and through the years has been its strong supporter. It is fitting, there-
fore, that its successor, the American Planning and Civic Association,
should be sponsoring these public conferences on national parks, that the
American people may learn more about their valuable possessions and be
always on the alert to protect their property from selfish commercial
exploitation and to maintain in the national parks those standards of
preservation and human use which were embodied in the Act creating
Yellowstone National Park and later cast into more elaborate form by
Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane.
4 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
National Parks in National Thrift
ARNO B, CAMMERER, Director of the National Park Service
NO NATION can be thrifty unless it conserves its human and
natural resources and uses them wisely. The urge to spend is
opposed to the urge to save. Because of this well-known human trait
we do not usually carry the savings fund and the spending fund in the
same pocket, lest our fingers fail to differentiate between the coins.
Likewise, the demand for immediate, personal gain is usually opposed
to the general public weal and, for that reason, we do not place the
conservation of our resources in the same hands that are engaged in
exploiting them.
The founders of the national park system acted wisely when they
had the first national park set apart. Not set apart to be uselessly
hoarded as a miser hoards his idle gold, but set apart for definite, pre-
scribed uses; to work for the Nation's welfare, just as properly invested
capital works and accrues benefits for the investor.
The founders of the first national park went into considerable detail
to specify clearly the types of use this capital, or natural resource, was
to serve. The act of Congress, setting aside the first national park, the
Yellowstone, stands as a Magna Charta for a new and thrifty form of
land use. The substance of that conservation formula is that the area
is "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for
the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and that it should be preserved
in its natural condition.
When we read that Act, we note how carefully the Congress circum-
scribed the capital asset with protective clauses so that the capital
would not be dissipated for local or immediate gains. That capital, in
this case, is the inspirational, or recreational, quality of the area. Every-
one knows that we cannot chisel away from our capital and still expect
the same retiuTi in interest. To hold otherwise is to be misled by a
"have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too" philosophy. When the founders wrote
those provisions, they were thinking specifically of such possible abuses
as logging in the national park, the grazing of livestock, himting and
trapping of wild animals, mining, power and irrigation projects, private
usurpation of scenic areas, and railroads.
Tlieir Magna Charta, however, was not a bill of "don'ts." It was a
positive prescription of appropriate and enduring uses. The park was
to be used and enjoyed by all the people for all time and the only re-
striction was that they should so use it as to leave it unimpaired for the
next generation. They were really asking so little, and the prescription
is so simple, that many people fail to understand it even today and they
refer to it as a 'locking up" of valuable natural resources. Yet, more than
fifteen million people last year visited our national parks and monu-
ments— less than one per cent of our total land area.
NATIONAL PARKS 5
Speaking now, for the moment, in terms of dollars and cents, it is
significant that Julius Weinberger in his study of "Economic Aspects
of Recreation," printed recently in the Harvard Business Review, makes
the following statements about recreation and recreational travel:
"Foreign travel expenditures show clearly the combined effects of
dollar devaluation and the depression. While domestic travel expendi-
tures in 1935 had recovered to a total of $2,037,000,000, compared to
$2,175,000,000 in 1929, the foreign account stood at only 48% of the
1929 figures. 'See America First' appears finally to be having its effect."
Mr. Weinberger goes on to say that "the American public in 1935
spent . . . one-third more for recreation . . . than the Federal Gov-
ernment did for recovery and relief, and more than the Federal Treasiu-y
collected from all tax sources. . . . Recreational expenditures exceeded
the value of the products of the entire motor vehicle and rubber tire
industries. Yet 1935 was a comparatively moderate year in terms of
such expenditures, for in 1929 these were 80% higher."
In addition, that study reveals that recreational travel far exceeds
all other recreational expenditures.
While I do not wish to burden you with figures, these statements
are sufficient to indicate that our recreational resources are of such im-
portance as to require prudent husbandry in our national economy.
The husbanding of those resources involves the question as to just what
part the National Park System should be given in that program. As
national parks are the lodestones of travel in this country, their place
in the economic field is an outstanding one. The increasing volume in
motor travel alone adds to the commercial income of each region traversed.
There has been some apprehension in recent years as to what lands
should be included in the National Park System and a great deal of mis-
apprehension concerning the ultimate objectives of those who support
the park movement. I should like to clarify those questions, at least
in so far as it is within my purview to speak. I appreciate, and I am sure
that the members of my organization appreciate, the national value of
good forestry and good agricultural practices and we should like to see
those practices extended and continually improved. We do not consider
that parks are a substitute for either, or that they are a substitute for
parks. We do not wish to substitute parks for lands that are primarily
valuable for grazing, mining, trapping or power and irrigation projects
and we do not wish to see these pursuits conducted in parks. Nor do
we urge park use as the only form of conservation, for there are many.
But, those areas and objects thai are primarily valuable for the inspiration
of the Nation should be included in the national park and monumeni
system. The park type of use was devised to provide for the maximum
use of those resources. No other category of land use can provide that
maximmu use. It has a very definite and important place in the thrift
of a nation and no thrifty nation can afford to overlook it. We are
6 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
attempting to appraise and secure for public inspiration and benefit:
All those areas that are nationally of more value for recreation and inspira-
tion than for any other use;
Outstanding stretches of the ocean beaches;
Nationally important prehistoric and historic sites, objects, and buildings;
The finest representative examples of native plant and animal associations;
The most instructive geological phenomena; and
A system of nationally important scenic and historic parkways.
I see no grounds for apprehension about such a program nor can I
understand why certain organizations should oppose it. It does not
duplicate or threaten any other legitimate form of land use and it does
not infringe upon the integrity of any other field of government. I am
inclined to believe that the chief difficulty lies in the failure to realize
that the national park and monument system is not a luxury but is a
legitimate and thrifty investment in natural and human resources and
that we have as yet failed to comprehend the ultimate possibilities of
that type of investment.
I have stated on other occasions that the park concept provides a
new form of land use, humanly satisfying, economically justifiable, and
with far-reaching social implications. Inherent in it is a new recognition
of human values and a more intelligent method of commercial exploi-
tation. As such, it is a progressive step in land utilization and must take
its place along with the other great land-use techniques such as forestry,
agriculture, and mining. While it has been given considerable impetus
in this country, it is still in its infancy. When it has been accorded proper
recognition, the National Park System will comprise fewer lands than
those devoted to forestry and agriculture but it will include those areas
and structures which cannot be adequately preserved and properly
used under any other category or land management.
When we speak of use, it does not necessarily mean development.
One of the most important objectives of the park system is the preserva-
tion of large tracts of roadless wilderness, as a character and stamina
building resource for all time.
We are not dealing with a luxury; we are dealing with national thrift.
If we are to be, and remain, a thrifty nation we must classify our lands
and resources according to their greatest possible contribution to human
welfare, which means to classify them according to their best uses. In
such classification, we must provide for the conservation and use of those
resources that are primarily of inspirational character. Some lands are
best suited for agriculture, others for mining, grazing, forestry, wildlife
refuges, and so on. But the nationally important inspirational, or recre-
ational, resources cannot be provided for under any of these; they will
be properly conserved and will render their maximum use only when
given park status.
A thrifty nation will not overlook the conservation of such resources.
NATIONAL PARKS 7
The Defenders of the National Parks
J. HORACE McFARLAND, Past President American Civic Association and Chairman
of National Parks, American Planning and Civic Association, Harrisburg, Pa,
OUR national park relationship began when the American Civic
Association was organized in 1904 in Saint Louis. We then dis-
covered that there was not one whole desk in Washington given over to
the affairs of the national parks, nor the whole time of any one man.
That may seem curious to you, but, as a matter of fact, there was then
no Federal park bureau. The administration of the existing national parks
created by Congress was scattered among several Departments.
We tried to secure legislation in successive Congresses and sometimes
we managed to have a bill passed by one House or the other, but never
by both, until Secretary Lane came into office with the Wilson adminis-
tration. We presented our case to him. His response was instant. He
said, "Mr. McFarland, if what you say is true, the conditions are about
the same in the National Parks as they would be with the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad if it operated its trains between Baltimore and
Washington without a train dispatcher."
Secretary Lane moved rapidly and effectively. The result was the
Act of Congress of August 25, 1916, which established the present
National Park Service. Mr. Lane brought Mr. Mather into the park
work. Mr. Mather was the kind of man who, when we wanted a national
park established, went down into his own pocket to provide the financial
deficiencies. He could enthuse people. He was a man of force and fine
spirit. He brought Mr. Albright in, and if I mistake not, Mr. Cammerer.
He organized the National Park Service. He did it with the sympathetic
assistance and backing of Mr. Lane. That was the beginning of the
organized National Park Service. Now what a contrast!
The people of the country have discovered what these parks are.
They have discovered places and facilities that are not available any-
where else on earth. If you had heard, as I have heard, these notable
papers, not written by cranks like myself, but by the men on the firing
line who are and were giving their fine service today and yesterday, you
would realize that the national parks are not only sold to the people of
the United States who visit them but that they are sold to these grand
men who have dedicated themselves to administer the parks for your
benefit.
We should not forget that the modern conservation impulse grew out
of the White House Conservation Conference of Governors which was
called by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908. At that conference
there were gathered forty-one Governors, the President's Cabinet, some
of the members of the Supreme Court and several hundred legislators.
It was a very notable and distinguished audience that met in the East
Room of the White House. The President opened the Conference with
8 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
an inspiring address which left every one of the Governors ready to
follow him. I believe that great conference was the beginning of the
salvation of America.
For we were destroying America just as fast as shovel and pick and
saw could do it. We were doing it with self-complacence and taking
pride in it. That conference brought to our knowledge that we could
not have our cake and eat it and that if we wanted any scenery fit to
look at we would have to do something about it.
Out of the work of the last thirty years we must realize that we have
a national park system which is the result of devoted interest on the
part of those who believe in national parks. But devoted service did
not end with the creation of the parks. They needed defending after
they were created. The national parks have not had an easy time of it.
One of the jobs which our Association carried for years was that of
guardian of national parks when they were under attack through bills
introduced into Congress to appropriate the lands and waters dedicated
to the people for the selfish uses of would-be exploiters. Yellowstone Lake
has always been a target. We have saved Yellowstone Lake many times
and it seems now that we shall have an opportunity to save it again from
current predators. Through our literature, through our personal appear-
ances before Congressional committees, through private interviews with
administrative officials and members of Congress we have fought the
good fight over and over again. In all these years we have lost only two
great battles — one was to save the Yosemite from Hetch Hetchy reser-
voir and the other was to save Rocky Mountain National Park from a
tunnel underneath it and power structures along its most beautiful
approach.
After all these years of close collaboration, I want to say that I am
proud of the men and women who compose the National Park Service.
They live their work and are devoted to it. The Service has an able
Director and I am glad to bear testimony to the fact that if there ever
was a solid and firm friend of the national parks it is the present Secre-
tary of the Interior. At a dinner given in his honor soon after he took
office he gave an unforgetable pledge of service to the parks and we
knew then that we had a friend.
I believe that the national parks are a great factor in patriotism.
The man or woman who visits the national parks and who sees how
they have been kept inviolate is a better citizen. That is why I have
no fear about what is to happen in America. That kind of people cannot
"go" Bolshevist. That kind of people cannot be turned over to an
authoritarian or totalitarian or any other "arian" kind of government.
We people have learned to enjoy our national parks. The money we
spend on them is a trifle compared with the good we gain from them.
We have a grand and glorious heritage in the national parks, which we
may enjoy but which we must not destroy.
NATIONAL PARKS 0
Conservation vs. Exploitation
FREDERIC A. DELANO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, American Planning and
Civic Association, and Vice Chairman, National Resources Committee
ONE of the great dramatists of the world, a man who lived nearly
three hundred years ago, was accused of plagiarism, and instead
of denying his self -impeachment, he said, "\^^ly, yes. Whenever I get
an idea I use it." Now there is nothing new about plagiarism. Shake-
speare has been accused of plagiarism. There are some people living who
believe that another man wrote his stuflF. I think it quite likely that
Shakespeare got some ideas from Francis Bacon, but he put them into
better form than Francis Bacon. Proof of this is that Shakespeare lives
and Francis Bacon is dead. I do not need to apologize, therefore, for
plagiarizing the speeches and writings of my many associates in the
national park work.
This is not the first of the meetings on national parks that I have
attended. They seem to me just as good as ever. I do not get stale on
them. They make me want to pay a tribute to the men in the Govern-
ment service. You know a railroad is a very common carrier and I have
been a common carrier for a good many years. Now in the Government
service I find men in the heads of bureaus and junior officers in the
bureaus that so far excel the type of men that I used to find in corporate
management that I want to pay a tribute to them. I hear lots of men
abusing bureaucracy, but if bureaucracy means, as I think it means,
devoted, unselfish service, I am for it.
David Cushman Coyle, who is one of my friends here, whom I dis-
covered in this maelstrom in Washington about five years ago, was an
engineer who used to design the steel frames of buildings that architects
drew pictures of. You never saw his name on the Empire State Building
or any other big building in New York; you saw the architect's name.
But if David Cushman Coyle or some other engineer had not drawn the
designs for the steel frame, that building would not stand. So I have a
great respect for him. When I first knew David Cushman Coyle it was
when our economic troubles were at their height. I saw a little booklet
that he had written and I was so impressed with the wisdom of that
book that I, to use a vulgar expression, "contacted" him. I said, "I
wish some time when you are in Washington you could come and see
me." Since then he has written a number of small books on various
economic subjects. I have read them all. One of them that I read was
on a very dry subject, but every three pages he said, "This is a big coun-
try." Well, that did not faze me much the first time. I knew it was a
big country. But three or four pages on I read it again. And so on right
until the end. It began to sink into my cerebellum that that was a
rather wise statement to make. The great trouble with us is that we
constantly forget that this is a big country and that we have a great
10 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
many big problems. That is one of somebody else's ideas that I picked
up, and I pass it along to you.
I once heard a definition of a good citizen. It is a citizen who knows
something about everything and everything about something. Now I
cannot claim to know everything about something — I wish I did — but
I do get a lot of enjoyment in knowing something about everything. I
do it by listening to other people's wisdom. Therefore, I commend these
meetings which you have had. During the last two days we have been
devoting our attention to conservation. I agree with the previous
speaker that it is very easy to say conversation. Just the transposition
of two letters makes a lot of difference. We have been talking about
conservation and we have all learned a good deal about it, but it was
not all conversation, it was really good stuff. I differentiate between
those two words. Conversation means quantity production. Conserva-
tion means quality production.
I want to call your attention to some of the important facts about
conservation. The natural resources of our country include many things.
Beauty is an important feature of our conservation. Another is the
recreation of our people by giving the opportunity to enjoy the wonderful
adventure of outdoor life. And there is something that one of the experts
pointed out that I never thought of before: Recreation is the benefit
you get from doing something that comes after you have done that thing.
It is something which explains the after-effects of what you enjoy.
I think that the real feature of conservation, the most important
and fundamental to us, is that it is the one thing that stands between
us and exploitation.
In closing, I am going to cite two cases of that, and you can think of
many others that are equally serious. There are two States that I have
in mind in our country and I will not mention their names — the com-
parison is sometimes odious — ^but here is the situation. One of them is a
State with immense natural resources of the type people talk about —
iron ore, coal, and many other similar resources. There is another State
that was settled by the same type of people about the same time that
had none of those resources, perhaps building stone or something like
that but nothing else. When I look at those two States I find that the
State that had all those mineral resources has today many exhausted
mines. Many pecks of slate have been taken out of the coal mines, oil
wells exhausted. Many fortunes have been made but the people who
have the fortunes do not live there. They live somewhere else. Now in
the other State that I speak of, there were forests and grass lands when
our forefathers came to this country. They had very few natural resources
in the way we think of them, but today that State has just as much as it
had in the beginning. It is not a waste land at all. It is a happy home-
land for many people.
NATIONAL PARKS 11
The Olympic National Park
HONORABLE HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary of the Interior
Editor's Note. — As an important pronouncement on national-park policy and an
authoritative indication of future plans for the Olympic National Park, created by Act
of Congress, approved June 29, 1938, we are glad to present here the address delivered
by Secretary Ickes at the Seattle dinner of the Northwest Conservation League on
August 26, 1938.
IT IS a pleasant privilege to speak tonight before this gathering of
men and women who have met to honor Representative Monrad C.
Wallgren, sponsor, in the national House of Representatives, of the bill
which created the Olympic National Park, . . .
I bring to you this evening a congratulatory greeting from President
Roosevelt, and, in doing so, I wish to testify anew to his personal interest
and activity which helped to bring this new park into being. Beset as
the President was in the closing days of Congress by grave problems of
statesmanship, he found time to help outline the final form of the
Olympic park bill, and to see to it that the measure was not lost in the
stampede toward adjournment.
I can say without the slightest hesitation that the Olympic National
Park, when rounded out by proclamation under the power given to the
President to add additional territory, will take its place with the greatest
parks in our national system. It will be a worthy rival of your famous
Mt. Rainier National Park. It will be inferior to none, and at the same
time it will be different from all others.
A region of tumbled mountains, of far-spreading glaciers, of trees of
unimaginable size — the wet forest tropics of North America — ^lies here
on the Olympic peninsula, near the great city of Seattle, without ac-
claim, without recognition, almost unknown. Bring it into the National
Park System, place the signet of government recognition upon it, and
it will speedily spring forward to its rightful place. Visitors will come to
it from all over the world.
In view of this it is timely to reflect that fame has its drawbacks as
well as its compensations. A national park, praised by everybody,
thronged to by the great traveling public, needs the same protection
from its too enthusiastic admirers that a man needs when fame descends
upon him. Society offers little, if any, protection to the man seeking to
escape from those who adulate today only to forget tomorrow. It is
simpler and easier to protect a national park, provided the right kind
of a start is made. In the case of a wilderness area like the Olympic
National Park, the solution can be stated in four words. Keep it a
wilderness.
When a national park is estabHshed, the insistent demand is to build
roads everywhere, to build broad easy trails, to build air fields, to make
it possible for everybody to go everywhere — vnihout effort.
These last two words are what cause the trouble. It is characteristic
12 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
of the American people that they want everything to be attainable
without effort. Too many of us want a predigested breakfast food for
our stomachs and a previewed national park for our eyes. Nine people
out of ten, visiting our national parks, stay within half a mile of the
motor roads and the hotels. Some of these people appreciate and love
the parks, but are physically handicapped. For these we should show
the greatest possible consideration. Others feel that they are roughing
it if they twist their necks in a sightseeing bus, or expose their adenoids
to the crisp air while gazing through field glasses at some distant scene.
And these are the vast majority. Only a few days ago I was told of a
man and his wife who stopped at a park entrance, bought a sticker
which they placed on their windshield and then proceeded happily
and triumphantly on their way. They had "seen" another national
park. . . .
I am in favor of opening a liberal and representative section of every
national park to those who, because of physical limitations, are confined
to motor roads. I am even willing to make this same concession to those ^
who cling to motor roads as a matter of choice. But let us preserve a stilly
larger representative area in its primitive condition, for all time, by
excluding roads. Limit the roads. Make the trails safe but not too easy, '
and you will preserve the beauty of the parks for untold generations.
Yield to the thoughtless demand for easy travel, and in time the few
wilderness areas that are left to us will be nothing but the back yards
of filling stations.
This is a fitting occasion to speak of the general policies of our Govern-
ment in expanding and administering its national park system.
There have been two stages in the creation of national parks. During
the first stage, national parks were established on lands already owned
by the Government on which there were striking natural phenomena —
mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, geysers, hot springs, etc. Such
lands were created into national parks without much opposition, pro-
vided the lands had no commercial value. The boundary lines were drawn
so as to exclude all commercial timber, all mineral deposits, all lands ..'
suitable for grazing. . . .
In this second stage of creating a national park system, we have
come to realize that even though a land area may have commercial
value, it may have an even greater value for national park purposes.
We have discovered that, in special instances, the commercial value of
a given area may be enhanced by staying the woodman's ax. There are
instances where the preserving of a notable forest, especially if the
forest is only one feature of an outstanding scenic region, not only
enhances the commercial value of the region but makes this value a
continuing one.
An example of this is the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in
the southern Appalachians, where, through the cordial and close co-
^^^^ NATIONAL PARKS
13
operation of the States of North Carolina and Tennessee and the Govern-
ment of the United States, the greatest of our eastern national parks
has been set up. This park was created to preserve for all time the last
of the virgin hardwood forests of the East. Here forests, of great com-
mercial value, were acquired by the States of North Carolina and
Tennessee and presented as a gift to the Nation. The United States
Government has also made a considerable investment in this park, as
have two or three interested citizens, notably John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park was opposed by local
lumber interests, but was overwhelmingly supported by the people who
saw the virgin forests of the East disappearing before the saw and ax.
Today this park has the favor of practically all of those who at first
opposed its creation.
That is the universal history of national parks. Those who fight them
become their ardent supporters and defenders after they are created.
This new Olympic National Park in the State of Washington has the
^ characteristics of both of the two general types of national parks. It has
X the mountains and glaciers of the first type, and it has commercially
j^n valuable forests which place it in the second type. Because of its valuable
Q^ forests, this park was established over the vigorous opposition of the
lumber interests, which would have been quite willing to see a small
park restricted to the treeless snowfields of the high mountains.
As I have traveled, mile after mile, around the Olympic peninsula,
and seen mile after mile of gigantic stumps, the blackened logs of slash
firings, and the scattered dead shags that tower skywards, gaunt specters
opi of once noble trees, I have marveled that any man or woman in the
O^ State of Washington could oppose the proposal of Congress to place in
trust for all the people for all time this outstanding area as a national
park, thus preserving a fragment of this wonderful primeval forest from
otherwise certain destruction. Yet opposition was natural.
Wherever a commercial interest conflicts, or even merely seems to
^^ conflict, with a non-commercial public purpose, you will find men fight-
^ ing for commercialization regardless of every other consideration.
Throughout the United States, the record of private timber exploitation
has been one of ruthless destruction, not by bad citizens, but by men
caught in a system they could not control; by men so engrossed in the
struggle for survival and supremacy that they have not stopped to count
the cost of wasting a national heritage.
^^ All thoughtful men recognize that, when natural resources are
^>Q wasted, there must be a reordering of economic life or disaster will
ensue. In fact, many sections of our land have not escaped disaster
more or less complete. An almost demoniac onslaught upon our forests,
beginning at the Atlantic seaboard and spreading over westward until
this greatest stand of all along the Pacific Coast has been reached, has
been followed by destructive forest fires, the inevitable result of which
14 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
has been to burn out the soil while consuming the trees, to dry the
source streams of our rivers and to make uninhabitable for our wildlife
a once teeming land. Following the woodman with his indiscriminate
ax, his trail lighted by raging forest fires, there came in their turn de-
structive floods that have cost in the aggregate thousands of human
lives, as well as an incalculable property loss; water erosion of rich and
irreplaceable top soil and its sinister twin, wind erosion. . . .
By the cutting of the trees a forest was lost; by the cutting of a forest
a land was lost — all for the lack of foresight and self-restraint on the
part of our rugged individualists; all for a failure on the part of our
Government to insist upon sound conservation policies before conserva-
tion assumed the characteristics of a nmimage sale.
The prevention of further demolition of our timber resources, with
its resulting disorganization of our economic and social life, depends
upon the new system of forest management which was forced upon the
Federal Government some years ago. This government undertaking is
in charge of the Department of Agriculture and with it I am in hearty
accord. National park policies touch this question of forest management
at various points, but chiefly in this particular. It is the function of the
national parks to preserve specimens of the primeval forest, so that
coming generations may see portions of this land as it was when the
Pilgrim Fathers landed at Plymouth, when Daniel Boone pushed west-
ward across the Appalachians, and when Lewis and Clark made their
way through the towering conifers of the Pacific Coast.
We have created national parks, or added to them, to protect the
giant sequoias and the sugar pines of California, and the hardwoods of
the East. Now, in the State of Washington, we are protecting a fragment
of the Pacific Coast rain forest with its magnificent Douglas fir, Sitka
spruce, western hemlock, and giant cedar.
On the Olympic peninsula cedar trees are standing that are forty-five
feet in circumference, trees from which Indian women stripped inner
bark for clothing a hundred years before Columbus discovered America.
In this new park there will be Douglas fir forty feet in circumference and
a thousand years old.
The reservation of this area is not exclusive of or inconsistent with
the right of the lumber industry to a proper and legitimate exploitation
of the lumber resources of this area. The manufacture of lumber is neces-
sary to our prosperity and well being as a nation. There is room on this
peninsula for forests for both the people and the sawmill. Assuming
that the self-interest of the lumbermen is an intelligent one, we have a
right to look forward to a willingness on their part to cooperate with the
Government to the end that this wonderful section of our country may
be put to the wisest and best use for all concerned.
Under any system of timber exploitation, whether that of profligate
destruction by imregulated private operation or that of the sustained
NATIONAL PARKS 15
yield method of scientific forestry, all of these great trees were doomed
before the establishment of this national park. It is the function of the
national park to save a part of the primeval forest for us and our children
and our children's children that we may gaze upon it in awe, and wonder
at the majesty of Nature's handiwork.
One would think that it might be taken for granted that every
Government agency having to do with the conservation of our natural
resources, particularly as it relates to our forests, would gladly cooperate
in any effort to preserve sections of our primeval forests for future
generations. It is not to be denied that this can be done only through
the setting up of national monuments and national parks. And yet, as
you in the State of Washington know, this outstanding Olympic Na-
tional Park was opposed ... by local men in the Government service
whose lives are supposed to be dedicated to the principle of the highest
possible use of our forests. . . .
Nor has the National Park Service been immune to overt attack and
sinister propaganda from similar groups when other outstanding areas
little, if any, inferior to that, the acquisition of which we are here tonight
to celebrate, have been proposed for national park purposes. The De-
partment of the Interior for years has gladly cooperated with the Forest
Service. Without demur we have handed over millions of acres of the
public domain desired by that Service. Only in rare instances, and then
for insignificant tracts as to size when compared with the forest lands as
a whole, have we, on behalf of the public, asked for the rededication of
a negligible number of outstanding areas for creation into national parks.
Both services are arms of the Federal Government that, in theory at
least, are devoted to the same ideals respecting our natural resources.
The commercialism or selfishness that stands against such an under-
taking by the people, through their government, is doomed to defeat.
It met defeat in the Congress of the United States when this Olympic
National Park was established, and the President was given power to
determine its final boundaries. This commercialism and selfishness met
a greater defeat, however, in the State of Washington itself, where a
public opinion that would not be denied rose up behind Congressman
Wallgren and your Representatives in both branches of Congress who
favored this enterprise, and demanded the creation of a real park. I
want to say that the fine thing about Congressman Wallgren's attitude
is that he stood for this park before, not after, public sentiment rallied
to it so overwhelmingly. Congressman Wallgren was statesman enough
to look ahead and courageous enough to lead when leadership was
needed. Fortunately there were here in the State of Washington, as is
videnced by this fine occasion, forward-looking and enterprising citizens
who wanted to be led and whom it was an inspiration to lead.
The greatest function of national parks is to preserve what civiliza-
tion, lacking them, would destroy. The increasing destructiveness of
16 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
civilization must be counter-balanced by a steady growth in our Na-
tional Park System. A part of this function of conservation through the
park system, and this is increasingly important, is the preservation of
wildlife. As most people know, hunting is forbidden in all National
parks. Fishing is permitted and encouraged.
There are many sound reasons for the policy of our Government in
closing all national park lands to hunting. First, the forces of civilized
society are set so heavily against the survival of the larger mammals
that they can be preserved only in large sanctuaries. For these the
large national parks are ideal. In the second place, living wild animals
form one of the chief attractions of our national parks. People from all
over the United States go to Yellowstone to see bears and bison, as they
will come to the Olympic National Park to see the Roosevelt elk. Wild
animals and good fishing are powerful magnets to draw the public. In
the third place, hunting in national parks would be dangerous to all park
visitors. Yet even the hunter benefits from this policy of wildlife pro-
tection, for when a national park is maintained as a wildlife sanctuary,
surplus game spreads into nearby regions, thus providing a constant
supply for the sportsman. For the sound reasons enumerated, national
parks are permanently closed to hunting.
Fishing is in a different category. Fishing brings enjoyment to
millions, endangers nobody with stray bullets, and can be maintained
indefinitely. The United States Government encourages fishing in the
national parks. Whenever a State passes a law ceding complete jurisdic-
tion over park lands to the United States, so that fishing licenses are
not required, the Federal Government stands ready to assume the full
cost of keeping the lakes and streams of such parks stocked with fish.
One of the effects of this policy, of course, is to make the parks far more
attractive to visitors from outside the State. This is one of the legitimate
commercial advantages which a State may derive from the national
park system. . . .
Let me point out that there is a broad community of interests between
a national park and the region surroimding it. When as many as 600,000
people visit one national park in a year, how much money do you suppose
they leave in the surrounding country? And this money spent by tourists
is a steady source of income. It may even be an increasing source of
income.
In the case of the Olympic National Park, practically the entire
financial return will be to those who live in the surrounding communities.
Since this is to be a wilderness park, the Department of the Interior
will neither build nor approve the building of hotels on public lands.
It is our intention to build overnight trail shelters for hikers and
horseback parties, but those who want all the comforts of home, includ-
ing facilities for reading while taking a bath, will have to look for them
in the communities that encircle this park, at the base of the mountains.
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM
National Parks and National Forests-
Different Forms of Land Use
HONORABLE M. L. WILSON, Under Secretary of Agriculture
THE term "land use" and the set of ideas which it connotes are largely
the creation of the land economists and the planners. These ideas
grow out of the assumption that land is not a single economic entity
but that there are many kinds of land and many different ways in which
the earth's surface may be used.
Society is trying to establish the proper relationship between human
resources and human needs and the natural resources in the land. Both
the social and natural sciences have developed sufficiently to provide a
solid basis for conscious direction in land-use planning. Theoretically,
such planning presupposes a sort of two-column inventory, with land
in one column described as to character, class, grade, and possible uses,
and people in the other column with their several biological, economic
and cultural needs. Now the planners and the technical experts move
these two columns back and forth like a slide rule in order to get the
highest standard of living for the people from the best use of the land.
This is a new procedure. It was not in the pattern of ideas that
characterized pioneer America. It is one of the factors in a transition
to a new pattern of ideas. In a democracy the procedure will go as fast
as education produces attitudes of mind on the part of the public which
will sanction the programs of action which grow out of land-use planning.
This mode of thinking gives one kind of systematic approach, in a way a
functional approach, to a lot of current problems.
Now I have some definite ideas about land use in relation to the
national parks and the national forests. Before I tell you what these
ideas are, I want to tell you where I got them.
Man is always perplexed as to where his ideas come from. Do they
come from the intellect or do they come from experience? On this mat-
ter my ideas come from the intellect with a small "i" and from experience
with a capital "E."
This is the situation. For twenty-five years my home was so located
that the sun rose and set in a national forest. The water which I drank
and which I used in my household came from a national forest. The water
which irrigated my lawn and garden came from a watershed in a national
forest. The rough lumber used in the building of my house and garage
came from the same forest; so did the cord wood for my fireplace. A
part of the meat that I ate came from grass of the same forest. No
small part of my psychic satisfaction came from Middle Creek, Cotton-
wood Creek, and Sourdough, from Mount Blackmore, Hyalite, Ross's
Peak and Bridger range.
17
18 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
But this is not all of my experience. It is approximately 60 miles
from my front door to the northwest corner of Yellowstone National
Park. I shall never forget my first trip to Yellowstone. It seems like
a long time ago but certain impressions are as distinct now as though the
trip had been made yesterday. I recall the Wiley Way — the Stage
Coach, and the fat women who worried about the bear or feared that
the team would run away. Mammoth Hot Springs were up to expecta-
tions, the "Sputterer" sputtered at Norris Basin, the pools were beauti-
ful, and Old Faithful proved faithful. My first view of the canyon was
from Artists' Point. There are no words to describe the deep psychological
"something" that stirred the bottom of my soul. Only a very, very few
times in my life have I experienced that "something" which I had when
I first saw Yellowstone Canyon. I think I "got" religion then and there.
But I'll tell you more about that later.
Once the park management did something that made me terribly
sore. Early in 1915 it was announced that when the park opened on
June 15 automobiles, provided they had good brakes, would be admitted
and that the horse stages would be replaced by automobile stages. My
town participated in this "march of progress" by sending Bud Story,
and Chester Davis, then editor of the weekly newspaper, now a member
of the Federal Reserve Board, to demonstrate that the entire round
trip from Mammoth back to Mammoth could be made in one day.
Theirs was the first automobile to scale Mt. Washburn. When I read
about it in the Courier I was not elated by the account of this trip. I
was depressed. While in this state of mind I met Frank Slaughter on the
street. For 20 years Frank had been cook and general all-round man
for Howard Eaton and the Wiley Way. Now he was the town marshall.
Said Frank: "The Park has gone to Hell! This idea of rushing people
through in autos! No one can see the park in less than eight days. The
autos will scare all the animals back to the brush, including the bear,
and they will never come back. Just think of the accidents they will
have! And anyway, we want to keep Yellowstone Park wild, just as it
was in nature. The first think you know these autos will bring in so
many people that you can't see anything."
I felt just like Frank Slaughter.
But about that time or a little later the Park had a Superintendent
who did such a wonderful job of shifting from the old Park to the new
Park that I soon got over my soreness. That Superintendent was
Horace Albright.
I doubt if you would believe me if I were to give you my guess as
to the number of times my family and I have visited Yellowstone. I
checked over the other day and found that I have been in 17 National
Parks. So you see these definite ideas of mine grow out of experience
with a capital "E."
Now that I have told you where my ideas come from, what are the
NATIONAL PARKS 19
ideas? First of all, at least once in his life every normal person in the
United States should commune with nature in one of nature's great cathe-
drals. Thereafter he should repeat the visit as often as possible. He should
have the opportunity to "get" religion as I have. When you divide one
hundred thirty million people by the number of really grand parks,
you get a problem that the planners will have to solve. The areas in these
parks are dedicated to one and to only one use — recreation in the sense
of being re-created, to culture, and to, well, I call it religious expression
of nature. Economic considerations are wholly incidental.
I do not think that the principal function of the national parks is
recreation in the usual sense. To me recreation means easing up, getting
filled up with mountain and forest air, having a good time. But when
I see Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Crater Lake, Yosemite and Mesa
Verde, I do not exactly have a good time. I have a great psychological
experience,
I think Stephen Mather, first Director of the Park Service, had this
in mind when he said: "The National Park System is made up of areas
of incomparable scenic grandeur. . . . Each area selected must repre-
sent the highest example of its particular type. . . . Areas whose
principal qualification is adaptability for recreational use are not, of
course, of National Park caliber. Proposed parks are measured by the
standards set by the major National Parks of the system. Therefore,
the requirements are exacting. As long as these standards shall prevail,
there is no danger of too many national parks being established, or of
the excellence of the present system being lowered."
Everyone should have such experiences, and, in addition, should
have as much relaxation as pocketbooks and time permit. I believe
that as cathedrals of nature the great parks are going to be taxed to
their capacity and that the function of providing places in which
people can play, that is, outdoor recreation, must be considered as one
of the multiple uses of the forests.
This principle of multiple use is basic in our philosophy of national
forest administration. It seeks to harmonize the practical needs of people
with the ideally best use of land. Thus, an important part of the lumber
industry of the West is dependent on national forest lands for at least a
part of its source of raw materials. On the 133 million acres of range
land within the forest boundaries, twenty-six thousand operators graze
12 million head of animals. This includes 12 per cent of all the cattle and
23 per cent of all the sheep in the country. If this livestock were to be
cut oflf from national forests, the whole economic life of the West would
collapse. Protection of the headwaters of navigable streams is another
phase of the multiple use principle. It was the original reason for
establishing the forests and as the years have passed has assumed
greater and greater importance. And the agricultural life of the West,
too, is intimately related to national forests. Many of the most pro-
20 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
ductive farm lands depend for their water, which alone makes them
usable, on reservoirs located within forests. In this part of the country
the income of an increasing number of farmers is being supplemented
by wages received for work done in the forests and from the small wood-
working plants which use timber from the forests.
But the use of these vitally important resources does not preclude
recreation as an important use. Last year a couple of million people
camped, picnicked, and visited on the San Bernardino National Forest.
This was in spite of the fact that reservoirs on this forest have for many
years supplied vital water needs for Southern California farms; in spite
of the fact that more than 1700 head of livestock graze on this forest;
and in spite of the fact that several mines have been developed here.
Moreover, the Forest Service has set aside many natural areas which
are closed to all forms of resource harvesting. In these primitive areas
the enjoyment of the primeval is a basic consideration governing their
administration. To me this seems compatible with the multiple use
principle.
Referring again to the metaphor of the slide rule, with land resources
on one side and the human needs for recreation and culture and for the
basic necessities which certain kinds of land can supply on the other,
I have already said that when I compute the future value of x for the
great cathedrals of nature I get an estimate way beyond the capacity
of the parks. When I seek the value of x for the kind of recreation that
the National Forests can supply as one of their multiple uses I get a
future value which will require continued development of these resources
in the forests. The parks and the forests are not competitive. Each form
of land use, the special use and the multiple use, supplements and com-
plements the other.
Now, let me return to the side of human needs. I said the natural
resources should be used for recreation that people may have a good time,
but that in addition they should be used to create. To create what? In
answer I shall state two propositions that I hold of great import.
First. Science and man have not as yet come to terms in contemporary
civilization. Science keeps crowding in upon us, shattering our old
ideas, upsetting our traditions, increasing our doubts and making us
wonder if there is unity and value in the world about us. Science has
three sides. There is the practical side, its application to man's needs
through technology and applied science. There is the side of curiosity,
exploring the unknown. Then there is its philosophical, spiritual, or, if
you please, its religious side. If we are to live in an age of science we
do not have a choice from among these three sides. Since that is deter-
mined we have the task of producing a philosophy of life which is
adjusted to nature as revealed in science and of making this philosophy
support a religious attitude which gives dignity to nature and hope to
mankind.
NATIONAL PARKS 21
Second. I think 98 per cent of humanity must get most of this
philosophy and reUgion through the scientific interpretation of nature
and through contact with some of the striking beauty and wonder spots
in nature. In an address, "Science and Human Values" Dr. John C.
Merriam, President of the Carnegie Institution, said:
Science does not presume to interpret personal devotions or the belief in
any philosophy or religion. It does say that each of us lives in a universe that
is marked by unity and continuity, in space, time and apparently also in mean-
ing. What the scientist finds contributes to understanding the world of things
and people. It may change our point of view in many ways, even giving us more
faith in the order of the world in which we live, or perhaps more hope for the
future of humanity, or more charity for a suffering next-door neighbor.
As I see the situation, the science, philosophy, art and religion of the future
should be built in such a manner that each may contribute its part to a structure
that will give a safer and more pleasant abode than any that man has thus far
designed.
One of the greatest advances of all times was that expressed ages ago in the
view that there is in the universe one power in many forms, or in terms of religion
one God instead of many warring deities. It may be in order for mankind to
make this discovery anew or from time to time, when unity in views of the world
and in belief seem threatened by erection of too many temples to deities of
varying and perhaps inconsistent missions, in a world that so far as nature is
concerned has operated as one system since times began.
In large measure my hope for the future is based upon our taking
seriously what Dr. Merriam has said. It is a cooperative task. The
science teachers in the public schools are doing a far better job teaching
science than was done a decade or so ago. The Science News Service is
gradually feeding to the press the story of science. The radio is doing
something in a very small and feeble way. These will help but, after all,
people have to get this philosophy and religious attitude out of the book
of nature itself. I congratulate the Park Service for what it has done to
help people in reading the book of nature. Even so it has a long way to
go. The Forest Service has not really started yet. I think it should
start and I hope it will find ways to push this program.
Most people are not well enough versed in science to read the book
of Nature — to enjoy Nature through understanding without a teacher.
Ways must be found to have teachers at hand everywhere. Techniques
must be found to tell the geological story and the biological story wher-
ever there is an interesting page in the book.
There should be something, let us call them "nature observation
stations," all through the forest recreation areas. I have in mind a kind
of permanent exhibit, dignified, simple and clear, and harmonizing with
the landscape. These should tell the nature story, should point out and
explain the geological phenomena, the plant society, etc.
But I would go beyond the parks and forests. Why should not
Congress give Dr. Mendenhall the funds with which to lay out a great
national system of geological education on all the U. S. numbered high-
22 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
ways? Dr. Mendenhall is the son of a West Virginia farmer. He knows
how to talk geology to us farmers. Have him call in the state and Federal
scientific agencies to help in these "roadside science observation posts."
Let the Forest Service tell about the trees here and there and the Bio-
logical Survey about the wildlife that is and was, and the anthropologists
about the Indian cultures that are and were. This philosophy and re-
ligion of science and nature is so important that it should be built into
our national pattern of ideas as fast as possible.
This is one form of land use. In developing it let the Park Service
lead the way. And let the Forest Service add it as another of the many
uses in its basic principle. If advanced in this way both parks and forests
will return to the Nation significant contributions out of all proportion
to the money involved. And the people of the land will gain a new and
satisfying understanding of the world in which they live.
Qualifications for National Parks
O. A. TOMLINSON, Superintendent, Mount Rainier National Park,
Longmire, Washington
THE National Park Service administers a variety of land areas, all
of which, regardless of their type, size, or location, are fundamentally
similar in three ways :
(1) Their features and the public benefits derived therefrom are of national
significance.
(2) They are administered with the preservation of their intrinsic values
uppermost in mind.
(3) Their development is governed by public interest in the features included,
but in a manner that leaves such features unimpaired for future use.
The principles of national park administrative policy are clearly
different from those practices of administration which may apply to
other types of Federal lands that are maintained for commercial utiliza-
tion of their varied resources. These clearly defined principles serve as
a guide in the future selection of areas which may be added to the
national park system.
At the present time, the National Park Service administers nine
types of land areas, aggregating a total of 26,697^ square miles. The
national parks, of which we now have 26, and the national monuments,
numbering 74, are the two principal units in this system. However,
there are 42 other areas such as national historical parks, national mili-
tary parks, national battlefield sites, national cemeteries, national
capital parks, and miscellaneous national memorials which, though re-
classification may be required in some instances, are, on the whole,
logical components of the national park system as measured by the
principles of administrative practices mentioned.
NATIONAL PARKS 28
These areas are, broadly speaking, basically recreational, but in these
instances one must not confuse the "playground concept" of recreation
with the more permanent and fundamental benefits that may be derived
from their educational and inspirational values. These are the features
which the National Park Service seeks to develop and foster. The rec-
reational objective is the dominant one, although purely recreational
elements are inseparable and cannot be overlooked.
Each of the present areas now included in the system is unique or
distinct in some particular way. Each offers a particular segment of an
interesting story relative to the geology, biology, archeology, or history
of our nation which, when complete, will present coherent, dramatic,
understandable stories of the great truths of natural science or of the
progress of civilization in our country in their entirety. As the various
areas in the national park system are today, there are many "blanks"
in these geological, biological, archeological or historical narratives.
Many vital chapters of the completed and coherent sequences which are
desired, are still missing from the national park system. Fortunately, a
great number of these missing units are exemplified by the features of
land areas which exist in our country, and after several years of careful
investigation, the National Park Service has tentatively selected the
most representative which it is hoped will be included in the national
park system of the future. It follows a broad, well-rounded interpreta-
tive system of nationally significant areas by which such highly instruc-
tive and inspirational things as the story of the earth, the materials of
which it is composed, the forces which shape its surface, the forms of
life which formerly inhabited it, the inter-relationship and inter-depen-
dence of all things in nature may be told. Such a system should be one
of the most far-reaching and inspirational educational forces which the
nation may possess.
In passing, it must be stated that the dramatic characters of mag-
nificent scenery are not in themselves the primary attributes which are
being sought. The magnificence of the Grand Canyon, the grandeur of a
great glacial system and mountain, such as exists at Mount Rainier Na-
tional Park, a spectacular remnant of an ancient civilization as contained
in Mesa Verde National Park, the immensity of the giant sequoias, to
mention a few outstanding examples, are but parts of a complete story.
To be such, they may be very vital parts, but they are not complete in
themselves. These need to be supplemented by other areas, which
though not as dramatic, convey a necessary part of the completed
message.
In the Pacific Northwest the geologic and biologic concepts of a
coherent system of national parks and related areas require the inclu-
sion of the proposed Mount Olympus National Park and the Cascade
Crest region. The former includes the present Mount Olympus National
Monument and when enlarged will embrace not only a vital unit in the
U AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
geological story, such as the significance of the sedimentary rocks, earth
sculpture and glacier areas, but also vital units in the biological story in
the preservation of considerable areas of typical northwest rain forests,
including the famed Sitka Spruce, Western Hemlock, Western Red
Cedar, and Douglas Fir, which attain perfection in this region. In the
latter case, concerned with the Cascade Crest area, we have glacier-clad
volcanic cones of Mount Baker, Glacier Peak, Mount Adams, Mount St.
Helens, Mount Hood, and others, which, as links in a volcanic chain which
surrounds the Pacific Ocean, supplement the vital story of volcanism in
the Northwest. Here too we have vital parts of our story of glacier
erosion, for in the Pacific Northwest exist the greatest areas of glacier
ice in the United States, exclusive of Alaska, together with some of the
significant features typical of erosion by glaciers.
Certain swamp areas in the south are significant biological units in
the proposed system harboring, as the areas do, specific plant and animal
life peculiar to that environment. Likewise, extensive ocean beaches are
significant in the biological and geological concept, such as the Cape
Hatteras area and certain significant locations along the Pacific Coast.
Representative areas in the great plains region are of vital ecological
significance, and were forcefully brought to the fore in recent years
through publicity of the "dust bowl" problems.
These and many other units having singular important national sig-
nificance from an educational and inspirational angle should be included.
The question naturally arises that such a program of acquisition may
result in cheapening the national parks, and while we should not relax
our vigilance in preserving national park standards, this program, if
based upon a fundamental educational concept, need offer little if any
possibility of such a danger. In fact, a coherence of the completed plan
will raise rather than lower the high standards jof the national parks
and result in a broader and more significant social and economic benefit
to our people.
In establishing the older scenic parks, it was hardly possible to
anticipate the changes that a few decades have brought in the mobility
of the people or with what ease and in what numbers they were to come
to their national parks. It was hardly possible to estimate the influence
that a fully developed civilization was to have upon the wildlife and
the natural conditions. Insufficient attention was given to boundaries,
due largely to the fact that in most instances the territory outside the
parks was almost exactly the same as was within. As a consequence there
has developed need for many changes in the sizes and shapes in a number
of the older parks. Our aim is to secure the best use of the lands con-
sidering the nation as a whole and looking to the future as best we may.
NATIONAL PARKS 95
A National Park Platform
MRS. ROBERTA CAMPBELL LAWSON, President, General Federation
of Women's Clubs
THE General Federation of Women's Clubs has long supported a pro-
gressive program in its Conservation Division which would impress
upon its members the dependence of our country upon its natural re-
sources— a program that would safeguard and still encourage the intel-
ligent use of our natural resources with the least waste and abuse, and
by so doing assure us a prosperous, economically safe Nation.
We have appreciated the fact that the United States Government
has established and maintained for over forty years a system of national
parks with high scenic values, possessing as qualifications extraordinary
individuality and outstanding natural features — examples of the virgin
soil and vegetation in this country as our forefathers found it.
We also appreciate that these areas in their conservation and scenic
standards have furnished enjoyment, educational advantages and in-
spiration to the Nation as a whole.
The General Federation of Women's Clubs has for the past twenty-
five years staunchly upheld the fine standards set by the National Park
System and has assisted during that period in defending these estab-
lished standards from attacks which have sought to look for local gain
and to lower national park values.
Our program opposes commercialism which would lower these high
standards, and supports that which would further the educational and
inspirational mission of the system in order that national park integrity
may be maintained and its ideals preserved for all time.
MRS. WILLIAM A. LOCKWOOD. Chairman, National Parks Committee,
Garden Club of America, New York City
WE ARE idealists, but we rather pride ourselves upon having
common sense. We would like to be called common-sense idealists.
We wish our parks to benefit "all the people," but we set no time
limit which would include only this generation. We wish the parks for
"all the people for all time."
We look forward to the day when the fifteen million and more visitors
will not want to dash through the parks at sixty miles an hour or care
principally for the tag which means they have "done" the park but that
they would have a keen appreciation of what the parks have to offer.
It is in order to preserve the parks for such a time that we are idealists.
Many may wonder why The Garden Club of America, an organiza-
tion of amateur gardeners, celebrating its twenty-fifth birthday this
year, is so deeply interested in our national parks.
One of its objects is the preservation of native plants and birds.
This had led to a conservation department which has been active since
the beginning.
26 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In the early days of the organization the suggestion was made that
the preservation of the Redwoods of California be one of our objectives*
At the annual meeting of the Club in Seattle in 1930 it was decided to
raise funds to purchase and present a grove to the State of California
for preservation in its primitive state for the use and enjoyment of
future generations. Eighty-five thousand dollars was subscribed.
Seventy-five thousand dollars was added by the State and 2,500 acres
were purchased in the Bull Creek area. Later 600 acres were added.
The question then arose as to the method which would preserve the
natural beauty and yet make the area available to the public.
Immediately The Garden Club of America became national park
administration conscious.
The larger part of our tract lay across the Eel River. This was a raging
torrent during the rainy season. A bridge was necessary. Funds were
contributed for a permanent structure. A plan of a steel bridge was sub-
mitted which would be of sufficient height to escape floods.
It was suddenly realized that such a bridge would be entirely at
variance with the object of keeping the grove primitive and would be
decidedly out of keeping with the surroundings. Therefore this plan was
discarded. A simple suspension foot-bridge, which is removed during
high water, was substituted, and a row boat used for transportation
during the rainy season. A roadway was planned which would bring
visitors not caring to use the bridge by motor to the back of the grove
where trails would lead through the forest and to a natural amphitheatre.
Here the dedication exercises were held. These trails preserve the ground-
cover and by keeping motors at a distance insure silence, so necessary
to the full enjoyment of such areas.
Our problems made our members mindful of the complications in-
volved in park administration and also made us the more determined
to use our influence to set aside more and more of our superlative areas
for preservation from thoughtless commercialism which would use up in
one generation that which should be a heritage of future ages. We may
not reproduce what we now have; once lost, such conditions which it
has taken centuries to evolve are lost forever. Both science and future
generations would be the losers.
We know the high standards set by those who fought for and dedi-
cated our parks and appreciate what the National Park Service has
done and is doing to maintain these standards.
We also know of the great pressure of commercial interests to make
use of areas so set aside. We realize the need of funds to maintain the
parks. However, we do not feel sufficiently informed, and hesitate to
recommend a program, but because of our great interest and deep con-
cern for the future of our parks we make the following suggestions :
1. That our great primeval parks be segregated; that regulations be
made for their protection suitable to their particular needs; that other
NATIONAL PARKS 27
parks and monuments, historical and otherwise, be governed by regula-
tions suitable to their needs.
We do not believe the same regulations should apply to each type of
park, nor that the same training is required for the policy making or
administration of such divergent needs.
We ask that those in whose care our primeval parks are entrusted
have not only botanical and other scientific knowledge but also have a
keen appreciation of the importance of wilderness in its primeval state
as a study ground for the story of the cycles of fauna and flora as well
as for the inspirational beauty therein contained.
2. We have so recently been called upon to subdue the wild that
many have become unmindful of the value of our great primeval terri-
tory, and we urge that this importance be brought to our people through
those who make and administer our laws. "Land Use" may have value
in other ways than producing lumber, irrigation or water power.
3. As a general rule we are opposed to high-speed roads piercing the
hearts of areas set aside for preservation. We urge that roads of access
be placed in the less dramatic areas and that trails lead the visitors to
the great scenic spots. The noise and excitement of motors is not con-
ducive to contemplation.
4. We urge more nature study in our schools in order that our children
may learn to understand, and therefore to appreciate, the wonders and
delights to be found in our parks. Destruction comes from ignorance.
This is exemplified by an incident which happened a few years ago when
I was at Magdalena Bay in Spitzbergen with a large group of visitors.
We landed by means of an improvised landing, as few ships went there,
in order to view the glacier more closely. There were no trails. The
crowd scattered helter-skelter over the area so as to reach the edge of
the ice. Perhaps I was a little more garden-minded than glacier-minded.
My eyes dropped to the ground-cover.
Immediately I began to put into my pockets a variety of tiny bloom-
ing plants. When I returned to the ship I put them in little dishes to
watch their growth. It took eleven plants to fill a soup dish. Having a
magnifying glass and a botany with me, I began to study those little
plants. Soon many of the passengers were tremendously interested,
though they had never seen any plants at the glacier's edge. It was
simply a matter of not being trained to see. We should like to have a
larger number of nature teachers and more nature camps where teachers
and field naturalists may be taught so that they may in turn teach and
inspire the young. This The Garden Club of America is attempting to
do but it may in no way cover the need.
5. We further suggest that the National Park Service be so increased
and rewarded financially that both men and women may find it worth
while to seek a career in this Service, a civil service, always non-political.
6. We would stress the re-creational or inspirational value of our
28 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
primeval parks rather than the recreational or playground meaning of
the word, which signifies amusement other than that proffered by the
parks themselves.
We believe that golf courses, movies — not educational, — dancing,
and the like should be confined to concessions on the outskirts of the
great parks, thus leaving the superlative areas free from distraction in
order that nature may silently speak for itself.
We are an organization of some seven thousand women, scattered
over the entire United States. We have no ax to grind. Many of us will
never see our wonderful parks, but we offer our aid to those with similar
beliefs and purposes.
A. D. TAYLOR, President, American Society of Landscape Architects, Cleveland, Ohio
LANDSCAPE architecture is one of the major groups keenly inter-
-i ested in the preservation and proper development of national parks.
A platform is a policy. Our policy is an established and a definite
one. This policy is a declaration of principles in which the American
Society of Landscape Architects, speaking through me, officially ex-
presses its belief.
The American Society of Landscape Architects believes that addi-
tional land for national parks should be acquired until the available
superlative scenery of national park quality is under the control of the
National Park Service.
This Society also believes that there should be rectification of boun-
daries and adjustment of areas between the jurisdiction of the National
Park Service and other Governmental agencies, in order that the type
of administration of the land concerned, may be most appropriate to
its best public use.
We suggest that a National Committee be appointed by the Presi-
dent, empowered to make a comprehensive study of all the national
park and national forest areas, and as a result of such study to recom-
mend upon those areas of superlative scenery of national park calibre
which should be in national parks, and upon those areas now within the
national park boundaries which may be appropriate to some other use
for the best interest of the public.
We further believe that national park areas should be limited to
lands of extraordinary significance, with qualities of superlative scenery,
the preservation of which should be a matter of national concern.
In accordance with a comprehensive design for the development and
preservation of national parks, works of construction should be limited
only to those that are necessary to make the parks useful and accessible
without serious damage to their scenic character.
The forms of recreation permitted and the works of construction
undertaken, should be such as are not inconsistent to the extent practical
NATIONAL PARKS 29
with the preservation of natural beauty, and with those recreational
purposes incidental to the enjoyment of that beauty for which the
national parks were created.
Since the most unusual and beautiful natural scenery will attract
visitors from all parts of the country, as well as from foreign lands, the
responsibility for preserving outstanding examples of such scenery
should rest with the Federal authorities, acting through the National
Park Service. Conversely, the preservation of lands by the Federal
Government as a national park can generally be justified only when their
significance is nation-wide. Every proposal for the addition of another
national park should be scrutinized lest it lead to the admission of an
area of little national importance and form a precedent for the future
admission of parks of inferior and inappropriate quality.
The National Park Service and its supporters are frequently com-
pelled to resist attempts to promote within the national parks unneces-
sary works of construction or of destruction, such as roads, buildings
and the clearing of forests. It should be remembered that the justifying
purpose of a national park is to protect, preserve and make permanently
available for observation, enjoyment and study by the people of this
and future generations, supreme examples of certain natural conditions,
examples so rare, so precious, each in its own way for the inspirational
quality of its scenery and otherwise, as to make it a matter of truly
national concern thus to protect them.
Attempts are being made from time to time to obtain lands or privi-
leges in the national parks by power, irrigation or other interests, which
are not merely in themselves detrimental to the parks, but which form
dangerous precedents for other encroachments.
Introduction of incongruous recreational functions, and with them,
a class of visitors lacking sympathy with the primary purpose of the
national parks would greatly diminish the enjoyment of the parks, and
increase the difficulties of management without compensating advantage.
There was a time prior to the depression when the American public
had a full understanding of the activities of the National Park Service
and the ideals for which these activities stood.
During the emergency period it was necessary for the National Park
Service, as a Federal agency, to step into the breach and to take over
many administrative responsibilities, some of which seem quite foreign
to national park ideals as theretofore construed by the public. There
was no other Government agency qualified to meet these emergency
requirements. It is hoped that the National Park Service will prepare a
policy to be made available to the public setting forth the range of the
activities to be included in its program and again to restate in what-
ever modified form is necessary the ideals and objectives of the Na-
tional Park Service.
80 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
OVID BUTLER, Executive Secretary of The American Forestry Association
THE American Forestry Association in 1930 endorsed in principle the
statement of National Park Standards promulgated by the Camp
Fire Club of America. That was and still is a good statement. We have
never withdrawn our endorsement of it.
The American Forestry Association, moreover, does have a national
park concept — a concept that visions and holds in focus quite clearly,
I think, what national parks are and what they should continue to be.
That ideal or concept is our keel of guidance. It is written in various
resolutions, statements and actions of our Board, the latest of which
was an uncompromising stand, so we are charged, in defense of Rocky
Mountain National Park.
In a deeper and more himaan way, our concept is unwritten in the
minds of men who through the years have served the Association as
Directors and with whom I have had the honor and privilege to be
associated. My task, therefore, is to interpret that concept to you as
best I can in a few paragraphs.
We conceive the national parks in the spirit of their birth — a spirit
that has carried down to us from a mountain meadow in Yellowstone
where Langford, Judge Hedges and his party camped the night of
September 19, 1870. Those men, it should be remembered, were living
their lives in a great, sparsely settled country. The common run of soil,
mountains and trees as God had made them were nothing new to them.
But when after days of hardships and dangers in a country that was all
wilderness they came upon boiling springs, spouting geysers, giant falls
and canyons, they knew without anyone telling them that they had
come into the presence of something profoundly different, for within
their hairy chests and tired bodies they felt a strange uplift.
The things of wonder that lay before them were theirs for the pre-
empting but no, they sensed they were dealing with something priceless
— ^a masterpiece of creation that ought to be preserved for all time for
all people. Fair to conscience and fair to country, they forthwith re-
nounced thought of personal gain and around the camp-fire that last
night resolved to do that very thing.
Then and there was born an idea which Congress a few years later
gave the name National Park and made it the symbol and instrument
for eternal preservation of those rare examples of unmodified nature
within our country that transcend mere scenery and reveal to mankind
new horizons of creation.
Call it old-fashioned, if you will — outmoded by these changing times
— ^that nevertheless is the national park concept as I have come to know
and feel it which the Association holds today. Our principles include:
(1) Keep national parks always a system of natural masterpieces.
Therein lies their national distinction, their national worth and their
national reason for being. And therein lies their best hope of preservation.
NATIONAL PARKS 31
(2) Admit to the system no new park or addition that will cheapen
or depreciate its meaning and its inherent worth. Diversion from this
policy is diversion from purpose and exposure of all national parks to
easier invasion by commercial and local interests,
(3) With uncompromising fidelity to their purpose and their meaning,
protect all national parks against all forms of use, economic or otherwise,
that will tend to modify and destroy the things they are dedicated to
protect and to preserve. It is more important to America that a national
park, rightly conceived and maintained, endure a century even though
sparsely visited than that it be spoiled by roads and crowds in a decade
of confused living.
(4) In the use of the parks preserve as unmodified and unharmed as
humanly possible the craftsmanship of the Creator and its environment
of wilderness, birds and animals. To this end place emphasis on organ-
ized knowledge of the meaning of the things in the parks rather than on
organized crowds and organized amusements.
(5) In respect to commercial or economic invasion of national parks
adhere to a non-compromising position. This position, however, can be
held only as long as national parks stand for those things that in the
conscience of the people are priceless to the nation as a whole.
HORACE M. ALBRIGHT, President American Planning and Civic Association
THE American Planning and Civic Association for more than thirty
years has cherished high standards for National Parks. Sixteen
years ago, its predecessor, the American Civic Association, issued a
Park Primer in which this definition was given :
A National Park is an area, usually of some magnitude, distinguished by
scenic, scientific, historic, or archeological attractions and natural wonders and
beauties which are distinctly national in importance and interest, selected as
eminent examples of scenic, scientific, or historic America, and preserved with
characteristic natural scenery, wildlife and historic or archeological heritage, in
an unimpaired state, as a part of a National Park System for the use and enjoy-
ment of this and future generations.
The Association has adhered to that definition as a gauge to measure
new areas proposed for National Parks. You will note that no mention
is made of primeval areas. The Association recognized that there were
few, if any, primeval areas left in the United States. When I hear friends
of the National Parks adding to this definition and to the one which
was published by the Camp Fire Club somewhat later a conception
which is so rigid that it would disqualify all of the remaining superlative
scenery in the United States, I cannot help feeling that a mythical
Utopia is being set up that can never be realized. In practice the strict
application of the primeval requirement would mean that the very finest
scenic areas in the country could not become National Parks but must
be administered, if at all, for some other purpose. Of course most of
32 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
these areas not already in the National Park System lie in the National
Forests which were established for quite other purposes and which are
not administered primarily to preserve natural conditions.
As a matter of fact, the recognized National Parks, which are held
as measures of what new national parks should be, were not secured while
still in their primeval state. Even in Yellowstone, Jim Bridger killed
mink, marten and beaver together with other fur-bearing animals and
so did other trappers of the Hudson Bay and American Fur Co. The
original animal conditions in Yellowstone were already modified before
the area became a park. Yosemite was grazed by sheep for years prior
to its reservation as a national park. John Muir himself herded sheep
in the Tuolomne Meadows and timber was cut in the valley. Cattle
grazed on the lower levels in the park until the last six or seven years,
when fences have been put up and some of the private holdings along
the government lines extinguished. Yosemite was certainly modified to a
decided extent before it was made a National Park.
In Glacier National Park there was an irrigation project and there
were farms, most of which still exist. In Mount Rainier there were
mining claims. We have attempted to have them cancelled but they
are still held valid. Grand Canyon was mined and grazed for years.
There is no unmodified territory. There never has been any un-
modified territory since the white man began to fight the Indian. And
in the Sierra and Sequoia country there long existed the practice of
burning over the land. If the idea of requiring unmodified territory as
a requisite for new National Parks is applied rigidly, there will be no
more National Parks. In any case, in order to create a new National
Park, we must overcome the objections to the inclusion of forest areas,
grazing areas, mining claims, hunting territory and other commercial
and popular uses. It is a very simple matter to roimd up petitions of
sheepmen, cattlemen, lumbermen, power men, hunters and others who
want to use the territory which may be proposed for the National Park
System. So the net result of applying the unmodified-territory theory
is that those who advocate it are in fact aligning themselves with the
other national-park objectors to prevent any more areas from being
incorporated into the system.
I hope that some day the United States Forest Service, with its
friends such as the American Forestry Association, and the National
Park Service and its friends, such as the American Planning and Civic
Association, will sit down together and see if some agreement cannot be
reached on the areas which rightfully belong in the National Park System.
But I beg of you, do not adopt obstruction policies and do not define
National Parks to the point where there never can be any new parks or
additions to existing parks. Once the System is completed, we must
see that the non-conforming uses are abated and we must foster the
reversion to a natural state of injured areas in the parks.
FORECASTING THE FUTURE
The Future of National Parks in Region One
CARL P. RUSSELL, Director, Region I, National Park Service, Richmond, Va.
TO UNDERTAKE the "forecasting of the National Park System
future" lays one open to all of the dangers which Dr. J. Horace
McFarland, last year, so effectively observed, beset the prognosticator.
But to get an estimate of what actually lies before us is to use our in-
telligence. In quite the same manner that the National Park Service
bases its annual improvement work in existing parks on master plans,
so, I think, all of us who are concerned with the ultimate development
of the National Park System may well concentrate on the projection
of a "master plan" for a national system of reservations in which the
defined objectives of the National Park Service may find expression.
I do not mean that this broader master plan should be made up of
portfolios of drawings on which details of proposed physical develop-
ments are prescribed. I have in mind a survey of the possibilities of
adding new areas to the existing park system in such manner as to
enable the Service to present the well-rounded story of America. Based
on this survey a program of land acquisition should be planned; acquisi-
tion which will actually enable us to portray, by striking examples, the
story of earth forces and the progress of civilization in this country.
Director Cammerer in his addresses has several times said: "The
master plan (for existing parks) when properly handled, is the best
single picture of ultimate objectives yet devised in simple form to serve
as a constant guide for all concerned." I believe that a master plan for
the Service as a whole will likewise become a practical guide which all
of us and our successors can use to advantage. The Park, Parkway and
Recreational-Area Study so successfully pursued by the Service offers
evidence of the practical results obtainable in long-range planning; it is
actually a means of securing a perpetual inventory of recreational pos-
sibilities in the Nation. The Historic and Archeological Site Survey is
another example of what is being done in the general field of national
park planning.
In connection with the last named survey, the Branch of Historic
Sites and Buildings and the Secretary's Advisory Board have had some
600 sites under consideration, two-thirds of them being in Region One.
Forty -nine of these have been acquired by the Service, 114 have been
studied and classified as desirable additions to the parks system and the
remaining 450 have yet to be studied.
I think I am correct in stating that the present "catch" of proposed
historic sites results from a rather general casting of nets and a wholesale
hauling in without much regard for interrelationships. A recently pro-
jected plan for the survey of historic sites will change the catch-as-catch-
can procedure to a more orderly system of selecting historic areas for
33
34 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
inclusion in the national park system. Our historians have shaped a
rather full chronological outhne of United States history. With that
outline as a basis, the running account of history is organized into
chapters. The events that find places in a chapter can, of course, be
focused upon certain localities. By taking these localities into consider-
ation along with the study of the significance of the events, it becomes
possible to arrive at conclusions regarding the relative importance of
sites involved. The acquisition of historical sites thus becomes selective
rather than collective.
A good demonstration of the effectiveness of this process of selection
was given a few days ago when Dr. Ronalds, of the Branch of Historic
Sites and Buildings, presented to the Secretary's Advisory Board an
account of that "chapter" of our history which we call the French and
Indian War. In his portrayal of the story, Dr. Ronalds focused attention
upon the significant sites. Three of these sites, the most important of
the ten, were not to be found in the miscellaneous collection of 600 or
more sites previously proposed.
Other outstanding chapters in American history which find repre-
sentation in Region One, and which are susceptible to the same search-
ing analysis which was given the French and Indian War, follow:
Exploration and Colonial Settlement, 1565-1763
Southern Plantation System and Culture, 1607-1776
Preliminaries of the Revolution, 1763-1776
The War for American Independence
The War of 1812 (so-called Second War for American Independence)
The organization, settlement, and growth of the Old Northwest, 1787-1860
The settlement and culture of the Old Southwest, 1789-1860
American Political and Economic Thought, 1782-1860
Domestic Affairs from 1789-1830
Domestic Affairs, 1830-1860
The War between the States
Rise of American Science and Industry, 1789-1938, or
The Economic Evolution, 1789-1938.
In shaping a program of historical site acquisition, we keep in mind
the fact that warfare has been but one phase of our history. Domestic
and industrial aspects of American culture, archeological and ethno-
logical evidences of our predecessors on this continent, and our friendly
relationships with adjacent neighbors and other countries constitute
phases of our developing characteristics which are quite as important
from a National Park Service standpoint as are spectacular military or
naval affairs.
To attain the ends desired it will, of course, be necessary to make
investigators available for the studies. But the expenditure of funds
for this purpose now will mean orderly progress and should effect notable
saving in the long run. Whether the studies be made on a regional basis
or from a central office is immaterial. However, should the Regional
NATIONAL PARKS 85
Offices assume responsibility for the work, additional staff members
must be employed. The present regional staff of historians is not adequate
to meet current demands of its services. In Region One we have 63
Federal areas, only 5 of which are not primarily historical in values.
The present staff of three regional historians finds it difficult to give full
review of existing work programs and maintain satisfactory coordination
of current field activities. Here, where historical values are paramount
and proposals to add new areas are so predominantly problems of the
historian, one man, either from the Branch in Washington or from the
regional staff, should be available to devote his undivided attention to
the appraisal of proposed new areas.
OPPORTUNITIES TO ILLUSTRATE GEOLOGICAL STORIES
If our ultimate park system is to be the integrated series of units
that we visualize, it must contain certain areas in which the geological
chapters find representation. Here again, if we are to make the best
approach to our problem, consideration must be given first to the story
of natural phenomena. If a geologist is commissioned to prepare a
museum exhibit that will interpret the geological story of Grand Canyon,
for example, he does not first of all prepare some illustrations and then
weave a story around these pictures. His first step is to delineate the
story and then make pictures that will illustrate exactly what should
be portrayed. In the same way the National Park Service should pro-
ceed to define the story of earth forces in the United States and then
select land areas which will illustrate the significant chapters. By such
procedure will we acquire a coherent system of national parks and
monuments that will exemplify the major themes of American geology.
THE WILDLIFE FEATURES OF PRIMITIVE AMERICA AS
REPRESENTED IN REGION ONE
The great wilderness areas of the United States quite rightly are
considered to exist in the West, yet, recently. Region One of the National
Park Service has made its contribution to the conservation of wildlife.
As studies of park needs progress it becomes more evident that even the
eastern section of the country contains important wildlife areas — areas
the significance of which is not duplicated in the existing western parks
and monuments. The authorized Cape Hatteras National Seashore, for
example, was first justified on its historical and recreational values.
Now we realize that it has a wildlife value that equals or excels the first
recognized values. It is the wintering ground for countless thousands
of water fowl and its inclusion in the national park system will provide
the Service with a most logical site for a national center for the study
of bird migration. From the standpoint of spectacular wildlife features
I am of the opinion that Hatteras will rank with the best of our wildlife
36 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
areas, and any of you here who have witnessed 10,000 Snow Geese arise
in a body from their resting place on the Currituck dunes will agree
with me, I believe.
In the future Everglades National Park we have a distinct fauna and
flora, the preservation of which is quite as important as is the saving of
the Yellowstone wilderness. In the proposed Santa Rosa Island National
Monument, we find opportunity to feature a museum of the rich tropical
marine life of the Gulf of Mexico. Some southern swamp with its cypress
habitat should be preserved.
Acadia, Great Smoky, Kings Mountain, Fort Jefferson, Fort Pulaski's
environs, the Orton Plantation and the hammock jungles bordering
East Florida beaches each has a flora and fauna representative of
characteristic portions of our country — each makes contribution to our
attempt to preserve samples of the primitive American scene. Just as
sound conclusions can be drawn as to the relative values of historical
sites after a comprehensive survey has been made, so should a broad
review of the general ecology of Region One precede the selection of
biological areas to be added to the present parks system.
I think I have made one point clear — that we must organize our
efforts if we are to make sound, construct've growth that will stand under
the current criticism of the so-called "purists" and likewise meet the
test of trial through the coming years. To organize for such studies as
should be made costs money, yet the immediate cost will be trivial as
compared with the future drain that will be levied upon the Service if
we are inefficient at this time. Probably a score or more of new areas
should be added to the present system of parks and monuments in
Region One during the next few years. I say "should be added" mean-
ing, of course, that the proposed growth is desirable if the Service is to
meet satisfactorily its obligations in preserving and presenting "by
striking examples the story of earth forces and the progress of civiliza-
tion in this country."
Costs of developing and maintaining the new areas for public use
introduce a problem that may require study by another group of special-
ists. I like the Director's view of this matter as he expressed it last
year, "A combination of appropriations and fees appears to be the most
satisfactory means of financing recreational areas. It is the financial
basis upon which the National Park System is being built and is, in
fact, an essential element of the park form of land use. The core of the
park idea is that the area shall be largely self-supporting but not at the
expense of any feature in it."
I have said nothing about futiu*e cooperation of Region One with
state parks because that phase of our program was not provided for by
those who planned this particular discussion. Likewise administrative
problems as they bear upon the relationships of the regional staff to
park superintendents and coordinating superintendents find no place
NATIONAL PARKS 37
here. It is too early perhaps to anticipate the details of future inter-
relationships of these units within the regional set-up, but by next year
I hope discussions of these matters may be provided for in special
sessions of the Superintendents' Conference.
CONCLUSION
Please permit me to summarize by repeating those points that I wish
to emphasize:
1. A broad survey of American historical, archeological, geological and
biological features should precede any program of land acquisition for the
National Park Service.
2. In Region One historical areas predominate. Of 63 existing parks and
monuments, 58 are primarily historical in values.
3. 332 new historical areas have been proposed for addition to Region One.
Thorough analysis of the history of the Region will increase this number.
4. Cultural aspects of the American story should receive proper recognition
in the future system of parks and monuments.
5. Geological surveys will reveal gaps in the present system of national
park areas.
6. A broad review of the general ecology of Region One should precede
proposals to add biological areas to the existing system.
7. Acquisition of any or all new sites should be selective rather than collective.
8. Undue worry on the part of those who fear the possible inclusion of sub-
standard areas in the National Park System should be quieted. I cannot do
better in concluding than to quote this meaningful paragraph from George
Wright's "Philosophy of Standards for National Parks," 1936:
"I no longer worry as I used to for fear the National Park System will be
loaded with inferior areas. Once this was a real concern. Now we have a system
of national parks and monuments which in their aggregate set the standard. We
have a National Park Service now, and park bills must run a formidable gauntlet
of committees. These bills are referred to the Secretary of the Interior, who
refers them to the National Park Service. It is next to impossible today to
establish a park over unfavorable report of the Department. What if a sub-
standard area should slip in? This would not be calamitous. The failure to save
Mount Olympus' forests, the Kings River Canyon, the Okefenokee Swamp, and
a host of others just as valuable would be the real calamity. Let the friends of
our national parks leave it to the National Park Service to safeguard itself
against intrusion of trash areas and devote their energies instead to completing
the parks system while there is still time to do it. The inclusion of Piatt is not
a burden upon our consciences; the failure to save one good example of our
prairie grassland should be a very real cause for mental anguish.
"The sound and the fury rage around such academic questions as to whether
this mountain or that is the best of its kind, drowning out the echoes of the
axes that eat their way into the hearts of four-hundred-year-old monarch trees
on their slopes. When the argument is ended, neither mountain will be fit for
national park status."
38 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The Future of the National Park Service in
Region Two
THOS. J. ALLEN, JR., Director, Region II, National Park Service, Omaha, Nebr.
IN REGION II we have new areas being studied and considered. If
you will look back into the history of the national parks and the
National Park Service, you will find it was within the boundaries of
what is now Region II that the national park idea started. Some of
my old friends in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and Superintendent Libbey of
Hot Springs National Park probably claim Hot Springs National Park
as being the first national reservation, and that is true, but of course we
all admit that Yellowstone in reality was the first national park.
When we talk of growth and speak of new areas. Region II must be
considered as the starting point. Studies are now being made and re-
ports being prepared on the possibility of including the areas of Wind
River Mountains in Wyoming, of the Flathead country in Montana,
within the National Park System. The State of Wyoming is cooperating
with the Park Service toward the preservation of Old Fort Laramie and
the historical aspects of the Old Oregon Trail where it crosses the region.
There is the hope of rounding out the boundaries of Rocky Mountain
National Park, and of Grand Teton, and perfecting Yellowstone limits
to a perfect natural limitation. There is already being started the pur-
chase and development of the Homestead National Monument with all
the associations that are tied into the first tract of land granted as a
homestead claim by the United States Government. In addition, there
is a movement toward setting aside an area of plains land which, if
accomplished, would create a Grasslands National Monument, depicting
the great buflFalo range as found by the early pioneers.
You have therefore, in summary, an idea of what might happen in
Region II, which extends from the Rocky Mountain States of Colorado,
Wyoming, and Montana, east to include Illinois, and which goes north
from the Missouri-Kansas southern line to the Canadian boundary.
Geologic, historic, biologic, and recreational extensions are in view
as a part of the entire program looking toward the completion of the
National Park System throughout the whole United States. I dislike,
however, to think of the future of the National Park Service in the area
for which I am responsible, as being confined merely to enlargements
and additions. There is a great deal that can be done toward the im-
provement of our existing areas, toward the better management of them,
and toward making them of even greater service to the American public.
Since the days when Yellowstone was first set aside as a national
park, our history has been one of growing popularity and of increasing
attendance. There seems to be no end to this popularity, and no end to
the increase which we will have in visitors. There is, however, a limit to
any park's capacity, be it large or small. Already there are signs that in
NATIONAL PARKS 80
some of our parks we are approaching that Hmit under our present
methods of operation. No one desires to Hmit the use of the parks to
an arbitrary number of individuals. It therefore means that facing the
National Park Service is the problem of devising ways and means for
handling our increasing population and still protecting our charges. It
can be done and it will be done. The doing of it is one thing which I see
in the future of the National Park Service.
Ahead of us also is the perfection of our parks and the continuation
of them as the only areas in the United States which present a complete
biotic picture. Like the park visitors, our wild animal friends are crowd-
ing us and are affecting not only our own areas but the surrounding lands
outside of the parks. No problem in conservation is more interesting
than this one. It will tax the best minds in the National Park Service
and will call for assistance from leaders in wildlife management else-
where, but its solution is part of our future. The housing of our park
visitors at popular rates, the perfection of our ranger forces, the develop-
ment of new means of eliminating forest fire danger from our forest, and
the solution of the insect and tree disease worries, are all waiting for us.
On the outside are commercial interests desiring to take advantage
of water-power possibilities within the park and monument areas, and
to put to other local uses the natural features which the parks are in-
tended and created to preserve. All of these things put together indicate
a decidedly busy future for the National Park System and the National
Park Service, not only in Region II, but in all regions.
All in all, it seems to me that we have stretching ahead of us the
biggest job of conservation that ever faced any organization, and with
no let-up, because national park work is never finished. Changing con-
ditions make new problems and new solutions continuous.
A Forecast of the Future of the National Park
System in Region Three
HERBERT MAIER, Acting Director, Region III, National Park Service,
Santa Fe, N. M.
THE truth of the old saying that no one can forecast the future with-
out knowing what has gone before finds no more honest application
than it does among those who defend the national park system and
constantly attempt to presuppose its future.
Today every member of the National Park Service who would con-
tribute materially to the system must, most certainly, have full knowl-
edge of, and respect for, its past — but not live in it. Fortunately, how-
ever, one of the outstanding characteristics among national park system
proponents which has impressed me throughout some 25 years' asso-
ciation with the national park idea, is the inspired zeal with which they
40 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
have been reaching out into the future to turn into accompHshments
their hopes for the system.
One recent accomphshment that emerges as a product of this fore-
sight, is the regionaUzation of the Service in order to strengthen the
administrative methods by which existing units of the system are de-
fended, and the future of the system as a whole is currently given the
constantly increasing attention required.
When considering the future of the national park system as repre-
sented in Region III — that is, the States of Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma,
New Mexico, Arizona, and the southern parts of Colorado and Utah —
one finds a field of possibilities that past foresight has not circumscribed
but that present vision is beginning to comprise. What are these
possibilities?
In setting about to crystallize the planned future of the national park
system in Region III, we first go to Nature because Nature provides
the initial facts with which we work. And in so doing, it will be appre-
ciated that in so far as ecological conditions are concerned, these States
quite run the gamut of flora and fauna habitats. A total of twelve such
distinct habitat types exist in this region, from that in Arkansas common
to the Ozarks and from the Loblolly country of the Texas-Louisiana
boundary westward to the Plains-Grassland habitat type that extends
into the Dust Bowl of Western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle and
New Mexico; and from the Desert Shrub habitat type in the south-
western part of the region to the Pinion-Juniper and Yellow Pine-
Douglas Fir habitats of northern Arizona and New Mexico, southern
Utah and southern Colorado. And it is significant from a conservation
standpoint, that ten of these twelve ecological habitats are, fortunately,
already represented in the five national parks of the region since, while
various other agencies are working for the conservation of game animals,
the National Park Service is practically the only agency in the region
that is trying to conserve entire wildlife communities, that is, all native
species of both plants and animals.
The problems of extensions to old existing areas is indicative of how
the Service has progressed from arbitrary boundaries to boundaries
based on extremely careful planning. Remember, Yellowstone was
originally just laid out as a square around the lake, and the Service is
perhaps not yet through trying to adjust the boundaries to biological
and other necessary considerations. In Region III, consideration is now
being given by the Service to extension problems in connection with all
five of the national parks in the region.
In Grand Canyon National Park there is foreseen the need to include
150 square miles of the former Grand Canyon National Monument,
adjacent thereto. The need here for including the additional area is based
primarily on the scenic qualifications. The Inner Gorge at the Monu-
ment is extremely narrow, on the sheer walls of which at one point is
NATIONAL PARKS 41
displayed what is said to be the finest example of volcanism on the
North American continent. In addition to this, the extension will add to
the park an excellent range for antelope in Toroweap Valley.
A block of about 24 square miles comprising what should have been
the southeast corner of Mesa Verde National Park, has never been in-
cluded in the park. The land is in the Indian Service and that Service
has admitted that the land is of little value to the Utes. The extension
would serve to round out Mesa Verde's scenic unity by taking in more
of the mesa proper and it would extend that part of the park to its
natural boundary which is the Mancos River, and which would simplify
administration and protection. Mesa Verde has the worst fire threat
in the region.
Piatt National Park in Oklahoma, although only 848 acres in extent,
reached a remarkable peak load of 284,000 visitors during the past year.
A study of its problems was undertaken by a Washington office repre-
sentative last summer and it is expected that the findings will shortly
be forthcoming.
Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, as most of you know, has a
native land problem. In 1832, Congress set aside the land surrounding
the hot springs as a National Reservation, stipulating that this land
was not to be used for any other purpose. In 1874, however, by Federal
survey, the townsite was plotted and 1551 acres including the valleys
and the best of the land was given to what is today the business section
of the city. The problem now is largely to obtain additional land on the
surrounding mountains so as to give visitors greater recreational oppor-
tunity to get up out of the city which surrounds the Springs.
Considerable discussion has, from time to time, been evidenced in
connection with a proposed major extension to Carlsbad National Park,
but sufficient investigation has not yet been carried out to definitely
determine its advisability. The new land would extend south up into
the Guadalupe Range and apparently include additional large caverns
that surveys may prove of sufficient value to warrant park protection.
Furthermore, Carlsbad Caverns is located at the very edge of a wonder-
ful game country. The valleys and canyons of this region tap the great
faunal reservoir which spreads away to the south and down into Mexico.
As for proposed new national parks in Region III, two or three areas
that have been investigated during the past year are now receiving major
consideration from a standpoint of proper land use and as to whether
they can be best conserved by the National Park Service.
At present there are no national parks or monuments in Texas — the
largest State in the Union. The Big Bend area in southwestern Texas,
however, was in 1935 authorized by Congress for national park status.
Funds are now being raised for the purchase of 788,000 acres of land,
by private subscriptions, to be later supplemented by a state appropria-
tion. This fund-raising campaign was given an added impetus recently
42 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
when it was discovered that during Centennial year, the income to the
State from tourist travel was greater than from its two other principal
sources of income — cotton and oil. The international aspects of this
project are intriguing. The Mexican government has agreed to set aside
450,000 acres on its side of the Rio Grande in the Del Carmen Moun-
tains, in order to create an International Park in which the peoples of
the two nations may mingle without annoying international restrictions.
Director Cammerer has worked vigorously with the Mexican govern-
ment in connection with this international project, and by invitation has
advised on their national park system which includes approximately as
many acres as our own. It would by no means be a difficult task later to
construct a highway south from the Mexican area to join the present
Mexico City highway at Monterey. Who knows but that this Inter-
national Park may in time become the principal tourist gateway between
the two countries?
Padre Island, immediately adjacent to the Texas Gulf Coast, is the
only area in the region being considered as a possible national seashore
park. This island, which is only a mile wide, has a perfect beach 120
miles long.
Thus far I have been leading up to the thought generally accepted
that, regardless of what other considerations may be present in the
future of the National Park System, a greater knowledge of the country
as a whole and what each part of it is most useful for, will be the basic
factors in our studies.
Of the 32 national monuments in Region III, 26 comprise the South-
western Monument System under Superintendent Pinkley, offering a
variety of prehistoric and natural phenomena nation-wide in appeal.
The Southwestern Monument System is deserving of very serious
thought and long-range planning since many of its units could easily be
spoiled if made too accessible, or on the other hand, if left without
adequate facilities. And this situation with the tremendous increase in
travel in the southwest, is a real threat. Almost 300,000 persons visited
the Southwestern Monuments during the year just passed. Certain of
the monuments having a particular type of interest and most accessible
to the public, lend themselves to immediate development. On the other
hand, there is a group of four or five that Superintendent Pinkley feels
should forever be held in their strictly primitive state. Then there is the
group of three or four Reserve Monuments, as Superintendent Pinkley
calls them, to be withheld from public access until all scientific study
and excavation can be undertaken and completed.
While erosion and livestock contribute to the process of ruin disin-
tegration, the greater damage is done by man. Looting of prehistoric
remains has been a major outdoor sport in the Southwest that has been
heartbreakingly extensive. Scientific publications t)f thirty or forty
years ago deplore this evil. The Federal Antiquities Act of 1906 has
NATIONAL PARKS 43
never really been enforced and cannot be to any great extent under
present conditions. The National Park Service is the only agency whose
job it is to protect these invaluable records of the past, but it has no
jurisdiction over Federal land other than its own. Some few sites are
protected to an extent by States and institutions, but these cannot
carry on stabilization activities or provide adequate facilities for the
visiting public. That the National Park Service should not go in and
actually do major research excavation in the Southwest is a policy that
has been generally recognized, and while the digging and the research
may be the field of institutions, the preservation work is the duty of the
National Park Service. Generally speaking, in order wholly to conserve
a strictly primitive area, you could simply leave it alone. But a crumbling
ruin needs sympathetic and highly technical attention.
There is now a CCC mobile unit of 25 Indian enroUees attached to
the Southwestern Monuments under the immediate direction of an
engineer and an archeologist. At least five such units could be profitably
employed in the monuments and national parks in the region.
The question arises frequently in the lay mind as to whether the
Service is trying to preserve too many archeological sites in the South-
west, and if duplication is common. No one has ever suggested that all
of the Southwestern archeological sites be preserved — that would be an
utter impossibility, even if it were desirable. Considering the distinct
cultures and different peoples, there is no duplication.
I trust I will not be misunderstood when I say that the question has
been raised as to whether the Service has realized the full responsibility
and magnitude of the task involved. Most certainly the Service would
do many things if it had the wherewithal. It is estimated that $100,000
per annum over a considerable period could be legitimately spent on
preservation work in Region III.
Just how many and which monument areas should the Service ac-
quire in Region III in order permanently to conserve the most worth-
while, will, as far as archeology is concerned, be answered by the Arche-
ological Sites Survey, already projected for the Service. In the mean-
time, however, there are ten or more possible monument areas offering a
variety of outstanding features that have been investigated and probably
should be acquired at an early date in order to afford immediate pro-
tection.
In addition to these, extensions to nine existing monuments are of
immediate concern. The principal ones are: Arches in Southern Utah;
El Morro in New Mexico, and Rainbow Bridge, Chiricahua and Navajo
in Arizona. Navajo, as an example, one of the most dramatic and
isolated, is now in three widely separated blocks, each block of only
about 40 acres. It is proposed, through special arrangement with the
Indian Service, to unify the three blocks for necessary control of pubUc
access. El Morro, as another example, is a striking mesa point, on the
44 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
cliflFs of which are inscribed the signatures of the Spanish conquistadores
and of our own frontiersmen, but with a boundary only 200 feet removed
from these inscriptions.
In Region III the report of the Historic Sites Survey now under way
will give much consideration to possible national historical parks of
which there are, as yet, very few in the region and which contrast with
archeological sites. Some of the historic sites in Region III relate to
the early conquistadores. Others are ecclesiastical, such as the three
mission systems. A third group tells the story of the military posts that
pushed ever westward and permitted the settler to take footholds.
Where historical areas are purely local in appeal, they should be
developed and maintained by the States. But where there occurred a
highlight or turning point in the Nation's history and the preservation
and interpretation of the site will always have nation-wide appeal, they
should receive Federal status. The Federal Government in its adminis-
tration of such areas is in a better position to give a true perspective and
sense of values than can the States. A few years ago, I was advised that
the battlefield of San Jacinto in Texas was the only historical area in
that State which the National Park Service at that time might be inter-
ested in acquiring, since this battle, which has been aptly described as
the sixteenth decisive battle of the world, resulted later in our acquiring
what is now Texas, the major part of New Mexico, southern Colorado
and western Oklahoma. The State of Texas is now undertaking, at a
cost of a million and a quarter dollars, to erect there a monumental shaft
higher than the Washington Monument. But if you were to go to San
Jacinto Battlefield today, you would find it diflScult, if not impossible,
to learn the story of what really happened there.
Other themes for possible historical development in the region include
the "ghost towns" such as Tombstone, Arizona, and the old Trails. The
famous Santa Fe Trail offers an interesting opportunity for preservation
at one of the points where the deep wagon ruts are still clearly visible
for miles across the plains, and within walking distance of the main
highway. The landmarks, still standing, of the Chisholm Trail along
which for 30 years the cowboys, over periods of weeks at a time, had to
drive their tremendous herds of cattle all the way from south Texas and
way points to the end of the railroad in Kansas, offers another possibility.
It is perfectly understandable that historic sites in the east have
received fuller recognition than have those in the west. The west is closer
to the day of the frontier than is the east and the frontier is never vitally
concerned with the past — ^it has no past. It has only a future on which
it concentrates its entire energy.
There are 110 historic sites in the region which we have been called
upon for investigation and report. We need have no fear, however, that
this will result in the Service being called upon to attempt acquisition
of a flock of sites of intermediate importance. The Historic Sites Survey
NATIONAL PARKS 45
oflFers a coherent, planned procedure for determining which sites are
the most suitable.
I trust, then, that I have presented the case for Region III from a
standpoint of proper land use. Future purposes of the National Park
System must depend in no small measure upon a more universal knowl-
edge of the country itself, and for what each part of it is most useful.
Land-use planning is today affecting every field agency of the govern-
ment. Planning throws the light on past mistakes and long range needs.
The late Senator Morrow once said, "We hear a great deal about the cost
of planning. Somebody should write a book on the cost of not planning."
According to the National Resources Committee, over 50 per cent of
highway travel today is tourist travel, and certainly this significant
statement should result in some deep thought on the part of recreation-
ists and planners.
Conservation in Region Four
FRANK A. KITTREDGE, Director, Region IV, San Francisco, Calif.
IN REGION IV are found national park areas of many types — highest
mountains, deepest valleys, grand specimens of erosion, exhibitions
of sedimentation, glaciers, deserts, wildlife preserves, primeval areas,
historical monuments.
Types having intrinsic value, such as these, are eminently suitable for
inclusion in the National Park System and require suitable conservation.
As stated by Secretary Ickes — "Conservation" is "prudent use."
What is the wise use of the national park areas? What is the forecast of
the National Park System in Region IV? Who can say?
However, I feel deeply on the matter of conservation of both natural
resources and park ideals and am happy to present this forecast as my
personal idea — touching, of course, only generally and along only a
few lines.
Wise use of our western national parks was defined by Secretary Lane
in his Magna Charta of 1918:
First, that the national parks must be maintained in absolutely un-
impaired form for the use of future generations as well as those of our
own time;
Second, that they are set apart for the use, observation, health and
pleasure of the people;
Third, that the national interest must dictate all decisions affecting
public or private enterprise in the parks.
What was good in 1918 is none too good for the future National Park
System. The future will continue to reafirm the Magna Charta of 1918,
will strengthen, revitalize and enforce the rights and commands for con-
servation and use.
46 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Our problems have multiplied since 1918 but our fundamental need
for conservation has not lessened, indeed it has been greatly increased.
There perhaps never was an occasion since Theodore Roosevelt and
Stephen T. Mather when there was greater need for the establishment
of conservation policies and ideals than now.
The Park Service came into being 20-odd years ago because the
conservationists of the country were aroused and demanded a different
kind of conservation for our best and most wonderful areas, a conserva-
tion which would enjoy and inspire but not destroy.
The system of the future will carry on these principles of conservation,
else the reason for the very existence of the Park Service will be gone.
Just what the national park area of the future will comprise is de-
pendent upon several features — ^just what may be considered the finest,
not the one finest, of its kind (there are lots of them), the number
of striking examples of areas telling the story of earth forces, of life, and
of the progress of civilization. It will depend upon how faithfully future
organizations care for and use these areas of intrinsic value, including
primeval areas, entrusted to their care.
It will depend upon the dominance of the one idea — perpetual con-
servation for educational and inspirational use (human welfare) and a
willingness to fight continuously for their protection.
The future status of the Park System depends on whether the future
conservationists will discern the fundamental values in the parks;
whether they will preserve our primeval areas; whether they wiU make
them usable for educational and inspirational purposes by the youths
and the adults of the country; whether they will not permit the most
precious spots to be opened by roads and developed by villages.
The existing bits of primeval country remaining are the last of our
heritage of the country as our forefathers found it. Region IV, in the
very nature of things, has a large number of these remaining areas.
The Park System of the future will conserve and use wisely its primeval
areas, else a new generation of conservationists will rise up in their
wrath and put them in hands which will conserve them.
The Park System will, through continued study and search, establish
values of areas and objects, will define the natural features for which
each park and each unit, large or small, is most valuable and shall
establish means of preserving it for that use. It will be preserved for its
fundamental use against whatever attacks — by cushion tourist, irriga-
tionists, power, builders of fine structures, propagandists.
Park values will be crystaUized into policies and procedure for us
in character building.
Park conservationists of the future are going to view park values
whether in or out of primeval areas, whether historic or scenic, with such
a jealous eye and will safeguard with such an iron hand that the gener-
ations to come will be using our same heritage undiminished.
NATIONAL PARKS 47
The National Park System of the future will continue to carry on the
injunction that these areas are set aside for the use, observation, health
and pleasure of the people.
Typical portions of the primeval areas of the future must be made
accessible on foot to the boys and girls, to the men and the women, who
shall safeguard these great primeval areas in the next decades.
The finest possible expenditure both in conservation of our youth
and in conservation of our natural resources will be obtained when the
Federal Government expends some hundreds of thousands of dollars in
building moderate trails, low-cost shelters, and trailside lodges.
These facilities will permit groups of young folks, under auspices of
organizations such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, and families to
go afoot between shelters, between places where low-cost subsistence
may be had for those who are unable to meet the expense required to
pack in their subsistence and shelter in case of storm. There seems no
reason why a boy's two weeks' hike through the high Sierras or through
Glacier National Park or Mount Olympus could not be made to cost
about as little as he now spends for two weeks in a Y. M. C. A. camp.
So far as the future System is concerned, we may be hearing about
the forgotten boy and the forgotten girl who are going to run the con-
servation activities of the country in the next generation. There is no
better way of conserving natural resources than to spend a little money
in the primeval areas of our country to make them walkable and livable
to our youngsters.
The National Park System of the future will tend to be operated
upon Nature's terms rather than upon the terms of the visitor. People
will come into the national park areas, along routes which will encourage
tuning of their mental attitude with the wilderness atmosphere.
It seems useless and destructive of essential values to build into
virgin territory roads of so high a standard that the atmosphere of the
country for which the visitors come, is lost, A determination of values is
essential before roads are built. If the object is just to get from here to
there, a 45-mile-per-hour road is correct.
If, however, we are traveling through country of national park scenic
value then a road will be built which will blend with the contour of
the country and will involve minimum destruction. Perpetuation of the
local values and the park atmosphere is the essential — not the road.
If these values cannot be preserved in the presence of a road then
the road will not be built — unless of course it is a road primarily to get
from here to there.
This does not imply criticism of anyone — even of myself. It is a
statement of consciousness of park values to be embodied in the building
of park roads of the future.
Simplicity is the keynote of the Park System. Monumental buildings
and structures will not be chosen. Unobtrusive embankments which
48 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
will revegetate, where practicable, will be selected instead of massive or
monumental bridges.
Simple cabins in the woods are conducive to relaxation and the blend-
ing of one's mental attitude with Nature's. On the other hand, a grand
hotel — whether in a city or in a national park — becomes like a morgue
unless it is filled with excitement, music, amusements.
Simplicity in living surroundings in a park begets restfulness — ^har-
mony with surroundings.
The Magna Charta of 1918 says that the park shall be made accessible
and habitable so that the natural attractions of the park may be enjoyed.
It does not say anything about making the parks accessible so amuse-
ments may be enjoyed in a beautiful setting nor does it say that attrac-
tions shall be provided so the people will come and be kept amused.
Lack of many artificial amusements will in the future tend to elimi-
nate many of our problems along with that type of person who goes to
the national park for the same reasons that he goes to Coney Island.
Curtailment of artificial amusements may tend to solve the congestion
problem which has so harassed certain park areas.
In new developments, the establishment of separated and single units
of limited size which will be complete in themselves with cabins, mess
accommodations, store, camp-fire, ranger service, etc., will tend to avoid
much of the citified appearance and resort atmosphere that might other-
wise develop. Even the citified actions may be tempered of people who
would like to forget the city if camp surroundings were conducive.
Time will be taken by the Service to reflect upon the guiding prin-
ciples of the Park Service, to analyze park values, to establish a goal of
perfection — not that we can reach perfection but that its attainment
may always be before us as a guide and ideal.
Many of our institutions have come from Europe — at least the trail
has been blazed. The one contribution of its type given to the white
man's world by America is the national park idea — the preserving of the
supreme scientific and intrinsic values of the primeval.
It is that one conception and its fulfillment — our yardstick if you
please — ^that has won the confidence of conservationists and the love of
the people for the national parks.
There is a grand future in the National Park System in the preserva-
tion of our grandest and most beautiful natural areas ; in the preservation
of the most precious bits of primeval country; in holding and imparting
the atmosphere of primeval wilderness; in the using of these gifts of
nature, generation after generation, in physical, mental and inspirational
upbuilding — Conservation and Use without destruction.
RECREATIONAL USE OF NATIONAL PARKS
Ideals
JOHN R. WHITE, Superintendent. Sequoia National Park, Calif.
IT IS an honor to be asked to speak before the American Planning and
Civic Association. It is still more an honor to be asked to speak on
"Ideals in the Recreational Use of the National Parks." But it is a
responsibility, for which I feel inadequate, to define those recreational
Ideals.
The Ideals of the Service as they affect the recreational use of the
national parks and those policies which must enforce Ideals, have, during
my nearly two decades in the Service, been laid down by several Secre-
taries of the United States Department of the Interior. They have in
recent years been strengthened and applied to changing conditions by
Secretary Ickes. During that time, also. Directors Mather, Albright,
and Cammerer have interpreted those Ideals and policies. It is natural
that I am hesitant to speak upon this subject.
There is also another reason for natural hesitation to speak on the
subject of Ideals. It might be inferred that, like all superintendents, I
am an idealist; but it might not be inferred that we are practical idealists.
It is an unfortunate thing that words are often used without clear defini-
tion. There is much misunderstanding of the word "Ideals" and more
perhaps of the word "idealist." In this discussion let us take the word
"Ideals" to mean the perfect picture of the national parks and the reten-
tion of that perfect picture through policies of protection and develop-
ment which will not injure it. Then, let us consider an "idealist" as one
engaged in the preservation of that perfect picture; but also as one who
has a sense of time and proportion, a feeling for men and women, with
some understanding of national history and politics and economics as
they must afiFect the national parks.
Above all, let us not put the idealists on one side and the realists on
the other side, for a national park man must be a bit of both. But let
him not compromise his ideals too far or he will be false to the men who
have preceded him and to the natural wonders of which he is the im-
mediate guardian.
There is much sneering at Ideals, sneering which may be indirect.
When I hear it I like to remember two sayings by men, very different
men, but both were men who loved the open air and the national parks.
Theodore Roosevelt said: "There is nothing more practical in the long
run than the preservation of beauty." Owen Wister said: "There are
millions of men who eat three square meals a day and are as dead as
doornails."
It would be idle of me to discuss here the broad, general Ideals of the
national parks; or even to mention those Ideals which we have tried to
live up to in Sequoia and Death Valley, unless a little time remains at
49
50 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
the end of this presentation. I feel that I should be concerned with the
relations of Ideals to the practical aspects of a superintendent's work.
Just let it be remembered that we are considering the preservation of
the perfect picture of the national parks, that perfect picture which is
chiefly affected by recreational use; and that use is, of course, inex-
tricably bound up with all other park uses. Then, of course, I speak with
special reference to that nucleus of the National Park System, the great
scenic parks which bind the Nation together in an encircling chain, criss-
crossed with links.
The important thing would seem to be that there is no confusion
about Ideals and about their application through policies to the varying
areas which make up the National Park System. Of next importance
seems to be the interpretation of Ideals through policies which must be
put into effect by the field officers of the Service.
Let us be clear on this: general policies may be written out in Wash-
ington; they may be interpreted and explained at other central adminis-
trative points; they may be spoken on platforms or around tables; or
they may be sent to the remotest habitation over the air and even into
the depths of the forest, the mountains and the deserts; but, finally,
they must be put into effect, into practical effect as they influence men,
places and events, by the men in the field and on the job. The man with
his feet on the soil, rubbing up against his fellow men, meeting the rush
of travel on the holiday, the rush of the river in flood, or the rush of
wild or semi-wild animals at park visitors : that is the man, be he super-
intendent or supervisor or custodian or any other designation, who must
give practical effect to policies. And as policies are rarely written which
can cover every case, the man in the field boots and on the job must do
as good a job of interpretation as he can.
Therefore, it is clear that the application of Ideals in recreation de-
pends on policies which in turn must run through proper channels from
the fountainhead in Washington to the faucets in the field. And all
depends on the men who keep the channels open and the men who turn
on the faucets.
With these preliminaries which have seemed necessary for a definition
of the subject, Ideals in recreation, let us turn to a brief consideration
of the question as it comes before us superintendents or others in the
national parks.
Two years ago, at our last Washington Superintendents' Conference,
there was presented a hastily prepared paper on "Atmosphere in the
National Parks." In the brighter light of two years' thought and con-
versations on the subject, let us consider some of the problems which
have come up in our western parks.
Today winter sports are all the rage. We can see the crest of the wave
which is sweeping over the country. What shall we do with that wave in
the national parks? Shall we ride the crest of the wave like the Hawaiian
NATIONAL PARKS 51
surf -rider; or shall we plunge through the wave and emerge the other
side, as the Hawaiian sometimes does; or shall we stand up against it
and be tumbled over breathless and get our lungs full of water and
perhaps of sand?
Of course the answer is, we must ride the crest, guiding the national
boat along and keeping it as dry as possible.
In Sequoia National Park we have now had over ten years' gradually
increasing winter use of the park for winter sports and we still feel as
we did two years ago when we went on record as follows :
Emphasis should be placed on opportunities for everyone to take part in
free sports rather than on featured performances and competition.
Skating rink, toboggan slide, and ski-runs should be as natural as possible
and with little or no artificial construction. No charge should be made for their
use. No attempt should be made to rival professional winter sports areas.
Winter sports should be incidental to winter use of the park, not entirely dom-
inate it.
Any mechanical aid to winter sports such as a ski-elevator or a toboggan
elevator is out of place. Improvement of facilities should be limited.
In an attempt to excel and to build up operators' winter accommodations,
there is a danger of commercializing winter sports and finally of injuring atmos-
phere and even scenery. If operators make considerable financial investment in
winter sports facilities, equipment, buildings, and so forth, there is danger that
winter sports will dominate the pictiure, be improperly commercialized, and make
a hurly-burly of the park in winter.
It will undoubtedly be argued — as it so often is — that the parks
belong to the people; that if they want upskis and sporting toboggan
courses or ski-jumps they have a right to have them in the national
parks as they have elsewhere in the private resorts, the state parks or
the national forests. It would take too much time now to refute that
argument, but I would like to sketch out at least one illustrative ex-
perience, and one deductive argument.
About fifteen years ago the country suddenly bloomed forth with
miniature golf courses. The operator at Giant Forest at that time — a fine
fellow and still a good friend of mine — insisted in no uncertain terms
that unless he were permitted to put in a miniature golf course he could
not compete with other resorts that were installing them. No other
comment is necessary at this time, fifteen years later, than to quote the
refrain of a song that was popular in my boyhood and is still popular.
Referring to miniature golf courses we can say, "But where is Casey
now?"
And to a perhaps lesser degree the same might be said of real golf
courses, tennis courts, badminton courts and artificial swimming pools.
At different times all have been advocated for Sequoia, but somehow or
other we are getting along without them.
Now for the deductive argument. It seems to us that the national
parks may be little worlds within a world; comparatively small areas
52 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
which may serve as laboratories for experiments in the education of the
pubHc out-of-doors. One experiments in a laboratory but is very careful
not to create an explosion which may wreck the tools. And, carrying the
analogy a little further, perhaps some distance further, there are experi-
ments today throughout the world in new government structures and
new economies. But in democracies certain safeguards exist against too
hasty yielding to what appears to be the popular will. So in the national
parks we must not hastily abandon our recreational ideals. The trees,
the rocks — all of that beauty, they have been there a long time. We can
afiFord to wait a little while before making our decisions.
In summer recreation, as in winter recreation, and in those recre-
ational features which are common to all seasons, and in the installation
of those utilities and adjuncts which have a bearing on recreation, it
seems to us that it is wise to go slowly. Two years ago in that same paper
which was so generously reproduced in part in the 1937 Annual of the
American Planning and Civic Association, we considered the following
matters as they affected the Ideals of recreation in the western national
parks, with special reference to the Sequoia National Park :
Campfire entertainments and educational work
Park entrance hours and quiet camps
Radios and loudspeakers
Dances
Tennis courts and golf courses
Swimming pools
Bands and music
Electric lighting
Motion pictures
The relations of public operators to recreation
CCC camps
It was an incomplete list but fairly comprehensive. Some of the
statements made two years ago need discussion and clearer definition.
It has become more evident to us in Sequoia that while the recreational
Ideals of the National Park System may be broadly defined, yet the
applications of them in the various parks must at times differ because
of local conditions. We feel that discussion here in this conference will
be more helpful than any paper that might be read. But before giving
way to that discussion I would like to touch in a small way on a large
and almost a new recreational problem in the National Park System.
Only within the last few years have we faced the question, the per-
plexing question of Ideals in recreation as they affect the desert. Although
we have long had desert or semi-desert areas among the southwestern
monuments, and particularly in the Petrified Forest National Monu-
ment, it is only four years ago that we acquired the two million acres
of Death Valley; and still more recently that we took over the large
Joshua Tree area.
The desert, it may well be queried, what Ideals of recreation need be
NATIONAL PARKS 58
applied in the desert? Surely those dry, sandy or gravel wastes and
mountains, those painted canyons and glaring cliffs — they cannot well
be harmed by any ordinary types of recreation?
I wish that I had twice the length of time afforded me for the whole
subject, just to dwell on the various aspects of recreation in the desert.
But it is only possible here to point out that many new questions arise;
and that one great attraction of the desert, its silence, has been but
little considered. We must give form to new Ideals in recreation for the
so-called desert areas, which are only deserts to the uninitiated. They
are to us who have learned to love them great spaces of distance and
beauty and silence — above all, silence where men can think more clearly
than in a noisy world.
In conclusion, I would like to dwell for a moment on the thought
that has become impressed on all of us who serve for a little while the
trees and the desert: that is, that the things of Nature remain and are
the only permanent and enduring things in a world of disordered change;
that the trees and the mountains and the desert have seen many civil-
izations rise to their peaks and crash to their falls; that they were un-
changed except by natural processes until modern man a few moments
ago in geologic time attacked them with his engines; that their beauty
and their silence are more necessary than ever and may be the deciding
factors in the existence of democracy, for man must get away from the
insistences of democracy if he desires to think out clearly the processes
by which democracy may be preserved . . . dwelling on these thoughts
from time to time we can return refreshed and confident to the realities
of life — to the roaring tunnels of city streets or the desks piled high
with papers.
These are new days, with a world in one of its century cycles of
change. But the parks are old, and age should balance youth. We like
to think that under the inspiring influences of our parks we may work
out together, all of us, some of the principles and policies that must
obtain outside the parks and throughout the Nation if democracy is to
survive.
And we like also to think that the milHons of our fellow citizens who
come for recreation to the national parks and other areas may sense the
Ideals of the parks through a practical contact with the result of them,
and may thus go back refreshed to their working life at home.
And as I quoted from a popular jingle earlier in this paper, permit
me to end with four lines of real poetry which were written seventy years
or so ago about Asia — and might well again be applied to the Far Eastern
situation of today in China:
The East bowed low before the blast
In patient, deep disdain.
She let the Legions thunder past
Then plunged in thought again.
54 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The Legions of the public come into the national parks. The Legions
come and the Legions pass. The Legions of the future may not want
what those of the present want. Our trees and our mountains and our
desert, all that remains of our national beauty, will be there, let us hope,
after we little men have gone. It is a pleasant, if sometimes a perplexing
task, to hold up our Ideals of recreation in the national parks and do our
share to preserve that beauty.
Present Uses
EDMUND B. ROGERS, Superintendent, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
ARE the national parks dedicated to two diverse concepts of land use?
jLjl The establishing acts incorporate almost identical wording.
Each area is "dedicated and set apart as a public park for the benefit
and enjoyment of the people of the United States." The Yellowstone
act reads as a "pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the
people." On the other hand, the acts specifically charge the administra-
tive authority with the duty of providing the proper regulations for the
preservation of the areas "and their retention in their natural condition."
There are some who believe that to fulfill the purpose set forth in
the dedication, the areas should be open to the free, unrestricted use of
the American public. Let man do as his fancy finds. But man is a de-
structive agency. His unrestrained presence is inconsistent with pres-
ervation. What he does not destroy, he modifies. Under such circum-
stances we would thus be faced with two incompatible concepts of land
use, neither of which would have priority over the other. Neither would
have right of way. Neither should step aside for the other. Each would
be present at the sacrifice and toleration of the other.
It was not until after 17 national parks had been established that
there was a restatement of basic national park policy. Yellowstone
National Park had been in existence 44 years. Yosemite had had national
park status 26 years. The Act of xA.ugust 25, 1916, to establish the Na-
tional Park Service sets forth the "fundamental purpose" of the National
Park Service in these words: "to conserve the scenery and the natural
and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the
enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave
them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This state-
ment clarifies the picture and places the emphasis on the preservation
aspect. It gives preservation a certain priority over the recreational use
by defining certain limitations on the latter. Under this mandate of
Congress, if we are to fulfill the trust of preservation, some restriction
on the type and extent of the recreational use of the parks must be
imposed.
Thus those who are charged with the administration of the national
NATIONAL PARKS 55
parks find themselves under way on a dangerous rock-bound course.
The channel is narrow, beset with tide rips, cross currents, and un-
charted reefs. It is defined only by forbidden shores, neither of which
can be approached nor lost sight of. There can be no turning back. Reef
the sails if you can, but the current sweeps on.
While we cannot divorce the two concepts, we are concerned at the
moment with only one, which, for lack of a more appropriate term, we
call "the recreational use" of the national parks. Recreation is a strong,
vital word. It is defined by Webster as "Act of recreating; or state of
being recreated; refreshment of the strength and spirits after toil."
You will note that it is not the nature of the act that is recreation; it is
the effect of the act that makes it recreation. Recreation is a by-product
of some activity or state. An activity, physical, mental, or spiritual,
may be recreational. It is not what is done; it is what is assimilated
that makes an act recreation.
Approaching recreation in the broad sense, the field of the national
parks is very limited. The parks cannot and should not attempt to pro-
vide recreational facilities of every type. Any form of recreation that is
inconsistent with preservation is disqualified by law. Thus any forms
which require modification of natural conditions or artificial structures
are eliminated. The recreational activities of the national parks can be
justified only by limiting them to those phases in which the parks are
eminently qualified. This might be defined as those phases in which
the esthetic values of nature contribute an essential or vital part. This
would exclude the development of any facilities for recreation in which
environment is a negligible factor in the enjoyment or benefits derived,
that is, any form that is self-sufficient.
We cannot here go into details. We cannot weigh and classify each
individual form of recreation. Of necessity we must deal in broad groups.
Without question the scope of the national parks' use includes that
group who gain recreation from passive association with nature. Persons
of this group find recreation in the presence of nature without the
necessity of actual contact with it or of physical activity. This group is
characterized by one who says: "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help." He presents us with no problem. Make
nature accessible to him and we fulfill our trust.
There is a larger group who find recreation in nature, but only
through intimate contact with it. This group includes the hiker, the
horseback rider, the mountain climber, the camper, who must have
some physical activity to gain recreation. He must feel the spray and
hear the thunder of the falls. He must reach the summit of the mountain.
He must seek out and study the individual flower where it grows. He
must feel the crowd of the forest. He must match his strength against
the elements. For him are the trails and the campgrounds. To this group
the national parks are appropriately available for winter sports. Prob-
56 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
ably no other use of the areas is more consistent with preservation than
cross-country skiing or snowshoeing. No dynamite or shovel must pre-
cede to clear the trail. The ground cover is protected from damage with
a blanket of snow. The spring sun obliterates the last evidence. However,
winter sports activities which require extensive artificial structures,
grading, clearings, must be disqualified from the national park field of
recreation.
The uses described are beyond reproach. Under stress and pressure,
less desirable popular forms of recreation have crept into certain parks;
for example, tennis and golf. Both require artificial structures and golf
by its nature requires space which cannot be reconciled with our preser-
vation concept. These are games which involve high concentration. It is
hard to conceive that the presence of the Grand Canyon, El Capitan,
Mount Rainier, or the Yellowstone Falls would contribute anything to
the game itself.
There is one phase of the recreational use of the national parks that
must not be overlooked. The leasing of ground within the national parks
for the purpose of public accommodations is specifically provided for
by law. Certain general limitations have been placed by law around
this authority. But just how much area can be consistently dedicated
to this purpose? Each development involves necessary utilities which
extend ever-growing arms into the wilderness. With the rapid increase
in travel, must accommodations be provided for everyone who elects to
arrive.'' Must we be expected to make provision for peak loads?
The Organic Act creating the National Park Service says that: "The
service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal
areas ... by such means and measures as conform to the funda-
mental purpose of said parks."
That is an intelligible statement and means nothing more than that
we should provide for the type of use that each area is best suited to
give. Areas that are set apart primarily for their scenic attractions and
outstanding natural wonders must be adequately provided with roads
and accommodations to care for the people who come to see them.
There would be no justifiable reason to construct such roads and ac-
commodations in an area that is set up primarily to preserve its roadless
and primitive character. Yet, both types of areas are now governed
by the general policies of the Organic Act and, in those cases where a
park is sufficiently large, both types of area are found, and each is con-
served to render its particular type of use. Does that mean that all
national parks must have roads and peak-load accommodations? I think
the answer is plainly "no." There is no reason why extensive primitive
areas should not be set apart as parks to be developed and used by trails
only. Under such practices, certain areas, such as the lake region of
northern Minnesota, could be adequately used by merely taking ad-
vantage of the natural waterways already provided, and by the con-
NATIONAL PARKS 57
struction of such trails and rustic shelters as would be necessary for
trail and canoe transportation.
On the other hand, parkways and historic sites are developed to meet
the requirements of millions of visitors, and rightly so. Those who would
insist that all park developments must be of one type have failed to
recognize the different kinds of nationally important exhibits that the
National Park System is set up to conserve. The only simple element
in the mandates of the Organic Act is that the developments must be
conducive to the enjoyment of the objects to be preserved, whether
those objects be wilderness, scenery, geological phenomena, historic
sites and buildings, or outstanding biological communities.
These are the different types of recreational developments — and you
may call them inspirational or educational, or by any other name, if
you so please — that we are now trying to provide. There is no question
that mistakes have been made. Where they have been made, we hope
to correct them. We believe that, in the main, our course is right and
we submit it to you for your consideration and appraisal.
Park, Parkway and Recreational- Area Study
HARRY CURTIS, Regional Supervisor, Recreation Study, Region II,
National Park Service, Omaha, Nebr.
THE National Park Service is the accredited Federal agency dealing
solely in parks and recreation. The Park Service does have a duty
and can fulfill a function by participating with the States in the develop-
ment of a long-range plan, in master planning of individual areas to take
care of established recreational needs, in assisting with the coordination
of the recreational facilities and services provided by different agencies,
public and private, and in keeping such long-range plan and master
plans up to date, current, and alive, and in adding its support to the
execution of the recommendation of these plans. It is believed that this
should be the main and proper function of the National Park Service, in
dealing with the forty-eight States in state recreation. To assure coordi-
nation of its own fine system of parks with those of other agencies, and
most important, disseminating through its contacts throughout the
country the best development in each of the other States, the Park
Service may further the provision of adequate recreational facilities to
meet the needs of the Nation.
W^ith the exception of Iowa's twenty-five-year plan of conservation,
California's Olmsted report and plan, the 1932 recommendations of the
Illinois Board of Park Advisors, the unpubUshed plans of the Indiana
Conservation Department, the New York State Plans, and perhaps a
very few others in States with which I am not familiar, a broad, general
recreation plan and policy for each of the States was entirely lacking.
58 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The first state park CCC camps were located on the most outstanding
recreation areas and others following were assigned according to the
best judgment of the state park officials and the National Park Service
state representatives.
It was, of course, impossible to expect the various States to have
worked out in advance suflBicient plans to utilize profitably the sudden
and unexpected Federal funds for labor and material made available by
the CCC in 1933 on adequately justified projects.
To many of the States it soon became apparent that in order to util-
ize to the fullest the available CCC labor and material funds, and most
adequately to provide recreation facilities, much factual information
was required on the needs of the people and the relative merits of exist-
ing and proposed areas. The assembling of a broad, general plan of
recreation was soon to become a necessity and its continuation and im-
provements to keep pace with changing times, a continuing requirement.
It became equally apparent that such planning was essential in safe-
guarding Federal funds to insure their use for obtaining the best con-
structive achievements in the most used and usable locations.
In the type of development being undertaken in areas under con-
struction, in the priority of occupying new areas for construction, and
in concurring with the States in recommending acquisition of new areas,
it obviously became necessary to determine the recreational requirements
of the people through a carefully analyzed general recreation plan.
Confronted with the financial responsibility of maintenance of facilities
constructed through the CCC, state officials became increasingly anxious
that such developments be placed where the need was the greatest and
where popular support for their maintenance was at hand.
The aim of any well-conceived recreation plan then should be the
provision of an adequate recreation plant at the least construction cost,
and with the least maintenance requirements.
It was not until June 23, 1936, that the Park, Parkway and Recre-
ation Study Act was approved by the President. This bill stated in
part: "The Secretary of the Interior is authorized and directed to cause
the National Park Service to make a comprehensive study other than
on lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of Agriculture, of the
public park, parkway and recreational area programs of the United States
and of the several states and political subdivisions thereof, and of the
lands throughout the United States which are or may be chiefly valuable
as such areas. The said study shall be such as in the judgment of the
Secretary will provide data helpful in developing a plan for coordinated
and adequate public park, parkway and recreational area facilities for
the people of the United States." The bill states further: "The Secretary
is authorized to aid the several States and political subdivisions thereof,
planning of such areas therein, and in cooperating with one another to
accomplish these ends." The National Park Service is authorized to
NATIONAL PARKS 59
assist the States and their poHtical subdivisions in planning for their
recreational needs, and directed to prepare an integrated national plan
of recreation.
A little more than a year ago the Park Service issued a manual
entitled "Park, Parkway and Recreational Area Study," setting forth
the requirements for developing the national plan. At the same time a
small staff of planners were set up in the Washington Office and in each
of the four regional offices, while state supervisors were appointed to
initiate field work.
It is clearly evident that any adequate national plan must be based
on a series of well-conceived state plans, later to be properly integrated
with each other into a unified national plan. It is true that a state
recreation plan to be of the maximum value to the State in future ac-
quisition, construction, development, maintenance, operation, and
legislation, must be prepared by or have the benefit of the experience
and ideas of the state park authorities and also the state planning
authorities.
The state park agency, the organization to be aided by a state recre-
ation plan, and which will benefit most from the correlation of state
plans into a national picture, has been, in most States, the group most
actively interested and has taken the lead in the state study. Cooperat-
ing with these park authorities are the various state planning boards,
fact-finding agencies, whose information and ideas are indispensable to
a proper study.
For the national recreation plan, the study manual sets out rather
specifically the factual information required and the technique of de-
veloping the report. The requirements of the various state plans, how-
ever, have not been standardized and must vary in their context and
approach to fit the various problems to be met in each case. Each of
the forty-eight States has its own pressing and particular recreation
problems — problems whose early solution means much to the recreation
program within the State.
The publishing of such a state report by the park department or the
State Planning Board, concurred in by the National Park Service and
given proper dissemination throughout the States to organizations and
individuals interested and influential in recreation could in most cases
secure sufficient public support to obtain legislative concurrence in the
required developments and plans. Each state park authority has con-
tinually in his mind his own particular problems. Each will be confronted
with the problem of budget approval. Many will seek land acquisition
and development funds. Some will require legislative action; others
wish backing to appoint necessary technical and administrative per-
sonnel qualified to meet the problems confronting the state organization.
To delay for a millenium the perfect plan, would be unpardonable.
As park planners we must guard against being carried away by the
60 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CI\1C ANNUAL
splendor of a theoretical approach to a mechanically complete plan at
the expense of letting opportunities for immediate improvements fall
by the wayside.
Throughout the country, park authorities and planning boards are
laboring with the cooperation of the National Park Service to complete
and publish state recreation reports analyzing the immediate problems
and working out recommendations for the betterment of the state's
services in the recreation field.
From the Middle West, a state report for Illinois, for example, has
been completed by the Department of Public Works and Buildings with
the cooperation of the State Planning Board, the Chicago Regional
Planning Association and with the full-time consultant service and as-
sistance of a State Supervisor of the National Park Service. This report,
upon concurrence by the National Park Service in its context, will be
returned to Blinois and be published by the State Planning Board and
Department of Public Works and Buildings. Chiefly the Illinois plan
outlines a land acquisition program. A carefully worked out and detailed
policy section recommends planning and development standards for
parks in the Illinois system. A proper classification of present holdings
was considered important and was adopted in the plan. The present
technical organization and maintenance and operation funds seem
adequate. However, the dividing of the State into districts was recom-
mended. The qualifications of custodians and maintenance personnel
were recommended to be raised.
The first published state recreation reports will not cover all of the
points necessary in the preparation of the national plan. They will, how-
ever, have served their purpose in recommending a solution of the most
immediate and pressing problems of the States. Regional studies such
as metropolitan Chicago and its environs may be started from the
original reports. The state and the Park Service field personnel may then
assemble the necessary additional information to prepare the first
national plan.
The various States and the Park Service, in participating in the prepa-
ration of state reports, definitely are furthering the ends of assuring
proper recreational facilities. These agencies, by taking the lead in long-
range planning and in planning the proper solution of the recreation
problem in the States, has begun a task that is more important than any
construction projects which may have been, or may be, undertaken by
the Federal Government in state parks or metropolitan recreational
areas. It is certainly true that such planning will make it easier to
obtain from a legislature, funds for land acquisition, for development,
and for maintenance of these same developments.
The Federal Government has no desire to, and is not taking over,
state recreation but it may be very helpful in assisting the States to
obtain proper maintenance and operation funds and personnel.
NATIONAL PARKS 61
The CCC bill passed by the last Congress extending the services of
the corps for three more years definitely placed the allocation of new
camps on the basis of the State's ability to operate and maintain devel-
oped facilities. Certainly from the standpoint of the government, the
assurance of proper protection and use of facilities built with CCC labor
and material funds, is a reasonable request. It is equally true that as-
surance of proper operation and maintenance is an asset to the state
park organization just as inadequate maintenance and operation would
reflect adversely on the organization.
In summation, then, the Park Service has these two functions within
the States: (1) Participating in long-range planning, in master planning
and in guiding the provision of proper legislation, financing and personnel
for the operation of recreational facilities, and (2) the responsibility of
proper allocation and of expediting the work of CCC camps in accord-
ance with the developed state and national plans where proper adminis-
tration and operation are assured.
Relation of Operators to Recreation
DON TRESIDDER, President, Yosemite Park and Curry Company,
Yosemite National Park, Calif.
WITH the coming of inexpensive cars, higher wages, better roads,
and more leisure, the resultant increase in travel very suddenly
dropped into the lap of the National Park Service the problem of han-
dling traffic that was growing rapidly from year to year. The work of
preparing for the next year's increase absorbed most of the energy and
planning power of the people responsible for handling this great influx
of travel. In recent years, growing apprehension has been felt lest we
lose sight of the fact that these parks were set aside to be preserved in
their original scenic integrity and atmosphere; lest, in the rush of han-
dling people, we forget the primary obligation of the Park Service.
In recent years there has been apprehension, much justified, that
perhaps in some respects the job was not quite what it should be. There
has been criticism, justified for the most part, written and spoken, in-
tended by you and people of your group to aid responsible administrators
in directing their energies along lines that would get the result all of us
agree is the one we should have. No one likes criticism, even if it is
justified, whether it is an agency or a bureau or an individual or a
company. Particularly is criticism resented if it is unjustified. I appear
before you with the idea that along with a lot of justified criticism, there
is also a great deal of careless, poorly considered criticism of what we
are attempting to do. I refer to it not from the point of view of resent-
ment, but with the idea that one of the best defenses for our National
Park System is active, intelligent, well-directed criticism; and to the
m AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
extent that that criticism fails to lay a background of fact, it fails to
produce a good result and turn people's minds from what they are at-
tempting to do properly to meet issues that should not have been
issues.
I speak for a modest business in a park that is commonly felt in some
quarters to be one of the worst examples of overdevelopment and over-
commercialization that we have in the Park System. In talking to you
I am not apologizing for what has happened, nor am I attempting to
divert your attention from what is happening to something else. I am
speaking, I hope, in a presentation of a picture of park operation that
will enable you more accurately to see how the job is being done. I am
speaking as a businessman who is trying to operate a business in a
park, to make a profit and meet the primary responsibility that he ac-
cepted when he took his contract — a responsibility which was laid down
originally by Secretary of the Interior Lane, who said that "because
of the nature of national park areas," it followed that the public interest
must at all times dictate the decisions affecting private interests. It has
almost become a matter of social distinction in some places in the
country to say that Yosemite Valley is ruined and that it has been over-
commercialized to the extent that people visiting there cannot get their
measure of enjoyment. Secretary Lane realized that the system of more
or less scattered operations under annual revocable permits would have
to be discontinued in favor of operations that would permit the Govern-
ment to look to one concern and say, "We want these facilities in
these places to render these services, in order that the visiting public
may be properly cared for, and only such facilities be built and placed
on park property as are needed in the interest of adequate service." With
the announcement of the policy, he laid down these considerations which
have guided the development since: First, that the area should be un-
impaired for all time, and he emphasized in every paragraph of his
original declaration and instructions to his ofiBcers that that was to be
the measuring stick of what would happen to a park; not recreation, —
the second point — which was benefit and use of the area, nor the third
point, which was the providing of those facilities for the visiting people
that they reasonably required in their recreation and their sightseeing
and tourist activities in a park. Starting with that, the National Park
Service was built up.
The going of Mr. Mather and Mr. Albright and many of the other
old guards is given by critics as an indication that the new group, coming
from other fields, men who are not so-called "old-line employees" of the
Park Service, have not got the picture, that they are not capable of
absorbing the interest and the policy declaration of the people for whom
they are working. Beyond everything else there is a worry that the
operator may, in his desire to make more money, which is a natural
urge we all recognize, press so hard and become so influential that he
NATIONAL PARKS 63
will warp the judgment of the people responsible for park administra-
tion in ways that, in the end, will be damaging to the parks.
The Yosemite, in a recent article, was described as an area in the
valley that was no longer a wilderness area. That, of course, is true,
because the Yosemite Valley changed its atmosphere when the first
tourist party entered it in 1851. It changed even more when the first
roads were built in 1874. Another big change came in 1907 with the
coming of the railroad, and just in proportion to the degree of reasonable
accessibility, either through ease of traffic or inexpensive travel, so did
it open up the park to an ever-widening group of people. Originally it
required so much time and cost so much money to visit a park that the
park patronage was naturally selective. Only those people with money
and leisure could visit a park; and it followed, too, that these people
had had good educational opportunities generally, and a fine feeling for
the out-of-doors. But overnight, into the Yosemite, five hours from
San Francisco with a million and a half people, eight hours from Los
Angeles with approximately three million people, located in California
which has more year-round roads and more automobiles than any State
in the Union, came millions of people who had never been on a park
expedition before in their lives and who had no conception of what a
park was supposed to be. Right there began the trend that concerns all
of you so deeply, and I may say, concerns us so deeply. Because, instead
of dealing with an essentially educated outdoor group, we were then
dealing with the caprices, the desires, the wishes of a whole gamut of
civilization from the slums up.
I will illustrate. Most of the people who enter the park have
had no previous experience and do not realize that they are part of
several hundred thousand. A few years ago in the Yosemite Valley,
while looking through the window of the Ahwahnee Hotel on to the wild-
flower gardens, we saw, on a crowded holiday in which there happened
to be nearly 27,000 people in that seven-by-one-mile area in two days, a
car containing a man, a wife, and three children calmly drive out onto
the wildflower garden and unpack their tent for camping. The operator
headed for them with wrath in his eye, only seeing that picture as it
looked from the delightfully restrained atmosphere of the Ahwahnee
Hotel. Before he could say what he had in his mind, the woman let the
story out that it was their first car, their first vacation, their first visit
to a park from the Mission Street area of San Francisco. They had
pictured that park as green grass, a lovely river, and plenty of room to
camp. It happened to be the only time they were going to get away that
particular year, being Memorial Day. The man was not one of those
people with two weeks' or five days' vacation, but had just that week-
end holiday. When they arrived at the park they found that 15,000
others already were in the campground where perhaps four or five
thousand should be and they did not find the grass and the lovely river
64 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
they expected; but near the Ahwahnee Hotel, there was the answer to
their idea of what they had planned for and saved for for years. It took
nearly three years to eradicate that little track that they left, multiplied
by 15,000 that holiday, and yet they never meant to do any damage,
but simply to enjoy the park.
Another incident is this. During the last few days someone asked
whether we could remove every bit of artificial amusement and enter-
tainment from the Yosemite in such a manner that only those people
who wanted to get the feeling of the out-of-doors and solitude and camp-
ing would come. Could we not eliminate all those fellows with radios
and all those who come to dance? Sometimes an operator or a Govern-
ment man wonders whether anybody should be in a park or not because
of the ever-increasing problems that arise out of the handling of one
person multiplied by five hundred thousand. Last summer on the
Fourth of July, which happened to be Sunday, three boys who had come
into the Yosemite on motorcycles, first trip, were in one of the wash-
rooms of a popular camp and I overheard this conversation : One of the
men said, "Do they dance in this joint.'*" and the second chap said,
"Sho dey dances in this joint." He said, "Do they dance every night.''"
The second said "Sho dey dance every night." Finally, the fellow said,
"Do they dance on Sunday night?" I said, "No, on Sunday night they
don't dance." He said, "What do they expect us to do in this joint?
Look at the scenery?"
Whether we like it or not, we have to deal with every kind of person,
from these boys up to a person of such discrimination and feeling for
the place that he cannot enjoy it if anybody is with him. There are those
who feel that if one person climbs a mountain and gets there through
his own effort, that is better than ten thousand climbing it by car. We
are not going to discuss that, but as a place is made available by car,
certain problems thereafter have to be dealt with that are not peculiar
to the money-making desires of an operator or to the lack of definition
of policy of the Park Service. They arise out of differences in the people
themselves.
In this same article to which I am alluding there was a statement
about the Tuolumne Meadows, and the fact that a high-speed road was
being put through this place for no reason at all and that the atmosphere
was hopelessly lost. If it ever was desirable to preserve the Tuolumne
Meadows unimpaired and as a wilderness area, then not even a trail
should have gone in there. If a trail already was there, then certainly
no wagon road should have gone in, because, even in my lifetime I can
recall the unforgettable experience of camping in the Tuolumne Meadows
where there was no road. When this new highway was proposed two
years ago, people said, "Well, we have the present road; why have
another?" The new automobiles can climb faster, steeper, better, than
the old automobiles. The old automobile could not go up a grade so
NATIONAL PARKS 65
fast that you did not have time to protect yourself coming down in the
opposite direction. But now, automobiles are running around on a road
that is 9 feet wide and, in several places, so narrow that cars cannot
pass for miles on a 27 per cent grade, and yet all these drivers want to
make the top in high. It became a question, either of closing that road
or building a road on which people could travel in comparative comfort
and safety. There was no excuse for putting a road through that would
be so difficult that people could not travel safely on it.
Better and better roads, even before this new one, brought more
and more campers, and it became apparent that some system must be
installed. It became apparent that campgrounds must have sanitary
facilities. A whole new sewer system at 8,500 feet altitude, right through
the middle of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, was needed. The restriction
of camping to the smallest possible spaces made it possible to preserve
the wider areas. Then came a thousand automobiles, bringing five thou-
sand people, and this summer sixty thousand people. Then what hap-
pened.'^ A gasoline station was needed. It would not be placed off in
the woods. It was needed at the nearest accessible point, or otherwise
a staff would be required to show motorists where to find it. We have no
hope of ever making money from a gasoline station there, but we had
to put one in. We have no hope of ever making money out of roadside
housekeeping camps. We have them. We have no hope of making money
out of grocery stores at these camps, because they cannot open until
the first of July and have to close about the first of September. Two
months! It is hopeless from the start.
So anything we do is in the nature of carrying out a primary respon-
sibility to the Park Service to give such facilities as the public requires.
This summer there were as many as two and three thousand campers
at night in the Tuolumne Meadows, many more than entered the
Yosemite Valley in an entire month in 1915!
Next, the article which I have cited said that people, when they come
to a park, should be allowed to have only simple pleasures, that we
should give them nothing else. I want to point out that the more wide-
spread the patronage is, the more different kinds of people there are, the
more complex becomes the problem of what to offer.
Many years ago, when Superintendent Thomson was still alive, we
decided in Yosemite Valley that we would stop dancing in the upper
Valley, with the idea that all the people in the campgrounds could take
a walk after dinner. We would stop the campfire entertainment with
the thought that we wanted to keep the feeling and spirit of the out-of-
doors sincerely. But we found that that was all right for one group who
knew what to do and enjoyed taking a walk and were not afraid to be
alone; but we found a great group of people that heretofore had not been
recognized, who actually did not know how to take a walk by themselves
in the evening or sit around their own campfires. Drinking, spooning
66 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
under the trees, wandering out in dark places, gambling, grew up to a
great extent. The Government itself — not the operator with his idea of
making money out of everything — reversed its decision, with the thought
of giving park patrons a couple of hours of something to do, and also
providing entertainment for a thousand young people working for the
operator from the first of May until well into September. These employ-
ees wanted something to do and so, on the request of the superintendent,
the experiments having been given a good trial, we opened again a
dancing pavilion, not with the thought that this was peculiarly fitted to
be a park activity, but with the realization that in the Yosemite Valley,
with a changing population of 8,000 or 10,000 people at a time, problems
of what they are going to do with their time arise immediately. I em-
phasize it with the thought, not to defend the position, but to get clearly
in your minds that that situation exists and is to be reckoned with in
any plan of park development or control.
One illustration of that: Some years ago members of this very or-
ganization, and some of them my closest personal friends, discussed the
problem with me. They said: "Yosemite Valley is no longer a primitive
area. We have got to turn our attention to real primitive areas in this
park and develop some facilities where people can go who do not want
to be mixed up in these great crowds." We conceived the idea of little
camps ten miles apart on trails, no roads. We were going to serve a meal,
just a "pot-o'-mulligan." We were not even going to give them blankets
or floors in their tents, nor were we going to give them linen. They were
going to be permitted to take a seven-day walk around the park circuit
on the theory that they could do what then only the rich could by going
out with a pack train which costs fifteen to twenty dollars a day per
person. So the six camps were opened up ten miles apart. No running
water, old earth toilets, and just a tent with a dirt floor, a cot and a
mattress. The hikers were supposed to bring their own towels, linen,
sleeping bag, or whatnot. The thought was that teachers, people of small
means. Boy Scouts, and others would use these camps and they never
would be permitted to be elaborated. But what happened to them?
First, running water. No, the very people who had been in on the con-
ception of these camps, when they got into camp, did not like the idea
of going down to the river to bathe. They wanted floors in the tents.
Then they needed to have linen on the beds. Then the physical exertion
of carrying their blankets or sleeping bags was so great that they asked
why we did not provide bedding. At first, we were offering no butter.
Nothing like that. No fresh eggs. But the children wanted to go.
Parents could not bring their children without milk and butter and eggs
and when that camp got through we were offering just about the same
type of service as you would get in any place in a city, maid service,
running water, flushing toilets. Not amusements, not dances, because
the camps only have a capacity of 50 people. We resisted and resisted.
NATIONAL PARKS 67
This has all been going on for fifteen years. But we wound up with
shower baths and the whole completed story, linen, fresh towels, and all.
I want to tell one more thing about the Yosemite Valley. About two
years ago a writer with the thought of helping the picture, not hurting
it, came into the park to look over the situation. He wrote a series on
national parks for a magazine. He discussed the mistake of the deluxe
hotel in Yosemite. He discussed the fact that a swimming pool should
not be in the Valley, He went on to comment on the dance pavilion and
a number of other things. He stayed in that park about two weeks. He
lived at the Ahwahnee. He had room service most of the mornings.
His family went swimming every day. They all enjoyed the dance at
night. I do not mean that he was not sincere; I merely mean that you
have one attitude toward a park if you only stay overnight, are tired as
you can be and expect to go on some place else next day. But suppose
you are going to stay two weeks. Then you want the amenities. I hardly
ever meet a man who does not want to do something other than walk
along the stream or hunt for solitude or enjoy just the simpler measure
of the mountains if he stays any length of time. And so in this latest
story of the over-commercialization of the Yosemite, it was pointed out
that camping in the upper Valley was a matter of psychology, that
people came to the upper Valley because of the fact that Camp Curry
was there with the dance hall, liquor store, cafeteria and soda fountain.
How absurd! The campgrounds in the lower Valley were there. The
people came to the upper Valley because the highest concentration of
scenic value in the whole Yosemite Valley is there — the most charming
river banks, the finest views, the most beautiful ground-cover, the
heaviest pine-needle fall. When Camp Curry was started, we did not
look around and say, "We'll take this particular place" and then by
our means of infiltration and promotion of business draw around us ten
thousand campers. No. The campers looked for the most attractive
area, and said, "Here is the place, the nearest to the trails, the nicest
country," and established their camp.
The thought of discontinuing facilities in the upper Valley was sug-
gested in this article. Parenthetically, I might add that there is no
liquor store. I do not know where that conception came from because
there never has been one and the operator would resign rather than let
beer be sold on the place. The writer of the article wanted to discontinue
those services when the cafeteria is the sole means of serving meals to
those campers who do not want to cook their own meals. There we have
a cafeteria serving 700 dinners in the busiest season and a dining-room
that is serving nearly 1,800 more, not because we want to be as big as
we can, but because that many people want to eat.
What does that lead to.? It leads to this, as I see it. The National
Park Service is not wavering and making mistakes due to a lack of
fundamental policies that are all written and announced. It is not
68 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
deliberately putting twice the number of people in an area that can
comfortably live there. It is battling with all its might to do just the
contrary. The Park Service is organized as it never was before to protect
the interests of everybody, to give more intelligent study to every prob-
lem. Then, what is the difficulty.'* It gets down to the fact, first, that if
we are going to control development in parks and if there are to be any
wilderness areas, the answer is not to begin at the tail and work back-
wards, but to prevent improvements from starting. If you do not
want an area to be developed, do not let it start, even with a trail. The
change in the atmosphere of an area depends on the number of people
going in, and at the present time, if an area is under development, the
yardstick, as I know it, is this: What determines the number of people
that ought to be in a given area under existing policies? First, is the
number of people coming in jeopardizing the scenic integrity.? If so,
that is too many people. Secondly, if there are so many different kinds
of things with so many different types of amusements and recreation
that the atmosphere is changed, not the mountains, but the very feeling
of the place, then activities should be limited. The final yardstick can
be called a mandate of pleasure to the extent that the Yosemite Valley
can give man days of satisfaction in this area, or pleasure and enjoyment
in that area, to the extent that those man days add up to more benefit
to the public in true terms of enjoyment than the disadvantages of
having that many people in there, up to the point that those two things
meet. The time comes, as it has, when the man-day enjoyment is drop-
ping and the mmiber of people increasing. That is true in Yosemite.
Something must be done about it. When the point is reached where
the man-day pleasures go down, you do what a business does — you turn
around and retrench. We must make a change that will bring fewer people
in there at one time. One way is by developing other areas not now
developed and not intensively scenic — areas in the park comparable to,
let us say, a national forest. And there are thousands of such acres in
the park. Not every acre of the 1,194 square miles is an acre of Yosemite-
Valley standard. There are unlimited areas for development outside the
park. The next step is to determine the number of people that can be in
any given place comfortably, as was suggested, and beyond that to
work out a mechanism to see that not more than that number of people
get in. Finally, we can develop certain areas at seasons when the greatest
number of people are not there — winter, fall, and spring.
In summing up, I want to emphasize that while we recognize the
problem and try to be patient under real criticism, we hope you will
comprehend the fundamental conception of the difficulties with which
we are confronted and direct your criticism toward constructive moves
that will lead us into ways of solution which will not involve dissolution
of one class for the benefit of another.
WILDERNESS AREAS
Development of National Parks for Conservation
THOMAS C. VINT, Chief of Planning, National Park Service
THE founding of Yellowstone Park in 1872 marked the first tangible
change in our national attitude toward our national land policy
which, since the days of the pilgrim fathers, had been one of conquering
the wilderness. That area was set aside to be preserved for its own value.
Since then the conservation movement has moved along considerably
and accomplished many fine things. Of these the movement to protect
the wilderness solely for its own values, as expressed in the proposals to
set aside wilderness areas, is perhaps the most extreme of the conserva-
tion viewpoints that have developed.
The growth of a protective attitude toward wilderness values in this
country, particularly in the last decade, is an important asset to our
national parks. It gives strong support to a restraining hand in the plan-
ning and authorization of development programs, but in its present
status, it is more or less in the crusade period. Its enthusiasts are carry-
ing the banner to new frontiers. While I agree with the crusade for the
protection of wilderness, I am inclined to feel that in the current enthusi-
asm the expression wilderness area has been subject to much abuse and
there may be some confusion as to what it means.
Webster defines wilderness as "a tract of land, or a region, whether a
forest of a wide barren plain, uncultivated and uninhabited by human
beings; a wild; waste; hence, a pathless waste of any kind."
This definition implies an area of considerable size, permits no culti-
vation, no habitation by human beings. The phrase a "pathless waste"
implies no trails or roads. These terms are rather clear and extreme.
While the wilderness quality can be considered as one of the values of
national park areas, to do no more than to estabhsh them as wilderness
areas does not solve the national park problem.
If we could accept Webster's definition of wilderness without quali-
fication and apply it as a single development policy to our national
parks, our problem would be simple. The development plan could be
limited to the construction of an effective barrier around the boundary.
The administration would not need to go beyond an adequate control
to prevent trespass.
The National Park Service could fulfill its charge, that of protection
and preservation, to the ultimate. However, our national park law in-
cludes the words "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people." These
words mean a direct clash with those of protection and preservation.
It is the finding of the point of compromise between these two that
makes the daily work of the National Park Service. Every move is a
decision between preservation and protection on one hand, and the
70 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
benefit and enjoyment of the people on the other. Benefit and enjoy-
ment are words of wide latitude. The phrase "the people," particularly
in a democracy, has a broad meaning and versatile uses. Once you step
into the realm of employing a tract of land for human use and enjoyment,
you enter the field of landscape architecture.
Let us consider the problem of a plan for a new national park. Let
us take a wilderness area — an untouched natural area containing some
superlative natural values and outstanding natural features — and
designate it a national park. It contains the ultimate in natural land-
scapes. Man cannot duplicate nor can he build better. In the sense of
landscapes the landscape work is done. No development work is neces-
sary. The landscape architect might agree with the wilderness enthusiast
to build a barrier around the boundary and patrol it to prevent trespass.
But what about "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people"?
The landscape architect, if he is practical, asks two questions: How
many people are you going to admit? What are you going to let them
do? Answer these and he can work out a development plan for the area.
At what point will you trespass on the wilderness or intrude on the
perfect natural landscapes?
Homo Sapiens out of all the animal kingdom is a creature that must
be doing something about his surroundings. He disturbs the natural
more than any other animal to obtain his daily needs. Carry him
through the various stages of civilization and he finds he must set aside
a little patch of the natural and protect it in order to have any at all.
Assume that we will admit only one or two persons and require them
to travel afoot on their own resources. The area is still pathless, but
for how long? In entering the pathless wilderness, a man, by nature,
will blaze or mark his trails. Let him repeat or let another follow and
they will, by nature, follow the blazed trail or even a footprint of the
first man through. Increase the number of visitors and before long there
is an established path. Increase that number again several fold or a
hundredfold and the damage under foot increases and spreads.
At some point it is worthwhile, as a means of preservation of the
terrain, to build a path. When the traffic increases, the path must be
built stronger to resist the pressure. This theme can be developed, in-
troducing the saddle horse and the horse and wagon and finally to where
visitors are admitted by automobile. Likewise, the path for the auto-
mobiles will develop through various stages of improvement.
How many people are you going to admit, and what will you permit
them to do while they are in the area? Let us take stock of our present-
day conditions. As the parks are now administered, there is no restriction
as to their mode of travel. However, there are restrictions as to what
activities may be pursued within the park boundaries. Non-conforming
activities are discouraged. No provision is made for summer homes.
Golf courses and other recreational activities requiring constructed
NATIONAL PARKS 71
facilities are discouraged. The recreational activities are more or less
restricted to the sightseer, motorist, hiker and the rider. Fishing is
encouraged, while hunting is discouraged and prohibited. Camping is
restricted to established centers. We are apparently following the proper
course toward answering the question of what we are going to permit
them to do while they are in the park.
Our opportunity for experiment in the future lies in how we might
answer the question: How many people are you going to admit?
The peak load in the travel season is a most serious question. An
analysis will show that peak loads cover but eight or ten, and possibly
in a few cases, thirty days, out of the entire year. If we build to meet it
or build half way to meet it, we shall have a large volume of developed
facilities lying idle during most of the season. This unnecessary
idleness also affects hotel rates and maintenance costs. Some might
think the peak-load problem applies only to the overnight facilities. It
applies also to the circulation system of roads and trails and parking
areas. Some restriction as to the number of people who may be in a
park at any one time is the most obvious way in which we might influence
the use and development of our national parks. It would offer more
toward the preservation of the natural and wilderness values than any
other move that could be made.
The peak load should be eliminated and development made on a level
slightly above the average conditions throughout the year. Such a move
would eliminate unnecessary development, prevent overcrowding of
facilities, make the stay of a visitor much more pleasant and would in-
convenience the general public but a very small amount. The number
of people affected in the total number of visitors to the park in any one
season would be relatively small. I believe that there is no question but
that some trials in this direction should be attempted.
Several years ago when we first developed the Master Plan, the sub-
ject that received the most attention was that of the wilderness area.
We included a map in the Master Plans of several of the larger parks to
outline which were to be designated as wilderness areas and set aside for
that purpose. Our first difficulty was with the definition of wilderness
areas. We found that some of our authorities would not approve an area
as a wilderness area, because it contained a shelter cabin. We found
practically no areas within national parks that would qualify under the
Webster definition, as most of those proposed had at least one trail. In
the long run, I feel that we shall have to give up the idea, as it was first
proposed, and rather than approach the problem from the angle of set-
ting aside wilderness areas within the national parks, we must approach
it from the other direction — that is, we must restrict the limits of de-
veloped areas and apply the protection that would be given to the wilder-
ness area to all of the area within the boundaries of the park that is not
a developed area.
72 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Wilderness Aspects of National Parks
JESSE L. NUSBAUM, Superintendent, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
THE concept and purpose of national parks, from the standpoint of
recreation, was epitomized in the report of the Recreation Commit-
tee to the National Resources Board in the following language:
National parks are areas of primeval nature, of superlative scenic quality,
set aside and conserved unimpaired, for the benefit and enjoyment of the
people. Their development should be conducive to the realization of their
recreational and scientific values, arising out of their natinal characteristics,
and should be consistent with these inherent qualities.
Proper use of national parks has always been interpreted to mean
that parks should become reasonably and restrictively accessible — that
shelter, food, safety, and sanitary accommodations be available to the
public. Formulated high ideals of the National Park Service, for intelli-
gent, protective preservation and utilization of the generous gifts of
nature embodied in national parks, originally were patterned to the
needs of a very limited and slow-moving traffic, largely horse and foot.
None could conceive of the problems, later to be presented to the
nation, and more significantly to national parks, by the spread, speed,
and volume of automobile traffic. Motoring demands of park visitors,
and benefiting outside agencies, so threatened protective and preserva-
tion ideals of the Service as to promote immediate field studies and
survey of unimpaired wilderness resources, and the establishment of
wilderness areas into which no visiting motorist may proceed with his car.
The natural resources of national parks were studied, inventoried,
and classified by areas in four primary groupings — the primitive, the
modified, the developed, and the scientific. The scope of this paper is
restricted primarily to the aspect of wilderness and to the primitive and
scientific classes.
Early Dutch and English immigrants to America commonly referred
to unexplored and unoccupied adjacent terrain, whether woodland or
plain, as "the wilderness" — ^from the Middle English word "wildernesse,"
probably derived in turn from the Anglo-Saxon "wildor" — a wild beast
— rather than the Dutch "wildernis." "Wilderness" survived historically
as the place-name of the wooded area of northeast Virginia, scene of the
indecisive battles of May 6 and 7, 1864, between the armies of Grant
and Lee.
Progressively, as American colonial frontiers were pushed west from
the Atlantic seaboard, the wilderness comprised the area westward of
the fall-line of the Atlantic Coast, westward of the Alleghanies, of the
Ohio, of the Mississippi, of the Missouri, and of the Rockies — with the
final recession to the Pacific accelerated by the discovery of gold in the
Sierra of California.
NATIONAL PARKS 7S
Possessed by right of discovery and used by the Indian from the time
of ending of the Recent Ice Age, some hundred or more centuries ago,
this vast, trackless, transcontinental waste of woodland, plain, mountain
and desert terrain, teeming with native wildlife, constituted unknown
wilderness — a terra incognita — to first white explorers. Fur traders
blazed the way into the Indian domain, and opened the traces to ad-
vancing settlement.
Through more than two and one-half centuries, to the 1870 heyday
of unrestricted free utilization of the public domain and its abundant
resources, the American people diligently and relentlessly engaged in
winning, or shall we say impairing or destroying, a transcontinental
wilderness, and depleting the wildlife, actually terminating certain
species. The natural elements of their surroundings, which seem to have
been accepted at that time without appreciation, now show themselves
possessed of tremendous values, as we strive to perpetuate unimpaired,
the last vestigial islands of true American wilderness, and to solve the
problems left in the wake of wilderness recession.
Reverting again to the dictionary, "wilderness" is defined as the
quality or state of being wild. A "wild" is an uncultivated, uninhabited
tract or region, as a forest or desert, or a trackless waste. In this con-
nection I like to associate the word "wilder," the poetical verb transi-
tive, meaning to lead astray. "Aspect," on the other hand, is the appear-
ance to the eye or mind — the look, or view — ^from a position facing,
fronting, or regarding a particular direction.
If these definitions are sound, then the aspect of wilderness may be
restricted to the appearance to the eye or mind, from the viewer's posi-
tion, of trackless wastes of forest, desert, mountain or plain, unmodified
and uninhabited by man. But man is a product of wilderness.
Of all the creatures of Nature, man remains the only member that
had the wits to implement his hand to cope with wilderness conditions.
His progress towards civilization dates from the remote times when
perchance in a moment of extremity, he picked up a stone, stick, or club
to better defend himself, or to gain something beyond the range of his
normal reach. Painfully shaping stone or wood to better fit his hand
and purpose, he invented the basic instruments to dominate and deplete
wilderness conditions of living. From these primitive beginnings and
purposes, by substitution of metals, refinement of design, and applica-
tion of power, we have progressively perfected their damaging character.
Each oncoming generation expands and refines the instruments of
potential wilderness destruction. It, therefore, becomes increasingly
imperative that we aggressively strengthen the safeguards to wilderness
preservation.
From the period of Late Pleistocene time, man has been associated
with American wilderness, as one of the biotic entities which by reason
of increase in number, or rate of movement, and practical domination
74 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
of other factors, now constitutes the greatest threat to wilderness value
impairment. We cannot expel human kind from publicly owned primi-
tive wilderness areas as Adam and Eve were expelled from their Garden
of Eden, but we can prescribe primitive modes of travel and use with
the hope that these hampering inconveniences of wilderness living will
definitely restrict the extent of further impairment.
"Impairment" again is a relative or comparative term. Where in the
Nation may we look today for a wilderness that has not been impaired
by man? The scars of impairment may have been healed and largely
effaced by a provident nature, but natural conditions and balances
were disturbed.
During the past year, a group of competent scientists, engaged in the
study of comparative differences in small faunal types of the north and
of the south rims of Grand Canyon National Park, reached the conclu-
sion that variations could best be explained by investigation of com-
parable types of a detached geologic island, so rugged in character and
difficult of access from remote times, as to insure pure types, unmodified
by mainland types or the influence of man. Shiva Temple was selected
as conforming most exactly to the predetermined specifications. Among
first findings on the Mesa top were the telltale artifacts of our wilderness
predecessor, the prehistoric Amerind.
The aspect of wilderness is always a comparative quality to the in-
dividual which he interprets and evaluates in terms of his experience,
appreciation and response. Some may complacently realize great spirit-
ual stimulation and refreshment from modest, restrictive contacts with
Nature. Others, to achieve like ends, may require extensive and extended
contact with Nature in areas of great size and to be reached and enjoyed
only through the expenditure of great physical effort.
The sense of wilderness may be comparatively realized throughout
the major portion of most national parks by venturing modestly out-
ward by primitive means from access highways and developed areas,
but the sense of its full realization may not be achieved until one has
trekked beyond the sound of the motor horn, the sight of the modifica-
tions of man, and entered into harmonious relation with Nature.
Nowhere else in the United States do so many varied opportunities
for the sheer enjoyment of these unspoiled beauty-spots present them-
selves as in the national parks. Mirror Plateau of Yellowstone, a primi-
tive wilderness of more than 300 square miles, situated north of Yellow-
stone Lake and east of Yellowstone River, is characterized by great
expanses of dense lodgepole pine forest, interspersed with luxuriant
open meadows.
The wilderness charm of this extensive area is enhanced by the herds
of elk and buffalo which thrive naturally and abundantly therein.
Approached but not entered by highways, this primitive area offers
rare opportunities for extended wilderness enjoyment.
NATIONAL PARKS 75
The rim-to-rim trail across the Grand Canyon bisects an amazing
wilderness. Sequent chapters of geologic history are here spectacularly
exposed in colorful land forms by the dual processes of erosion and
uplift. Shifting highlights and shadows progressively accentuate the
color features of the canyon terrain. The terrifying turbulence of the
mighty silt-laden Colorado is relieved by the comparative tranquility of
its quiet stretches. The aspect of bordering canyon walls from the river
level is truly one of isolated wilderness.
Separated, and highly elevated by formidable escarpments from all
surrounding terrain, the great densely forested Mesa Verde tableland
conformed exactly to the wilderness requirements of early agricultural
Indians, who sought the natural protection to homes and fields that
precipitous canyon walls presented to aggressive nomadic enemies.
Known to have been intensively occupied and utilized through a
period of more than six centuries — to the beginning of the great 23-year
drought ended in 1299 — the forces of nature have restored the vegetative
cover, and largely erased or buried the evidences of past occupation,
save for the remarkable remains of their cliff -dwelling homes.
Since road development has been restricted to a single entrance high-
way traversing the North Rim, and to Chapin Mesa, one of the many
tongue-like secondary mesas formed by the paralleling system of second-
ary canyons. Mesa Verde remains largely a wilderness of precipitous
canyons and intervening mesa lands, enhanced by revealed and undis-
closed human history.
The greatest wilderness area in the United States without roads for
motorized traflfic, facilities for public accommodations, or terrain suitable
for airplane landing is the primary Colorado River Basin in south-
eastern Utah and its contributary drainage system, including the Green
River from above Labyrinth Canyon and the San Juan from below
Mexican Hat, to their confluence with the Colorado. This practically
unknown area, approachable only to bordering rims by one road on the
east, one on the north, and one on the west comprises an area of upwards
of 7,000,000 acres of spectacularly eroded and brilliantly colorful mesa,
cliff and canyon terrain, which because of the rugged character and
inaccessibility, can best be viewed by airplane.
Some will say that entering, bisecting or looping a national park
with a primary access highway and establishing public accommodation
alongside constitute wanton destruction of wilderness values and justi-
fiably so if road development is excessive or unnecessarily scarring and
the structures of man are not harmonized with the character of the
terrain or obtrude obnoxiously or inescapably in the foreground of
Nature's magnificent exhibits.
That mistakes have been made in the past is frankly acknowledged.
That they may be made in the future under duress of public pressures
is conceivable, despite the fact that the Service is guided technically in
76 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
all physical developments. The decisions of public institutions supported
by tax funds under the democratic form of government are sometimes
nullified by public pressures in the processes of legislation and ap-
propriation.
I cannot overemphasize the desirability of not opening up more of
park areas to motorize travel. As a means of primary access to centers
of visitor accommodation and reasonable approach to primary exhibits,
roads serve a justifiable function in national parks. Extension of motor
highways beyond this limitation is only justifiable when objectives
achieved outweigh the resultant physical destruction, disturbance and
impairment of wilderness values. On such a basis, designated primitive
areas of national parks may never be violated by motor highway develop-
ment as long as natural values survive.
The inherent desire of human kind to tarry, relax and seek new in-
spiration in areas of surpassing natural beauty and charm has been
markedly lessened by the tempo of modern life. The disturbing factor
to the wilderness enthusiast is that man generally is a lazy creature,
grown softer with the advent of the automobile and the paved highway.
He has become so accustomed to the comforts of the modern automobile
that vacation habits have been modified to its use restrictions. He
superficially views the passing panorama of scenic splendor at maximum
allowable speeds, his tempo for rest, relaxation and wilderness enjoy-
ment being geared apparently to the speed of his car. He wants roads
developed to remote objectives, and exhibits a gregarious tendency to
remain overnight where crowds are densest.
Yosemite's glorious high wilderness country attracts only the limited
few from the congested valley floor, even when the remarkable mani-
festations of tumbling water have seasonally recessed almost to the dis-
appearing point.
For the past 17 years, I have observed the growth of these trends
with increasing concern. As a responsible field oflBcer, I have been forced,
reluctantly, to reahze that indicated desires of the vast majority of the
more than 15,000,000 park visitors of the past year constitute a
mandate that is perhaps inescapable as to primary access roads and
adjacent visitor accommodation in new national parks.
However, by the same token, in view of changing travel trends and
vacation habits, the policy of the National Park Service in perpetuating
wilderness areas and aspects is assisted and fortified.
It has been publicly stated that true wilderness areas are not by their
nature compatible with national parks. The answer to this question is
that national parks are the only recognized areas that today actually
provide complete preservation of wilderness values. Search where you
may, you will not find in any approved Act of the Congress, like author-
ity and instruction to insure equal preservation of wilderness values on
other publicly administered domain. By the nature of their authority.
NATIONAL PARKS 77
approved Congressional Acts are more permanent and binding on their
administering agencies, and less subject to change than the pronounce-
ments of lesser administrative authorities.
To establish primitive areas within national forests, the Secretary of
Agriculture had to terminate lumbering, grazing by domestic stock,
mining and other commercial uses on lands embraced therein, to exclude
public roads for mechanized transport, public airplane landings, and
public concessions, such as hotels and summertime homes. Activities
terminated on these lands were legally established functions of Forest
Service management. Excluded developments and operations were per-
missive uses of forest lands.
Perhaps it is the modern world that invented loneliness in the deserts
of civilization, from which the automobile now provides the primary
means of escape to the charm and loveliness of open country. People
generally are beginning to look back upon primitive nature as something
of exceptional value and fundamental significance to mankind. In real-
ity, contacts with nature through the vast period preceding the rapid
growth of civilization had a very great effect on mankind.
The perpetuation and preservation, unimpaired, of wilderness values
of national parks continue as its most potent ideals and functional
objectives.
The Primitive Areas in National Forests
C. M. GRANGER, Assistant Chief, Forest Service
I GREW up in Pasadena, California, and led the Ufe of the usual
small-town dweller with occasional trips to the seashore or to the
near-by mountains, but never an excursion into more remote frontier
areas other than by train across the deserts of the Southwest in the pre-
automobile days. I went to college in Michigan, took the examination
for the Forest Service, and in July, 1907, was sent to what is now the
Sequoia National Forest at the southern end of the Sierra Nevadas. I
was given assignments which took me, in company with the various dis-
trict rangers, to the back country where travel was then exclusively by
horse and pack horse. I remember as keenly as if it were yesterday the
great thrill I got in being in a country where no other persons were en-
countered for days at a time and in the reaUzation that it was nearly
one hundred miles to the nearest railroad station.
My conviction is that the average person is similarly thrilled by
getting into country which has the principal elements of great remote-
ness from the daily experiences and artificiaHties of life and the custom-
ary surroundings. This beUef is so firmly lodged in the minds of those
who direct the land-planning policies of the Forest Service that it has
brought about a definite and large-scale provision within the National
Forest of areas where this experience may still be enjoyed.
78 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In those early days, however, when the National Forests were still
young and much of their area still unopened, the prevailing sentiment
in the western country was that there was still too much wilderness.
The urge was for development, for more roads, and there was, of course,
a sharp rise in this curve of desire for development with the advent of
the automobile. Then, too, the men of the Forest Service themselves,
whose job involved the administration of individual areas larger than
some of the Eastern States, felt unduly handicapped by the tediousness
of horse travel over terrifically rough country. This handicap was espe-
cially oppressive in dealing with forest fires, where prompt suppression
required prompt access.
Thus, in a comparatively few short years, much of the untouched
country was opened by roads, and there came a sudden realization that
relatively there was not a great deal of the old wilderness left. A definite
plan for assigning considerable areas to indefinite retention in the
wilderness state began to take form.
My recollection is that this movement was first sharply focused on
the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Here there existed
the only large area of roadless canoeing country in public ownership left
in the United States. A little group of men, including Aldo Leopold,
asked for the exclusion of roads from the territory embracing the choice
canoe routes. This proposal at first threw some consternation into the
ranks of the men responsible for fire protection in that extremely difficult
fire country, because they did not see how the country could be saved
from fire without roads. Rather quickly, however, these administrative
necessities were reconciled with the acknowledged importance of keeping
this country a canoeing country, and not one for the invasion of auto-
mobiles.
In casting about over the National Forest areas to find those portions
which might be classified as primitive areas, we naturally found that in
many cases there were certain established uses often antedating the
creation of the National Forests. In many cases, the grazing of cattle
and sheep had been going on on these areas almost from the beginning
of the livestock industry in the West. Prospecting or actual mining
operations had also found their way by trail into some of the most remote
areas. Therefore, it was impossible to find many really large tracts
wholly free from the invasion of any economic use.
Nevertheless, there were found a good many quite sizable portions
of the National Forests which, despite some economic use, still retained
most of the characteristics of the wilderness — the early frontier — and
which could appropriately be classified so as to retain that character
indefinitely. Under this concept, these areas were given the designation
of wilderness areas (the term now is primitive areas) and dedicated by
specific order to that form of use. Naturally, the available areas were
mostly those undeveloped because of relative scarcity of economic
NATIONAL PARKS 79
resources within their borders, so there was no measurable conflict with
demands for economic utiUzation of the resources of the National Forests.
For each one of these primitive areas a specific plan has been pre-
pared embracing the principles of management which are to apply.
This plan is formally approved by the Chief of the Forest Service, or,
in some cases, by the Secretary of Agriculture, and can be changed only
by the formal act of the approving officer.
In most cases, the management plan provides for either no utilization
of the timber or very restricted logging. On about two-thirds of the
areas the continuance of grazing as an already established use is per-
mitted, but in most cases the grazing use is rather limited. Reservoir
developments are found to be quite unlikely on practically all of the
areas. Hotels or other resorts and developments of similar character
inconsistent with a wilderness classification are positively excluded.
While in some cases pioneer roads had already invaded parts of the
areas, further road development is excluded in nearly all cases. Con-
sideration is now being given to eliminating from primitive areas those
portions where roads have already been constructed or which cannot
be properly protected without building roads. Trails necessary for pro-
tection or the use of the area itself, and the essential fire protection im-
provements, are provided for. Incidentally, the growing use of radio
greatly diminishes the need for telephone lines into these back countries.
A recent development has been emergency landing fields for fire pro-
tection, but with their use for commercial plane travel prohibited.
Today, there are in the National Forests 73 primitive areas totaling
over 14 million acres. They range from a few thousand acres to one
which contains over one and a half million acres; 30 of the areas contain
over 100,000 acres each, and quite a few more are not far below that
figure. As can be seen from the map, these areas range throughout the
West, and include every major forest type.
Current review will no doubt show that a number of these areas are
too small or otherwise not qualified to retain the classification of primi-
tive area as more recent definitions describe it. Naturally, most of these
primitive areas are in the West, though there have been established in
the Eastern National Forests quite a few small natural areas (an area
which is preserved altogether in an untouched condition), principally
for study of the natural laws which control forest growth. A census
recently conducted shows 40 more areas of 100,000 acres or more each
still devoid of roads. These are now being studied to determine which of
them may be given a primitive area classification.
How many primitive areas should there be in the United States?
Where should they be? How large should they be? These questions are
hard to answer. It is relatively easy to say how many campgrounds
are needed to take care of a fairly measurable camping load, but who
has a measuring stick which will define quantitatively the area which
80 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
can profitably be used in its primitive condition to serve the intangible
and immeasurable spiritual needs of the people? The only immediate
answer is to keep roads out of the remaining roadless areas until more
study and more experience show specifically for each area whether its
highest use lies in retention as part of the frontier or in development.
Fortunately, the National Forests are so vast and offer such a variety
of recreational use along with their other uses that it is possible to pro-
vide extensive primitive areas as a part of the balanced program of
recreational and economic use of these public properties. These National
Forests primitive areas are supplemented by those portions of the Na-
tional Parks which are found to be suitable for similar reservation and
the very substantial areas recently given this classification of the Indian
Reservations.
What is the best method and agency for the administration of these
primitive areas? My answer is that by their very primitive, frontier
nature the best administration is the least administration. Formality
spells the death of the very reason for being of such areas. What they
need is to be allowed to lie outdoors with only such administration as
is necessary to protect them from destructive processes which are not
a part of the normal operation of nature's laws, or where nature's laws
must be partly held in check to prevent the destruction of the values
which form the basis for the classification and dedication of these tracts.
The simplest, most appropriate and most economical administration
and protection for a primitive area is that which can be afforded by the
manager or custodian of the public reservation of which the primitive
area is a part. These primitive areas would lose their quality if overrun
by great throngs brought into them by the mediima of too many organ-
ized trips. Their very charm and their spiritual value lie in the fact that
one may find solitude in them. Anything savoring of Cook's tours on a
large scale would be fatal. Their use by other than hikers is best facil-
itated by simple dude ranches near their perimeter where those seeking
outings in such an environment may be adequately accommodated with
horse transportation and guides if need be. These facilities should, of
course, include those of sufficiently unpretentious character so that the
purse of the person of limited means will not be too small to take ad-
vantage of them.
The question has recently been raised as to whether these areas
should be given a definite legal status which will prevent changes in
their boundaries or the revocation of their classification by administra-
tive action. Fear is expressed in some quarters that today's order by
the Secretary of Agriculture of the Chief Forester setting aside one of
these areas might be modified or reversed by the successor of one of
these officials. I think there is no categorical answer to this question.
On the other hand, there is nothing in history to suggest hasty or ill-
advised public action of this character by such administrators. In the
NATIONAL PARKS 81
beginning, it was felt unwise to say as to any area that forever and ever
its use will be of such and such a character. Economic conditions change,
recreational habits change, centers of population shift, and many other
fundamental changes occur which bear directly on policies and programs
of use of public resources. Such changes, of course, could be recognized
and provided for by suitable Congressional enactment if primitive areas
were safeguarded by law. On the other hand, there is a good deal to be
said in behalf of administrative authority to meet changes as they
arise, provided that authority is exercised only after consideration of all
of the public interests involved, which in most cases might appropriately
be decided after public hearings on proposed changes. Furthermore,
the adoption of the reservation-by-law method might readily involve
delays and frustrations which would seriously retard and unsettle the
movement.
Whichever course is ultimately decided upon, the important thing
is to recognize and provide for the very great, if wholly immeasurable,
needs for places where a person may go and find all the values that go
with solitude and the interests which lie in seeing sizable samples of
what this country looked like in the days of Lewis and Clark and their
contemporaries .
Service of State Parks to National Parks
RICHARD LIEBER, President, National Conference on State Parks, Indianapolis, Ind.
If thou hast wanderings in the wilderness
And find'st not Sinai, 'tis thy soul is poor
AS I have been asked to contribute to the important subject under
.iVdiscussion this morning you will soon find yourself in the sad fix of
Euelpides in Aristophanes' "Birds" when he inquired, "Who brought
that owl to Athens?" So anything I could say on the subject would add
little information for those present who are already better informed.
It seems that we park people, national as well as state, foresters, wild-
life students and enthusiasts, in short, we Nature lovers, agree on essen-
tials yet more or less stumble over policies, if not expediencies, in carry-
ing out that which is demanded of us, namely the dual but conflicting
duty of presentation as well as the preservation of these extraordinary
places of natural beauty and interest under our care, whether they
be state or national properties.
I have been asked to speak on the "Service of State Parks to National
Parks." Being deeply interested in both of them it is my honest aim to
seek for light instead of engendering heat. It would be much easier for
me to reverse the subject and call it "Service of National Parks to
State Parks," for that has been the case if you do not look any farther
back than '33.
82 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
During the 18 years of its existence the National Conference on State
Parks has cooperated with the National Park Service. This cooperation
naturally has not been free from selfish interest because the planning of
state parks has ever leaned heavily upon the ideals and experience of
the great national prototypes.
Calling a group of men together for its first meeting at Des Moines,
Iowa, in 1921, it was the thought of Stephen Mather that the creation of
state parks should not only relieve pressure on the National Park Service,
but also that much of superior scenic beauty still available in the States
could be preserved if the various States would undertake the work.
I have always felt that it was not in Mather's mind to create state
parks merely as a relief to the National Park Service from the necessity
of opposing or being compelled to take over undesirable properties for
national use, but inclined to believe that he hoped, as we all did, that
the creation of state parks would relieve the pressure not only in the
establishment of areas but in their use after their establishment.
While this particular relief has not yet come about, there is as much,
if not more, need for state help. The greatest service which at this time
an intelligent state administration could render through its park service
is the lessening of the load of so-called historic monuments wished or to
be wished onto the National Park Service for restoration and mainte-
nance. If the Government can help with the initial cost, well and good,
but administration and maintenance in all fairness should rest with the
States. Such a Monument is part of the State's historic past as well as
an asset in its economic present. Aside from that, an unreasonable in-
crease in National Monuments and their cost ultimately will mean a
serious loss of much-needed funds to the National Parks as well as the
diminution of interest in and respect for a system which would include
nonsignificant if not commonplace memorials.
It must be left to some future historian to trace out what actually
happened in these last 18 years of extended park service, both in the
parks and to the parks. Far from relieving pressure of use on national
properties the result has been an increased pressure both on state and
on national parks. When we built the first state park in Indiana there
were 65,000 registered automobiles. There were no auto highways as
we know them today. Indiana now has a million or so of registered cars
and nearly 60,000 miles of hard -surface Federal, state and county roads.
The pressure came on us all at once and that which originally was
planned as an adequate service area became quite insuflScient to take
care of the unexpected influx of visitors. I have always believed that a
compact service area in which we necessarily sacrifice the natural aspect
of the scene is in itself the best safeguard for preservation of any given
park, provided that we restrict to a minimum the building of automobile
roads and as we have been charged, metropolitan promenades, some-
times called trails.
NATIONAL PARKS 83
Let us be clear then what we mean by our general theme "wilderness"
or what it is that we are trying to preserve both in the national and
state parks, likewise what the forces are which endanger this wilderness.
If by wilderness we mean the fortuitous residue now held in public
ownership, a third question looms up, namely, is it our purpose to pre-
serve intact — so far as that is humanly possible — this wilderness residue
or are we proposing in a manner to make museum specimens out of
this, that or the other feature in these public parks?
Over 300 years ago Captain John Smith and a band of English
colonists made an onslaught on the American landscape. Now the con-
quest of a continent has been finished with all of its attendant gruesome
waste.
The creation of our national as well as state parks is part of the great
conservation movement which set in when we began taking stock of our
national resources. So far as we parkmen are concerned there are still
stately remnants of the pristine glory, in fact we can justly claim that
some of the finest examples are in public possession, but nevertheless
we have to face the fact that they are remnants and that any future sub-
division will spell utter destruction.
I think that some bewilderment has come about in the use of the
term "wilderness" which, according to definition, is "a tract or region
uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings." What we perhapss
mean is the preservation in its natural aspect of the area we have selected
as park, barring only the unavoidable elements of intrusion demanded
by service to the visitor and the provision for his physical comfort. For
that reason I have never quite liked the idea of setting aside wilderness
areas in state or national parks. If the area is a real park — one of out-
standing beauty and interest — it must follow that the entire property
should be treated, conserved and, if necessary, brought back as much as
possible to its natural condition.
Speaking of saving wilderness areas in parks sounds to me in many
cases either as an apology further to proceed with "improvements" or
an alibi for having so far artificialized the natural prospect. There are
many things that we now wish could have been handled differently.
I well realize how easy it is to find fault even with what we have done
ourselves and how difficult it was in the beginning to chart a course when
the sudden change in national transportation set in, bringing masses
and masses of people into these public properties, who had to be taken
care of.
We realize now that the automobile has been the most powerful
single factor in increasing this pressure. What a strange thing this
automobile is! At one and the same time it has enhanced our appreciation
and enjoyment of the scenery and on the other with concomitant high-
ways has maimed and destroyed it. With respect to our parks, the
majority of the millions and millions of folks who come in, unwillingly
84 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
destroy, yet every automobile tire and every human foot leaves its
depreciating imprint on the scenery.
In February, 1935, Secretary Ickes made a statement on state parks
which by implication also fits national parks:
When state parks are more removed from crowded centers, if I had my way,
I would foster and cherish the wilderness aspect of these areas. I hope as the
States develop their own park systems, they will have in mind that citizens
in time to come would like to know what the country in each State looked like
before we civilized people came in and began to work our will on it.
It is high time that we lend action to this thought. As administrators
we should have the courage to say "no" when more and more service
with inescapable artificialities is demanded. Frequently we have taken
an ill-advised step simply because we saw no avenue of escape. That
happens every time, as the sapient Mr, Dooley used to say, when we
take the second step without having considered the first one. With the
current great expansion of recreational facilities we have not used
enough care to separate the distinctive qualities of parks and have only
too often over-expanded their recreational services instead of primarily
maintaining the sanctity of its perfect natural entity. The strange thing
is that, from the Secretary down to any one of us, we want to keep these
great public possessions, whether state or national, for the enjoyment
of this, and to preserve them for coming generations. Director Cammerer
over and over, in the best tradition of his office, has pointed out the
inviolability of a great national heritage. But, do we always succeed?
Conrad Wirth, speaking at the Skyland meeting of the National
Conference on State Parks three years ago, submitted a clear-cut division
between state parks that are primarily set aside for preservation and
parks that are primarily set aside for recreation.
In support of my own thoughts on the subject I wish to quote from
it the following sentences as fundamentals.
While there is a tendency for park conservation areas and the park recrea-
tional areas to grow together, we must always bear in mind the distinction
between them, and forever seek a means of separating these two types. I say
this because if the bars were let down and no consideration given to park con-
servation areas (and that is an easy thing to do, for park recreational areas are
very popular with the masses), we should soon find that they would encroach
so far on our conservation areas that the latter would cease to be such and
would automatically become recreational areas.
That is exactly what is happening both in the States and in the Nation.
Much of this wrong approach, forced on us as the inescapable results
of an enormously expanding tourist movement, may still be cured; all
of it must be avoided in the treatment of new properties. Do not let us
yield to this vast rushing army of vacationists, viewing them as masses
who have to be satisfied in whatever reasonable or unreasonable thing
NATIONAL PARKS 85
they may demand, but rather as they surely would wish to be considered,
as eager, thoughtful and kindly folks who would want to enjoy and to
come under the spell of majestic nature instead of becoming, against
their will, part of the forces of progressive destruction.
State Departments might well cooperate with the National Park
Service to tell their people that any provision to take care of possible
peak loads will ultimately not only spoil their own enjoyment and ap-
preciation but will with certainty ruin that which we all love and which
we have sworn to preserve.
Nor is there a better opportunity for the States to show their ap-
preciation for the great help the National Park Service through Fechner's
CCC camps has extended to them.
My concern therefore is not to set forth my own thoughts of deep
love and reverence for our public wonderland nor of my vast pride in it.
My hope is rather that we may find the help of millions and millions of
our people who will, in better understanding of the great difficulties,
work with us to protect the remaining scenic glory of our great country.
Let us all consider these marvelous and inspiring spots, large and
small, as a sacred inheritance which, with all the strength at our com-
mand, we must protect against change and thus transmit them to future
generations in order that they too in their time may find understanding
of and inspiration in their own primeval America.
Wildlife on the National Forests
H. L. SHANTZ, Chief, Division of Wildlife Management,
U. S. Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
THE national forests grew naturally out of the public domain, and
were set up near the beginning of the century as a result of strong
leadership calling for a check in the destruction of timber, and with it,
watersheds and drainage channels. This general movement which gave
us the national forests and the national parks is now demanding that
protection be given not only to Federal land, but to state and private
lands as well.
The great block of land, comprising 170,000,000 acres of national
forests in Federal ownership, must meet, by reasonable adjustment, the
requirements of agriculture, industry and recreation. The best present and
future use of land involves a careful consideration of physiographic
and biological factors and the social and economic needs of the national
and local himian society. It must be managed on a land planning basis and
the principle of multiple use reasonably applied.
The Forest Service must, as a managing agency, determine the
relative needs for production of forest products such as timber, pulp
and chemical wood; use of forage by livestock, use by wildlife; and
recreational use by men. For about twenty years the Forest Service
86 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
has been making special wildlife studies, stressing stock-taking and the
accumulation of data and their analyses as pointing the approach to a
possible solution of the many and varied management problems.
Wildlife management in a modern sense is in itself new when applied
to so large an area as that comprised in the national forests. In the minds
of many, wildlife is still "ferae naturae," a thing of wild nature, which, like
the wind and the sunshine, is not definitely tied to the land on which it lives.
But the problem is not a simple one. The physical environment, the
biological interrelationships, the social and economic interests, divided
legal authority, and the conflict of various agencies, make the problem
very complicated. The Forest Service is attempting to meet these
problems by placing its program on a sound factual basis with regard
to the animals involved, the resources of soil, water, forage and weather
conditions, to give equitable consideration to the various uses of the
forests, and to meet the reasonable demands of conflicting interests and
public agencies with comity and amity. We seek to know the resource in
food, the extent to which this food is being used during different periods
of the year, the extent to which wildlife and domestic stock injure other
forest resources, the desirable size of herbivorous and other game popu-
lation and which are the best and most desirable methods of controlling
population.
The larger game animals are relatively evenly distributed over the
national forests of the West. On the Pacific Coast our forage is utilized
by large herbivorous game animals more than by domestic livestock,
and the same is true of northern Washington, Idaho and Montana. In
the central and southern Rockies both wildlife and domestic stock use
is heavier. In the West more than 75 per cent of all the big game animals
are on the national forests for at least part of the year. On these forests
there has been a rapid and a sustained increase in number of big game
animals since the forests were established.
The winter range problem is undoubtedly largely controlling in
optimum numbers of big game. It pertains mostly, however, to lands
outside the national forest boundaries, particularly in the western
country. In general about 9,000,000 acres of additional winter range
with more management in the better interests of wildlife are needed to
go with present numbers of big game on the national forests, and about
25,000,000 acres with more consideration to wildlife requirements are
needed to go with the summer game range capacity of the national forests
even under present conditions of domestic stocking. Just how close these
balances can be brought together is problematical, and certainly it will
require very definite cooperation among all interested and affected
agencies to bring about a more satisfactory year-round condition. The
study that has been made of this factor in wildlife management deserves
mention among the important developments.
The determination of the number of deer or elk or other large herbiv-
NATIONAL PARKS 87
ora, their seasonal drift, and the extent of over-utiHzation of browse
on part or all of the range, has occupied every national forest region.
Deer, protected by a buck law and control of predators, have over-used
their range, especially in winter. This is true particularly in eastern
Oregon, northeastern California, central and south Utah, in the Lake
States and on the Allegheny National Forest and the Pisgah National
Forest and Game Preserve. Elk in Washington, Montana and Wyoming
have badly damaged their range. Careful surveys of range utilization,
migrations, and of the harmful eflPects of overcrowding have been made
as guides to better management.
Plans under which the States and the Forest Service operate together
to improve the conditions for game or fish production, set the number
and sex of the game to be removed, in order continually to balance use
with the amount of available forage and properly to adjust use by differ-
ent animal species and recognize other desirable uses of forest lands,
have been entering into in many places, thus enabling the Forest Service
really to manage game and fish as it would any other forest product.
Regulated hunting is recognized as the only remedy for the over-con-
centration of big game on many of the national forests, a condition
which is gradually becoming worse. Continual buck killing does not
control over-population and results not only in an unbalanced sex ratio,
but deterioration of the herd partly by a lack of natural selection of
males, and directed by shortage of food due to over-population. These
facts are becoming increasingly evident as a result of careful checking
combined with weights and measurements of the kill.
It is being generally recognized by such game authorities as Seth
Gordon, Harold Titus and others, that more conservation will probably
destroy rather than perpetuate herds of herbivorous game animals. To
this end agreements in game management such as those now employed on
the Selway in Idaho, with Georgia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina,
on the Pisgah and Kaibab, and with many other States, in which sex and
number to be taken can be decided on the basis of biological need, will
prevent catastrophes such as occurred on the Kaibab some years ago.
The 1937 population of big game was nearly 150 per cent higher than in
1924 and the number of deer had more than doubled in ten years. Figures
for 1937, some based on actual counts and some on estimates, indicate:
1,493,000
deer on 157 national forests
138,000
elk
' 93
54,000
black-brown bear
' 132
17,000
antelope
' 35
10,500
mountain sheep
' 56
5,100
grizzly
' 26
6,700
moose
' 29
17,500
mountain goats
* 28
6,200
peccary
5
600
wild boar
2
88 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Our estimates of fur-bearing animals have not progressed as far as esti-
mates on big game animals and more thorough observations are needed.
Such information as has been assembled indicates present populations
of 142,600 beaver, 227,000 muskrat, 129,000 raccoon, 146,000 mink,
270,000 skunk, 313,000 weasel, 150,000 fox, 73,000 marten, 47,500
badger, 6,500 otter, 9,000 ringtailed cat, 700 jBsher and 600 wolverine.
These estimates do not by any means indicate the maximum possibilities
of fiu" -bearer populations on the national forests.
Estimates of predators show about 238,000 coyotes, 96,000 lynx and
wildcat, 4,100 mountain lion, and 3,000 wolves on the national forests.
The number of game animals killed in 1937 by predators was approxi-
mately 113,000 deer, 1,200 antelope, 4,600 elk, 1,500 mountain goats,
790 mountain sheep, and 52 moose. The estimated kill by hunters was
103,000 deer, 13,000 elk, 82 antelope, 700 mountain goat and sheep,
150 moose, 62,000 coyotes, 11,500 lynx, 712 mountain lions and 300
wolves. The predator kill is greater than the hunter kill in all game
animals except elk and moose.
With over 70,000 miles of trout streams and large numbers of ponds
and lakes, we have with the CCC and in cooperation with the Bureau of
Fisheries and the state fish and game departments and state universities,
made real progress in stream and lake surveys. With this factual mate-
rial at hand, fish planting can be undertaken with assurance of success.
These studies are used as a basis for management plans whereby
stocking and take are controlled in the interest of maintaining the high-
est possible sustained yield. As an example of the extent to which such
studies have received attention, last year 30 lakes on the Snoqualmie
National Forest in Washington were given physical, chemical and biolog-
ical surveys, 130 on the Willamette National Forest in Oregon, and
1,003 bodies of water in the Lake States. In California on the Inyo
National Forest, 35 separate stream areas have been set aside for studies
of trout planting, food requirements, and the effect of fishing efforts.
Retaining dams have resulted in permanent streams in which natural
spawning has restocked many otherwise sterile lakes of the High Sierras.
Stream-bank improvement, by fencing and the resulting improvement
in fish food and conditions favorable for trout, has greatly increased
fish production in New Mexico.
As the big game herds gradually developed in the Yellowstone Na-
tional Park, the Forest Service has withdrawn domestic use of the area
surrounding the Park until now we have a land area equal to 78 per cent
of that of the Park on which domestic stock is not allowed to graze and
which is held, except for the use of itinerant dude-ranchers' horses and
Forest Rangers' horses, entirely for the use of wildlife. In handling our
problems we have had the most friendly cooperation of the Park officials
and we have worked together to secure a solution to the difficult problem
of excess of elk on both summer and winter range.
NATIONAL PARKS 89
The difficulties hampering ideal game management are chiefly (1)
physical, such as unfavorable site, soil, plant cover, and variable weather;
(2) biological, such as lack of balance between forage and number of
domestic stock, forage and herbivorous game, conflict between game
and domestic stock, between varieties of game, excess population on
restricted areas, and depleted population on other areas; (3) political,
in many of the States a lack of delegated authority or organization to
enable them to cooperate with the Forest Service on this phase of our
land management program; (4) ownership problems, in the inclusion of
areas of privately owned land within the forests, and a lack of proper
balance between summer range on the forest and winter range which is
often on private ranch land in the valleys and foothills.
From the standpoint of the public there are those who wish nothing
killed — not even the predators; there are those who want all predators
exterminated; there are sportsmen who see only the game and cannot
see the depleted range; there are farmers whose crops are being destroyed
by game animals; and there are those who think we can feed our excess
of big game, thereby developing a semi-domesticated herd.
The Forest Service is seeking a balanced economy which will some-
how deal justly, with these conflicting interests, protecting our wildlife
and the land on which it roams, and meet, in so far as possible, the social
and economic needs of the Nation and at the same time considering the
local need; in other words, the management of the resources under a
principle of sensible proportions according to locality.
National Parks and Wildlife
JOSEPH S. DIXON, Field Naturalist, National Park Service, San Francisco, Calif.
SINCE the national parks were set aside to preserve their outstanding
natural features unimpaired for the benefit of future as well as our
present generation, protection becomes a primary and major function
of the National Park Service. This is particularly true with regard to
the endemic plant and animal life found in our national parks, especially
of those native species that have been exterminated from their former
habitats by encroaching civilization. Many species have thus escaped
impending extinction by persisting in areas that have subsequently been
made national parks, which have become veritable "cities of refuge"
for them.
The National Park Service has taken steps to have one "wildlife"
ranger appointed in each national park, whose primary duty is to keep
the Park Superintendent and the Wildlife Division informed as to plant,
fish and all other wildlife conditions in that park. Through the cooper-
ative efforts of the entire ranger force, an armual census is taken of the
larger birds and mammals in each national park. The method used is to
90 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
count the number of deer, elk or bear in typical arer.s of known size or
acreage and upon these counts is based the estimates which are gotten
out each year. It has been our experience that if the same area is covered
each season by the same man at the same time of year, accurate com-
parable results are obtained.
Probably one of the most exact censuses recently taken is the winter
count of the Kaibab deer herd. Here, following a fresh fall of snow, with
national forest, national park and Arizona state game officials cooperat-
ing, it has been possible, with an adequate number of riders, to cover
the main winter range and to count most of the deer in a given area.
However, one fact is generally agreed upon by all parties, which is
that preservation of habitat, including food, shelter and safe breeding
places is essential to the continued existence of any species. The need
for preservation of the various types of ecological habitats is essential
if we are to maintain any adequate supply of native wildlife in our na-
tional and state parks. This is the reason why the major portion of the
time and efforts of the wildlife technicians of the National Park Service
has been spent in examination and study of possible and probable effects
of the hundreds of projects that are proposed each year in our national
and state parks. The inter-relation of living animals is also studied by
our wildlife technicians. Thus one man is giving special attention to a
study of the food habits of the coyote in Lava Beds National Monument,
and another to a study of the food habits of the coyote in the Yellow-
stone region.
Another example of great importance has been forage problems of
deer in Yosemite, Sequoia and Zion National Parks. In all three areas
mule deer have increased until they have become so numerous that they
have threatened to destroy certain native plants and shrubs which are
most palatable to deer and hence their preferred food. When the most
desirable food is exhausted the deer turn to the less palatable food plants.
In order that we may have some "yardstick" by which we can measure
this "deer pressure" on native vegetation, we have erected, through the
help of CCC enroUees, a series of small selected fenced areas or plots
in representative forage areas on the floor of Yosemite Valley, as well
as in Sequoia National Park and at other critical areas. These sample
plots are small, usually being 50 feet square, and are fenced so as to
exclude deer but to admit small mammals and birds. Some surprising
results have already been shown by these fenced plots. Thus the first
season after the plot had been fenced at the lower margin of the Bridal
Veil Meadow in Yosemite, I found that the deer nipped off and ate 80
per cent of the heads of the cow parsley just as the flowers started to
unfold while inside the fenced area none were destroyed. In a similar
manner, the second season I found by actual count 60 fine, healthy
plants of the Small Tiger Lily (Lilium parvum) in full flower inside the
fence and only four flowering plants of this species could be found out-
NATIONAL PARKS 91
side the fence where they formerly had been equally numerous. Similar
surprising results have been noted and recorded in other fenced sample
plots.
Another important phase of ecology study in Yosemite is carried on
by the Yosemite School of Field Natural History. Each year a group of
twenty graduate students chosen from universities from all over the
United States gather for six weeks of intensive field work in Yosemite.
Three weeks out of the six are spent in special ecological study. Each
year a special area is chosen on our Boundary Hill reserve area. In this
selected area a detailed study is made of every living thing found there,
starting with geology and soil formation and continuing on up through
plants, trees, insects, amphibians, birds and mammals. The location,
kind and size of each growing tree, shrub and plant is accurately plotted
on graph paper. Photographs are taken and the whole finished report is
placed on permanent file in the Yosemite Museum. Not only does this
give definite data for present administrative use but it also provides
accurate, detailed information for the future. Thus it will be possible in
1997 by consulting this permanent record to learn just what the condi-
tions were there in 1937. An accurate record of conditions as they existed
on the floor of Yosemite Valley in 1837 would be priceless to us today.
In our national parks we are making special efforts to preserve such
vanishing typical North American mammals as bison, bighorn, wolverine,
timber wolf, fisher and pine marten. Let us examine into the areas that
offer possible hope for the future for certain of these species. Let us
take the grizzly bear and timber wolf as examples of large carnivorous
animals which cannot well be maintained on the open cattle ranges of
the west because of their destructiveness to domestic livestock. The
grizzly bear which was selected as the state animal of California was
formerly one of the best-known and most widely distributed species of
mammals in California. Yet, through the coming of civilization and the
settlement of the State, this, the outstanding mammal of California,
became extinct in practically one generation. In my study and investi-
gation of the faunas of the national parks of the west I find only two;
Yellowstone and Mount McKinley National Parks, that have sufficient
size, climatic conditions and practically an adequate natural food supply
to insure perpetuation of a breeding stock of grizzly bears and timber
wolves. Even California, with its four national parks, was unable to
save its native grizzly bear from extinction.
Fortunately in the case of the Trumpeter Swan, steps were taken in
time to preserve this largest living North American waterfowl from im-
pending extinction. Not only has this rare species received special pro-
tection in Yellowstone National Park but through the coordinated work
of the Biological Survey critical areas in the Red Rock Lake area have
been secured as Federal wildfowl sanctuary. The future home and
existence of the Trumpeter Swan now seem definitely assured.
92 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In a similar manner the Rocky Mountain Bighorn, including the
various geographical races, needs protection for the future for it has
been killed and greatly reduced in numbers over much of its former range.
I wish to place the greatest possible emphasis on the need for pre-
serving the ecological niche or habitat of the animal that is to be pre-
served. No animal lives entirely by itself alone. It is dependent upon
many other factors involving other plants and other animals, including
man.
Our aim in national parks is not only to preserve certain native trees
and animals but also to preserve the whole original primitive picture
by permanent preservation of typical native plant and animal com-
munities. Such native communities are valuable sources of scientific
data that will be increasingly difficult or impossible to obtain elsewhere.
The need for such areas is keenly felt by the biologists of today and
future generations probably will feel their need even more keenly. I
therefore firmly believe that the human need for, and value of, such
primitive plant and animal communities will be greater in the future for
the education, inspiration and enjoyment of the people than it is today.
If we are to effectively insure the future of our outstanding native
wildlife three steps are necessary:
1. We must see that an adequate pure native breeding stock of the species
is preserved and maintained to insure its future.
2. Not only must the species itself, but the accompanying plant and animal
community or ecological background be preserved to insure proper
preservation of the animals.
3. There must be adequate technical supervision of men trained in this work
which should not be turned over to a construction or camp foreman.
Wildlife management calls for wildlife training and experience.
A National Park Service Fish Policy
DAVID H. MADSEN, Supervisor of Fish Resources, National Park Service
IN REVIEWING the history of the National Park Service, we are
confronted with the fact that our policy with reference to fish and
fishing has, until recently, been entirely inconsistent with our policy
regarding every other form of wildlife in the national parks. If we had
followed the same policy with reference to wild animals in the national
parks that we have followed with our fish-stocking program, we would
probably have the red deer of Europe intermingling with the mule deer
of the Kaibab; we would have mountain goats in the Tetons, Chinese
pheasants in Yosemite and so on. Conditions similar to these have
actually taken place in our fish-planting program. We probably have
no less than 20 to 30 non-native species of fish permanently established
in national park waters. There is not a national park where fishing is
NATIONAL PARKS 93
important that has not been subjected, in a greater or lesser degree, to
this violation of national park policies.
Since we have encouraged fishing in the national parks and the result-
ant program of fish hatcheries and fish planting in order to maintain
good fishing it does seem our definite duty to predicate that policy upon
the theory that we will, insofar as possible, protect the native species
of fish in the national parks. With this definite purpose in mind, we have
developed, and there has been approved by the Director, a definite fish-
planting policy. This policy has for its purpose the protection for all
time of such national park waters, as are not already contaminated,
against the introduction of non-native species. As a result of this policy,
it is our belief that there will always be lakes and a few streams in the
national parks that will remain natural insofar as aquatic life is con-
cerned. The policy further states that in waters where non-native fish
now exist with the native species, the latter will be favored in every
instance to the fullest possible extent. The policy further provides that
no agency. Federal or state, shall in the future be permitted to plant
fish in any national park except with the approval and under the direc-
tion of regular National Park employees. The policy further provides
that no aquatic vegetation of any kind shall be introduced into the park
waters for the purpose of improving fishing. The whole purpose of the
policy is to give the National Park Service complete control over the
aquatic life in the parks in the same manner as it controls other forms
of animal life. The Service also supports the trend away from the use of
natural baits, and whenever possible regulations are drawn permitting
only the taking of fish by artificial lures.
While this policy is only slightly more than two years old, it has been
enthusiastically accepted by the general staff and by the various Super-
intendents, as well as the American Fisheries Society. The necessity for
the strict application of such a policy is apparent from what has already
been said. Much more emphasis might well be placed upon its im-
portance.
The insistent demand on the part of sportsmen for more and better
fishing everywhere calls for an ever-increasing output and a wider dis-
tribution of fish. Unless due regard is given to the species used, this is
a permanent threat to waters of the national parks. This demand has
been effective in bringing about the establishment of great fish hatcheries
within and adjacent to the national parks and national forests. The out-
put of these hatcheries is distributed by the Bureau of Fisheries, State
Game Commissions and State sportsmen's organizations in order to
"improve" fishing. In order to insure the continued existence of our
native fish populations, it is mandatory that a well-trained staff of park
employees supervise all fish planting.
While we hope we have succeeded in establishing a policy which will
protect the national park waters from further abuse, our position in
94 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
state parks where the Service has cooperated in development of water
resources, has not been clearly defined. An extended field trip was
taken early last year inspecting state parks throughout the Middle
West. A considerable number of areas were visited where, under our
direction, lakes were being created whose primary purpose in many
instances is to produce fish. We were disappointed to find that some of
these lakes, created at great cost, were stocked with fish before they were
really completed. Enthusiastic sportsmen's organizations had, in some
cases, improvised small dams creating ponds of an acre or two in the
basins where lakes were being developed. These same enthusiasts had
seined fish from back water pools and planted them in the makeshift
ponds long before the dams themselves were completed.
It does seem reasonable that, since we have already wrought such
havoc because of our lack of planning and study, we should, insofar as
possible, protect the waters under our supervision against the same
mistakes in the future. The National Park Service has a great opportu-
nity and responsibility for preserving and in some instances restoring
the normal relationship between all forms of aquatic life, including fish.
While we are, and I think we shall be, compelled to operate fish
hatcheries and maintain reasonably good fishing in the national parks,
we should keep constantly in mind the fact that insofar as possible it
is our plain duty to maintain the parks in their natural and primitive
conditions. To accomplish this we must have complete control over every
activity which has to do in any way with changing the natural biological
balance in national park waters.
STATE PARKS
PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE NATIONAL
CONFERENCE ON STATE PARKS HELD AT
NORRIS, TENNESSEE, MAY I I-I4, I938
STATE PARKS
The President's Message
RICHARD LIEBER, President, National Conference on State Parks, Indianapolis, Ind.
IT IS not accidental but on purpose that again we have turned to the
South. For the eighteenth time we have come together in annual
meeting to discuss state parks. Beginning with 1921 these conferences
were held as follows :
1921. Des Moines, Iowa 1930. Linville, North Carolina
1922. Bear Mountain State Park, New York 1931. St. Louis, Missouri
1923. Turkey Run State Park, Indiana 1932. Virginia Beach, Virginia
1924. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania 1933. Bear Mountain State Park, New York
1925. Skyland, Virginia 1934. Pineville, Kentucky
1926. Hot Springs, Arkansas 1935. Skyland, Virginia
1927. Bear Mountain State Park, New York 1936. Hartford, Connecticut
1928. San Francisco, California 1937. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania
1929. Clifty Falls State Park. Indiana 1938. Norris, Tennessee
Geographically distributed, seven were held in the South, six in the
East, four in the Central East and one in the far West. Regional meet-
ings were also held in Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Illinois,
Minnesota, Alabama, California and Arkansas.
During all this time we have seen our work grow and flourish. As an
organization we started with little; just with an idea. And in a sense it
may be said of us what Jung said about Columbus, "who, by using
subjective assumptions, a false hypothesis, and a route abandoned by
modern navigation, nevertheless discovered America." Withal we got
there and the object of our attachment has slowly but steadily risen into
clearer perception from attempted classification and coordination.
There is not much satisfaction to be obtained by looking up defini-
tions in the dictionary when it comes to parks or park matters. We our-
selves, as yet, have not fixed the exact meaning nor will we get a very
clear picture by way of chronology. Yet it so happens that the first
designated state park, now part of a great national park, gives us our
cue, for it still remains the ideal of scenic and inspirational value. The
reference of course is to Yosemite Valley. Yosemite Valley and Mariposa
Big Trees were granted by the United States Government to California
in 1864. There and then spoke to us out of the wilderness a commanding
voice: "Protect the sources of your inspiration and your might."
The forthcoming report of the Park, Parkway and Recreational Area
Study will disclose not only the number of state parks but also it is
hoped will properly evaluate them. A digest of the completed study in
this fashion could not only give proper appraisal to the properties them-
selves but moreover of the spirit and the quality of understanding of
each State in that particular field. In this manner we would discover the
need of parks and recreation in this milUon-geared and complicated
world of ours.
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98 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Speaking for myself, I would not at all be interested in the work if
the function of parks and recreation would merely be to provide shallow
amusement for bored and boring people. Folks so disposed should be
referred to bingo or any other of the abounding inanities.
Fortunately for all of us, parks have a quite different meaning which
concerns itself, Antaeus like, with the physical necessity of man to keep
in touch with nature. It is that eon-old longing of the soul to find a
haven of rest. No matter how much we do indirectly by way of sports
and athletics for the body, the spiritual hunger and search for things
hidden is the true answer to the question, "Why parks.''" Parks are the
dietetics of the soul — a refuge, a place to regain spiritual balance and
find strength and, if needed, a place of resignation from the turbulent
world without.
So with tongue in cheek, let us consult the etymologists on the
meaning of the word "park." An enclosed place. Such an enclosed place,
they tell us, was paradise, or shall I say, is paradise. An intermediate
Elysium, as some hold, for the souls of the righteous during the interval
between death and final judgment. Shades of Dante and Milton, The
old story of human hopes and aspirations, of agony and of defeat.
Paradise Gained and Paradise Lost. So our attempt to recreate man by
re-creating an environment, if humbly approached, will nevertheless
leave us with a feeling that we are following out the age-old craving
of our errant and searching souls.
The great national parks have blazed the way, the state parks have
followed; of late in such profusion that we must determinately address
ourselves to their proper use and management. While state parks, as
such, are nearly 75 years old, the greatest expansion so far has happened
within the last five years. How much of this ambitious program will
live depends chiefly upon three items :
Proper Selection
Careful Planning
Business-like Administration
A state park cannot be planned but has to be found; after which plan-
ning may begin. When I look back only 25 years and see how some of us
had to proceed in the preparation of an area, I am surprised that not
more mistakes were made. There was only one saving grace — we did not
have enough money to make big mistakes. So in paying a deserved
compliment to the Branch of Recreational Planning and State Cooper-
ation of the National Park Service for building up a corps of competent
scientists and technicians the highest praise is that they have not made
more mistakes notwithstanding the vast amounts at their command. This
indicates the superior quality of the technical and scientific staff.
Could it be improved? Of course it could, but it can much more
easily be depreciated. It should be improved by putting the whole
"works" under competent Civil Service, and by whole "works," I mean
STATE PARKS 99
not only the unprotected part in the National Park Service, but the
entire CCC staff. The building, planning and maintenance of all parks
are so completely bound up with public weal that we should eliminate
all partisan politics. It has truly been said that Democracy is the luxury
of a rich nation, but are we really so rich that in the wasteful turnover
of politics we can afford to sacrifice knowledge and experience and bog
down once more to hit-and-miss practices of the rule of thumb? Nor if
we persist in this extravagant and altogether foolish method have we
any right to speak of popular government.'* That sort of thing is not
popular and never has been popular. The people are merely helpless be-
cause their opinion and wishes have not been followed. I remember the
time when the people wanted parks and did not get them because the
politician saw no profit in them. But after they had been established,
parks and recreation suddenly became of great value because the faithful
could be given jobs in them.
We are concerning ourselves with the recognition of exceptional
talent discovered in our CCC ranks; the preservation, use and advance-
ment of such welcome talent in park and recreational work. We have
prepared a plan which means even more than the offering of opportunity
to the individual; it means the serving of a national ideal that to each
citizen however humble be guaranteed equal chances. The charity of
social security may well begin in society's own home.
See what has come out of the richest farm in Christendom, the acres
of one Thomas and Nancy Hanks Lincoln in Indiana.
If you agree to the Committee's report prepared by Roberts Mann,
and follow it with driving action, we will see results of which in another
18 years it will again be said, "They started with little; with just an
idea." And in that hope and expectation I propose a name. Let the
graduates from our proposed Park School be known as The Railsplitters.
That name, I take it, will be fully understood without benefit of ex-
planation from deserving patriots.
Let us now consider Park Administration. Just as much as the
planning of a park must be along the line of knowledge and experience
in the particular field, so the administration must be business-like. A
park to live must earn its living. Ways have to be found by the States to
put their investments on an income basis. If they are made dependent
on appropriations, these appropriations will either be treated by the
legislators as charity or as a political investment. In neither case will
parks live very long or lead a useful, happy and successful life. On the
other hand placed on a business basis and operated in the interest of the
people, it is astounding how much service can be furnished for so little
outlay. Parks are not eleemosynary institutions. Park visitors are
citizens of a State who pridefully consider themselves stockholders in a
growing concern and not suppliants of charity. In other words, they
still are citizens and not "deficitizens."
100 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The last four years have witnessed an increase of about 80 per cent
in state park holdings. This addition of some 600,000 acres to the older
state park holdings naturally need not prove the obvious fact of their
existence as it must show a capacity for survival. To do that this vast
and interesting domain must be put on a business footing, for it is a
business as far as its management is concerned. And it can serve spiritual
needs only if the material ones are securely taken care of.
I warn, as I have so often done, against a fateful dependence upon
continued Federal and even state aid in the sense that the cost of part
maintenance be put upon the people's tax duplicate, Federal or state.
To start a park either public or private funds have to be expended.
That has been, done in full measure, funds not only for acquisition of
land but also for plans and projects.
From now on the entity will have to demonstrate whether it be an
asset or a liability; a success or a failure.
So much for the general principle. In actual experience you will find
that some of your infants will not do as well as others. Some have to be
supported a bit longer, just as among your own children some attain
stature and independence early while others have to be helped along.
But while you love them all alike, you would go broke if the majority
remained dependent on you for life.
As an example, let me give you some figures out of the experience of
the state park system of Indiana, not because I consider its set-up
superior to others but because I know it best.
Four Indiana parks, with Turkey Run far in the lead, in 1922 had a
total income of $10,855.40. Compared with this the report for 1937
shows park earnings of $164,296.35 for a total of 9 parks. Of these parks
3 are more than self -supporting (115 per cent, 117 per cent and 168 per
cent) ; 3 approach complete self-support. The average at this time for all
large parks is 91.5 per cent. The memorials are 40 per cent self-support-
ing, which in the nature of things is a good showing. The total for all
properties, including cost of administration, is 80 per cent. It is con-
fidently expected that within a few years the entire system will be self-
supporting.
Besides the stated park income, the Division receives further funds
through the sale of sand, gravel and by way of coal royalties. The former
amount to $65,099.73; the latter $1,539.59. To these three items is to be
added the appropriation of $41,812.94, making a grand total of available
park funds of $272,748.61.
When we started the work in 1916 our appropriation was just $10,000
and for that reason it was necessary that we should find an income. It
would carry us beyond reasonable time to refer in detail to this system;
however, it is at your disposal through our office.
We have seen then that the selection of park lands is akin to the
work of the artist. It is a form of creation; a vision. Park planning is a
STATE PARKS 101
technical job and park management a business enterprise. If these
three items are harmoniously balanced they produce as a result park
Service. This is fulfillment of the promise to provide a delightful place
amid natural surroundings for re-vitalization and recreation.
We thus close the circle. Having had our vision of a Park, having
carefully planned and managed it, we have truly helped to provide "A
thing of beauty and a joy forever," for this Park Service in its widest
sense is nothing else but a vision attained.
Responsibilities of the State
ARNO B. CAMMERER, Director, National Park Service
THIS conference is timely. We urgently need to confer. Parks are a
vital ingredient in the daily bread of our Nation. Parks will succeed
or fail by what we do in the near future. The person who cannot recognize
the loss has never seen the opportunity.
In the last five years, parks have been projected from a position of
comparative obscurity to a position of large national prominence. Most
of you are concerned with some phase of park work. You are all, there-
fore, familiar with the accomplishments in the park field — ^national, state
and local — and there is no need for me today to review the encouraging
steps of our progress as I did last year. Because of that progress, in-
finitely greater importance attaches to what we do for parks right now.
The same circumstances and source-funds that have accelerated the
park movement have likewise accelerated the competing forms of land
use. Never before have civic and political units been so conscious of
the planned development of their resources. In the development of
local, state, and regional plans, each organized commercial interest has
used every power at its command to be certain that every square foot
of the territory should forever be open to that interest's particular type
of exploitation. Not one organized commercial interest is willing to keep
its hands off of an area of park caliber until it has plowed, harrowed,
winnowed and sifted every particle of the area for the last possible
measure of value; then it is quite willing to turn the area over for the
benefit and enjoyment of the public, to be restored and rehabilitated
at public expense. The story and the play are old, but the cast is organ-
ized and modern.
Advocates of competing forms of land use are alarmed at the rela-
tively cheering progress made by parks. They are out to hit parks and
hit them hard. Their propaganda is so persuasive that they even have
some well-known park advocates quaking in their boots for fear that
parks may be too successful and succeed in strangling the economic
life of the country. This might be termed "shivering at one's own
convictions."
102 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
There is no need to elaborate on that phase of park work. Every
park man is familiar with it, and every park man knows that his watery-
veined friends form the outposts of the enemy camp. But, in the face
of these facts and conditions, is it not time for all true park conserva-
tionists to unite?
The National Conference on State Parks, as well as the American
Planning and Civic Association, should be more than a clearing house
of information. It should be a nation-wide organ for focusing park
opinion and leading park support. Such an organization through its
members and sympathetic friends could implant parks so firmly into
our national consciousness and into our national scheme that no selfish
drives, no predatory raids, would be successful.
The question is: "What will you do about it?"
The second question also rests with the States. It relates to our great
opportunity. What are we going to do with it?
Millions of dollars of Federal funds have in near years gone into the
development and stimulation of the state park movement. The States
and the Federal Government are justly proud of this cooperative under-
taking. But, how far will the States now go to provide for the main-
tenance and proper use of the park facilities that have been given them?
Upon the answer to that question hinges largely the fate of the park
movement, at least so far as this generation is concerned.
The enemy, of course, has sprinkled the word around that the Na-
tional Park Service wishes to get hold of the state parks and control
them. Such a rumor is either the figment of a hysterical mind or else
it is definitely calculated to be misleading. Even some state park organ-
izations have been tipped by this green paint. Obviously the answer
does not lie in a whispering campaign but in the States' shouldering
their own responsibilities. The more they do, the less there will be for
the Federal Government to do and the more will be achieved in the
ultimate. No State that is carrying its share is going to be hood-winked
by the State that says, either, "Let Uncle Sam do it," or "Uncle Sam
wants to do it all."
We park people should be wiser than lambs and not half so sleepy.
We should recognize the propaganda that would split our ranks and
dissipate our efforts in futile bickering among ourselves; we should learn
to ignore that kind of propaganda. Actually, when all the pettifoggery
is stripped away, we have but one simple shining goal, and that is the
welfare of the parks. No other form of land use can take their place,
despite all the glittering promises to the contrary, and no other ad-
ministrative agencies will ever be half as dihgent in protecting park
values as the park authorities themselves.
EDUCATION
A Program of Education in Landscape
Management
ROBERTS MANN, Superintendent of Maintenance, Cook County, Illinois
Editor's Note. — Perhaps the outstanding contribution to the 1938 National Con-
ference on State Parks (which heard many constructive talks) was the Preliminary Report
of a Committee of the Conference, headed by Dean Stanley L. Coulter, of Indiana. The
following is a summary of the report, which is a contribution by the Forest Preserve
District of Cook County, Illinois, to the National Conference on State Parks, through
the medium of the investigational work on the part of Roberts Mann, who is Superin-
tendent of Maintenance for that organization. The complete report is available in mimeo-
graphed form.
THE deeper significance of the term Landscape Management repre-
sents a fundamental function which includes both forest and park
recreation, epitomizes what we are really thinking about — mass rec-
reational use of native landscape — and transcends any distinction be-
tween arbitrary, bureaucratic divisions of that use.
The development of native landscape areas for recreational use has
proceeded faster than the development of men trained in their design,
operation and maintenance. The almost universal lack of funds for
proper operation and maintenance further increases the crying need for
men with background, perspective and a sense of values.
This Conference recognized that the past four years of ECW, CWA,
FERA and WPA participation have resulted in the creation of new state
and county systems, both forest and park, and the development — in
many cases the overdevelopment — of existing systems. Much of the work
done has been badly planned and poorly executed. An acute maintenance
problem exists as well as an acute design problem. Men with adequate,
proper training to handle these problems are few. At the same time there
is a wealth of potentially valuable men about to slip back out of sight —
men uncovered and partially developed as superintendents, foremen and
even enrollees in CCC camps, in WPA, and as park or forest custodians.
The Conference also deplored the lack of academic standing for men
trained in landscape management as contrasted with foresters, landscape
architects, architects, engineers and wildlife management men. It recog-
nized the difficulty confronting those attempting to hire men for either
the design or maintenance of a recreational area subordinated to the
preservation of the native landscape. The specialist has his recognized
place. We will always require the technician for the major jobs of forestry,
landscape architecture, architecture, engineering, wildlife management
and recreational planning. The man with what President Conant of
Harvard so aptly termed "a unilateral bent" is invaluable for a purpose.
But the field of landscape management requires men of "multilateral"
bent with training integrating the several phases of that field. It in-
volves not a compromise but a synthesis of conflicting ideas and needs.
103
104 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Your committee, appointed to consider the development of a course
of instruction in "public land administration," approached the problem
with two objectives : first, short courses of instruction to be given groups
of partially trained men in the lower income brackets, at universities or
regional centers and, second, undergraduate instruction in the univer-
sities. Three other desirable steps have appeared as by-products of the
investigation. One is the inauguration of "return courses" for men in
the higher income brackets, actively engaged in landscape management,
and "institutes" or "congresses" to keep such men abreast of the latest
developments in their profession. The second is the summer employ-
ment of undergraduates specializing in landscape management or some
of its phases. The third is the selection of a short but inclusive title for
this hybrid profession, and I throw the designation "Landscape Manage-
ment" into the ring, aware that there is likely to be as much conflict
over title as there will be over program and method. At least it places
equal emphasis on parks and recreational forests.
Paradoxically, we have been confused by the very eagerness of the
universities to cooperate in a three-point program, though warned at
the outset that such would be the case. This eagerness to be of greater
service and more fully utilize their plants, equipment and teaching
personnel is most welcome as concerning adult education, that is, the
winter short courses for field men in the lower brackets and congresses
for men in the higher brackets, but renders difficult the consideration of
the proper curricula for undergraduate training. This new fluidity and
this responsiveness to the changing needs of the times, motivated by
the ideal of maximum educational service, was the most striking im-
pression received at the several universities visited.
WINTER INSTITUTES FOR NON-COLLEGE MEN
IN THE LOWER INCOME BRACKETS
Winter short courses or "institutes" for individuals in the lower in-
come brackets, usually having less than college entrance requirements
but of exceptional intelligence and aptitude, probably should not be
limited to adults but should be available to outstanding enrollees or
former enrollees in CCC camps. It does not seem advisable or practical
to hold these institutes at regional centers as such, nor indeed at any
college where the teaching staff, the buildings, the woodlot or experi-
ment station, and the available state parks or forests are not of the
highest order. Much of the value in such institutes will lie in the back-
ground and inspiration offered. Subject matter is secondary. What
these men and boys need is background, a sense of direction and a high
standard of values. Subject matter must be presented with these three
needs in mind, and the desired presentation can be given by compara-
tively few men in the teaching profession at the present time.
Subject matter taught in lectures, "labs" and field trips conducted by
STATE PARKS 105
the university staflP should be supplemented by lectures from nationally
known leaders in various phases of park and forest recreation. Such men
have many demands upon their time and certain inescapable obligations.
Short consideration was given to the holding of these schools in regional
centers other than universities because of this recognized limitation upon
the participation of outside men of established reputation. And yet a
few such lectures are essential. More background — more inspiration!
More than one of the younger attendants at these annual meetings of
the Conference have been inspired to new heights and have gone away
imbued with new enthusiasm for a profession that can attract to it such
leadership.
The designation "institute" was suggested as a euphonious substitute
for the term "short course" to which some opprobrium still clings. The
length should be four weeks. It should commence at least two weeks
after the beginning of the second semester — say March 1st. The number
to be given instruction at each university must be greater than 20 but
should not exceed 75. The men sent should be selected carefully and at the
close of the institute a report should be sent to their respective sponsors
rating each man as to attendance, attentiveness, application and apti-
tude. Where possible, as at Michigan and Syracuse, the students should
be housed in supervised dormitories and fed in a dining hall or cafeteria,
rather than allowed to scatter at will through town.
The cost to the sponsor will not exceed $150 per man, being variable
according to the transportation to and from the institute.
The cost of board and lodging will not exceed $12.50 per week. The
tuition will amount to something between $25 and $50. A tuition fee of
$30 probably would cover the allowances to the several instructors for
additional hours of teaching, the hire of an additional instructor, mimeo-
graphed material, and transportation for field trips. A fee exceeding $30
would provide a fund to cover the expense of bringing in outside speakers.
The Conference will have to lend its influence toward securing men of
prominence and speaking ability at a minimum cost.
The cost per man may prove a deterrent to many state forest and
some state park organizations, If one of the great foundations could be
induced to subsidize each of the institutes to the annual amount of $1,000
per university, a full and worthwhile attendance would be better assured.
For reasons too lengthy and impolitic for discussion here, three
universities were selected and approached as best suited for the initial
establishment of such institutes in 1939. The University of California
regretfully declined. Professor Mulford of its Division of Forestry was
keenly interested and sympathetic but obliged to abide by the decision
of President Robert G. Sproul and of the Board of Regents to develop
no new educational projects at present because of a serious financial
situation. He was, however, thinking primarily of undergraduate in-
struction and of "return course" work which would require the acquisi-
106 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
tion of two new staff members — one in landscape design and one in forest
recreation. Probably a winter institute could be inaugurated at Cali-
fornia if a definite plan were laid before President Sproul and urged.
At the University of Michigan, Dean Samuel T. Dana and Professor
Shirley W. Allen of the School of Forestry have been working with
Professor Harlow Whittemore of the Department of Landscape Archi-
tecture to develop a program.
The New York State College of Forestry, at Syracuse University,
through Dr. Laurie D. Cox, head of its Department of Landscape and
Recreational Management, has submitted a complete program. It is
set up on the basis of a month's work involving 3 hours of lecture each
morning and a laboratory or field trip each afternoon, with a total of
72 lectures and 24 afternoon exercises. Dr. Cox has outlined a compre-
hensive program which would involve about twice this amount of work.
A student would require therefore two years to complete the program.
I can appreciate the value of a two-year program but I do not agree
with his suggestion that the student in his first year be permitted to
select the subjects he is most desirous of obtaining.
UNDERGRADUATE TRAINING IN LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT
The consideration of proper training for undergraduates to be ab-
sorbed as career men by park and forest organizations presents many
baffling and controversial problems. By the same token it carries with
it grave responsibility. Educators have been wrestling with these or
similar problems for many years — ^with varying success.
The Society of American Foresters — in the words of Dean H. S.
Graves of Yale — has limited its function to the study of every phase of
forest education, to the establishment of minimum standards, and the
presentation of the results of its study and experience as affecting
changes in or additions to the forest education structure. It would
seem that this Conference should so limit its recommendations relative
to undergraduate training in landscape management.
The Society of American Foresters issued in 1935 a "Professional
Forestry Schools Report," listing 14 schools as "approved" and grading
both these and seven others according to a determination of all measur-
able factors affecting the efficiency of instruction, with due consideration
of the intangible factors of personality which in the last analysis deter-
mine the efficiency of professional instruction. Any committee of this
Conference attempting to deal with undergraduate or graduate instruc-
tion would do well to study thoroughly that report.
The conclusions stated here must be taken as wholly my own and
purposely argumentative. However, they do present a sifted synthesis
of the considered opinions of the many very positive men with whom
I have argued or conferred, some of them leaders in this field.
STATE PARKS 107
1. Basic forestry training is the first prerequisite in training for the design
and administration of native landscape areas for mass recreational use.
The forester and the landscape architect both tend to approach such a task
objectively, from without and above, but the forester, generally speaking,
makes the better administrator. The engineer, the architect and the wildlife
man tend to approach it subjectively, from within, from the viewpoint of detail.
2. Training in the fundamentals, history and design of landscape architec-
ture is the next most important ingredient.
3. Elements of civil engineering, architecture, wildlife management and
recreation management must be included.
4. The inclusion of cultm-al courses — the humanities — to develop an under-
standing and appreciation of literature, history, art, music and economics is
peculiarly important as background in a profession so influenced by public
relations. Nearly everyone seems to agree on this point, but the character and
diversity of the subjects to be included provoke endless debate.
5. Not less than five years should be required for the completion of such a
curriculum leading to the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry. Six years
would be better still. Dean Graves of Yale believes a good background of general
education essential as preparation for all professional study of collegiate grade,
and urges a four-year course in basic forestry with some electives and several
cultural courses as preparation for not less than two years of graduate study
in landscape management.
The practical yet sympathetic man asks "But what of the boy who cannot
afford six college years?" One answer to that would be the establishment of
scholarships.
6. The proportion of the curriculum given by members of the forestry faculty
seems to have a definite relationship to the quality of graduates turned out.
Technical courses given outside the school of forestry should be specifically
shaped to fit the needs of students in landscape management.
A case in point is the course majoring in "Landscape and Recreational Man-
agement" given by the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse Uni-
versity; 72.7 per cent of the instruction is given by the forestry faculty. The
courses in drawing, mathematics, engineering, architecture, and wildlife manage-
ment, given in other colleges of the university or in other departments of the
College of Forestry, have been pruned of all dead-wood and reshaped specifically
to give the students in that department all that they need and no more. I went
there prepared by a study of the cvirriculum to criticize a lack of suflBcient
engineering training. As an engineer I was amazed at the fundamentals mastered
in the courses given and must concede the sound execution of the designs and
drawings of reinforced concrete, wood and steel structures, of roads and of drain-
age systems. The same applies to architectiu"al designs with complete detailed
plans. The engineering plans were executed as an engineer would make them,
the architectural plans as an architect would make them — any contractor could
bid and build upon them. At the same time, the landscape work was superlative
in originality, successful treatment of competitive design problems, draughts-
manship and handling of color.
Such a curriculum not only saves time but eliminates cluttering up the
student's mind with a lot of facts and theorems he may never need. Further,
instead of being a Wandering Jew of the campus he becomes one of a close-knit
group with that cohesive kinship so rich in intangibles for the professional man.
7. There must be equar emphasis on park and forest landscape design and
management for recreational use. The intimate relationships between the prob-
lems of the two types of reservations and the growing importance of forest
recreation admit of no antagonism nor, indeed, of differentiation.
8. The faculty personnel should be composed of outstanding teachers in
108 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
their respective fields to insure the inspiration, background and high standard of
values necessary for success in landscape management.
The multiplicity of subjects studied and the exclusion of all that does not
particularly apply to this particular field may result in confusion and super-
ficiality unless properly presented and correlated.
9. The availability of high-grade state or national parks and forests, as well
as the excellence of the buildings, equipment, library and woodlots or experiment
station, are factors in the suitability of a college to be approved.
10. The standard of graduates should be kept high and the output low.
Students lacking in aptitude should be weeded out and "busted" or required to
transfer to other branches of training. Here again is a delicate and difiBcult
responsibility requiring the deft, personal guidance of sympathetic, able,
scholarly teachers.
Mass production of "parkers" and "recreational foresters" is unvs^ise.
No one can say just how many landscape management men may be
absorbed each year. Syracuse accepts from 35 to 45 freshmen each year
and graduates from 10 to 15 which the park field seems to absorb with-
out much difficulty. As the forest recreation field widens, and with the
acceptance of standards set up by this Conference, the allowable output
should increase.
It has been argued by some distinguished educators that we should
select one good school and attempt to develop that school by bringing
about there a concentration of the finest teachers in the field. The pit-
falls in such a program would probably defeat any advantages to be
gained. The function of this Conference would s^m to be the formulation
of certain minimima standards and the grading of the several schools
offering instruction in this field.
At least three colleges offer courses in phases of landscape manage-
ment. The New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse is entitled
at present to the highest rating. Its curriculimi for specialization in
"Landscape and Recreational Management" is calculated to turn out
well-trained men. They are now working toward a five-year course
which will lighten the freshman year and give more cultural subjects.
The University of Michigan at Ann Arbor offers, through its Depart-
ment of Landscape Design, a three-year course in the "Design and
Management of Park and Recreational Areas" which must be preceded
by at least two years of work in liberal arts and sciences. Michigan
now submits to this Conference two possible programs for the establish-
ment of a suitable curriculum in landscape management. They also are
appended hereto. The one outlines a five-year course leading to the
degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Landscape Design in the
College of Literature, Science and the Arts (four years) and the Graduate
School (one year). The other outlines a five-year course leading to the
degrees of Bachelor of Forestry and Master of Forestry in the College
of Literature, Science and the Arts (two years) and the School of Forestry
and Conservation (three years).
The Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science at
STATE PARKS 109
East Lansing, in the Forestry Series of its Division of Agriculture,
offers a four-year course with speciaUzation in the junior and senior
years in a "Recreational and Municipal Forestry" major. P. A. Herbert,
Professor of Forestry, is dissatisfied with the present form of their
course and proposes several changes along the lines suggested.
RETURN COURSES FOR COLLEGE GRADUATES
IN THE HIGHER INCOME BRACKETS
These investigations have suggested the possibility of a third type
of instruction which should be equally valuable, namely: "return"
courses for college graduates actively engaged in landscape management
— men in the higher income brackets — and "congresses" to keep such
men abreast of the latest developments and trends in their profession.
Most of these men have had good university training in either landscape
architecture, forestry or engineering and now find themselves career
men in a field demanding knowledge of all three of the older professions
plus wildlife management, plus recreational planning. Most of them
welcome an opportunity to supply deficiencies in their training.
Occasional men will find it feasible to enroll at some well-equipped
university and complete the year or more of work required for a master's
degree. Others would be better served with the opportunity to spend
one semester or more taking either credit or non-credit work in various
subjects. Such men would be definitely benefited by fellowships which
the Conference might establish at one or more universities. Course
work rather than theses should predominate.
Comparatively few men, however, will be able to sacrifice the time
and income involved in a year's leave of absence. There are no sabbatical
years in political subdivisions. The majority find themselves so fully
bound by circumstance and the demands of their jobs that they have
little opportunity to keep fully abreast of the developments in their
field, limited time for reading, and little or no guidance in what to read.
It is all too easy for a good man to fall or be forced into a rut.
The University of Michigan has been doing some remarkable work
in arranging graduate study clinics whereby every practicing physician
in the State can, if he will, keep up to date and abreast of the latest
developments in the medical profession. Last year over half of the 3,600
physicians in the State took work in these courses and 15 or 20 were
awarded a "certificate of proficiency" more highly valued than a mas-
ter's degree; 145 were stimulated to attend special clinics outside the
State, as compared with 25 in 1932.
Every two years in New York State the State Conference of Mayors
holds a short course for professional park executives. Last year the
conference met as guests of the New York City Bureau of Parks for
approximately a week's study, with a quite large attendance.
A winter institute or "congress" for professionally trained men
110 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
actively engaged in landscape management would be of service. My
own ideas on such a program are still in the formative stage. The length
of the course, the subject matter and the manner of presentation are
debatable. I would say that one week would be the minimum length
and two weeks the probable maximum. The time of this "congress"
could be made to coincide with part of the institute for men in the lower
income brackets so as to secure the advantage of talks by one or more
nationally known leaders in the profession. Illustrated papers and
lectures might form the bulk of the subject presentation. Round-table
discussions would be of definite value. Reprints of outstanding articles
could be supplied and courses of reading recommended.
It is recommended that institutes for men in the lower income
brackets and "congresses" for men in the higher income brackets be
inaugurated during the winter of 1939, and that the universities of
Syracuse, Michigan and California be designated as three locations for
the initial effort.
PLACEMENT OF UNDERGRADUATES AND GRADUATES
IN LANDSCAPE MANAGEMENT
At Syracuse and at Michigan State College the problem of placing
both graduates and undergraduates in summer work was raised. In
most four-year courses the interval between the sophomore and junior
years is taken up by 10 to 12 weeks of summer camp. In five-year
courses this occurs between the third and fourth years. If many of the
boys studying landscape management — under whatever name — could
be given work in the simimer following the year of summer camp it
would be of great educational benefit to them. As Dr. Laurie D. Cox
phrases it, "They would be perfectly willing to accept work in any form
of park activity in city, small town, county or state organization. All
they want is a chance to see parks actually in operation and learn how
the wheels go round." If such boys could be placed as laborers, assistant
caretakers, or on survey parties at a wage barely suflScient to pay their
living expenses, the background of practical experience would pay
dividends in their subsequent year of university training.
Graduates just out of school have a diflicult problem which would be
partially solved if they could be absorbed in park and forest organiza-
tions on a temporary basis long enough to enable them to get their feet
on the ground and at the same time subsist.
CONCLUSION
Out of this study I come convinced that mediocre training, mediocre
men and men vnihout peculiar aptitude have no place as designers or
administrators in the field of landscape management.
STATE PARKS 111
New Attitudes in Conservation Education
PEARL CHASE, Santa Barbara, California
WE RECOGNIZE that for about 25 years there has been a growing
reahzation of the increasing need for the practice of economy or,
as it is frequently phrased, the wise use and development of our resources.
However, the Departments of Conservation or of Natural Resources,
established in many States, have in most instances been slow to realize
their opportunities and slower to develop an adequate technique in
relation to the education of the public on subjects related to the manage-
ment and use of parks and forests, fish, game, mineral, soil and water
resources.
CONSERVATION EDUCATION IN THE SCHOOLS
Wisconsin and Florida were the first States to enact legislation re-
quiring instruction in conservation in the schools. (Wisconsin, 1935.)
It may not be necessary or wise to enact similar legislation in other
States but rather to encourage work along this line through the usual
professional channels.
The Office of Education of the Department of the Interior has re-
viewed accomplishments in various parts of the country, has held con-
ferences of official and volunteer agencies, and in 1937 began the pub-
lication of an important series of bulletins and bibliographies, both on
the general subject of "Conservation Education in the Public Schools"
and on specific subjects related thereto.
The keynote of the new approach is that, instead of teaching only
a single subject or series of subjects classified as natural sciences, it is
most important to supplement such instruction by work aimed at
developing at all age levels the conservation idea. The fundamental
purpose of conservation education is, therefore, the development of an
attitude of mind and a way of living which will be evident throughout
the life of the individual.
It is important to realize that the organization of a conservation
education program in schools will be greatly benefited if continuing
contacts are established with fact-finding and administrative agencies
within the State. The official agencies will profit from the self-analysis
required, the opportunity to secure a wider understanding of the prin-
ciples governing their policies and activities, and the improved contacts
with an interested public.
In a number of States, original and useful experiments are being tried
with the cooperation of several agencies. In Tennessee the activities
of the Department of Conservation have been described. (See page 115.)
In States as widely scattered as West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico and California,
Oregon and Washington, different approaches have been made to the
112 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
subject, on the part of school departments, largely depending upon the
available leadership, sources of information, public interest outside the
schools and the funds available. It is generally accepted that the ele-
mentary and rural schools and the normal schools of teachers colleges
which train teachers for them, have been most responsive. It is naturally
more difficult to change the attitudes or introduce new material into
secondary or high-school grades and universities.
In recent years, as evidence of their interest, volunteer organizations
have sponsored the establishment of a number of Nature Study Camps
for teachers and leaders of youth groups, notably the Audubon Society,
the Garden Club of America, State Garden Club Federations and the
State Federation of Women's Clubs. Sometimes the camps have later
become a part of a department of state colleges; a few were started
by them.
NEW PROGRAMS FOR YOUTH GROUPS
The Girl Scouts have recently reorganized their program and in-
creased the attention paid to nature study and conservation education,
particularly in connection with their camping program. The Camp Fire
Girls have adopted quite a remarkable and stimulating "far horizon"
program of conservation activity and in 1938 completed its first nation-
wide competition for community projects planned for accomplishment
over a 25-year period.
A useful plan for study and work has been created in the CCC Camps
and everyone will agree that the boys and men in these camps have not
only learned but demonstrated to a nation-wide audience the impor-
tance of knowing how to do things and the value of doing them where
it will do the most good. In some areas it would be helpful if those in
charge of the publicity about this work would emphasize the reasons for
and results of their undertakings, so using the chance for favorable radio
or newspaper notice, to teach lessons in conservation.
The National Youth Administration outlined in 1936 a program in
which the various state directors were urged "to learn from conservation
agencies in the State, how to most effectively cooperate in their work."
CONSERVATION WEEKS
There are hundreds of other national, state and local activities, which
indicate that many are trying to guide public opinion and develop
helpful attitudes of mind. Conservation Weeks were first organized in
eastern and then in the Pacific Coast States. The sponsoring and co-
operating groups usually included the Garden Club of America, State
Federations of Women's Clubs, State Federations of Garden Clubs, the
Department of Education and the Department of Conservation or
Natural Resources. They occur in the spring, on different dates, to suit
local conditions. In most instances the annual Guide Book for Con-
servation Week was contributed by the volunteer agencies and dis-
STATE PARKS US
tributed and used by the School Departments. California first attempted
a state-wide organization which provided for participation of all Federal
and state agencies and state-wide organizations interested in conserva-
tion. The California State Department of Education published the
Teachers' Bulletin ("Source Material for Conservation Week," 1st
Edition 1935, 2nd Edition 1936), and the State Committee printed and
supplied the General Announcement, poster and Children's Leaflet. In
Illinois, the State printed the oflScial poster.
In some instances, a state program has been developed around a
restricted field, such as the study and protection of birds or native flora,
but usually the programs have attempted to show the very great scope,
number and importance of conservation problems within the State,
and so have encouraged the widest possible participation. The financing
of printed material, particularly for the schools, libraries and state
departments, should be borne increasingly by the States themselves,
for with growing interest, the quantity is greater than individuals and
organizations can adequately supply or afford.
National Wild Life Week has recently appeared as another agency
which stimulates discussion of problems related to wild life. The attempt
has properly been made to include subject matter, such as forest and
water conservation, the purpose of which in part, is to preserve and
protect wild life. The sale of bird and animal stamps designed by "Ding"
Darling financed this movement in 1937. A Conservation Week and
National Wild Life Week can be carried on either simultaneously or
separately in the same State.
OCCASIONAL ACTIVITIES OF PUBLIC AGENCIES
The U. S. Forest Service, the National Park Service, Soil Conserva-
tion Service, Agricultural Extension Service, and Biological Survey all
are trying to improve their approach to their special problems. Two
years ago a talk was given before this conference on "Educational
Opportunities in State Parks" (see paper by Ansel F. Hall, pages 277-282,
American Planning & Civic Annual, 1937).
It is important to remember also that conservation practices should
be taught or discussed repeatedly and in different places, not only in
school but at home, on the playfield, in camp and particularly in public
areas open for recreational purposes from beach to mountain. An
example is the universal need for "good manners" that is, good habits
and the proper attitude of mind with regard to burning matches and
tobacco on the part of both children and adults. If anyone has been in
the habit of throwing away cigarettes and matches when still lighted,
ten to fifty times a day, he is not going to change the habit just because
he is motoring along a rural highway or hunting and fishing in brush or
wooded country. Laws, and warning signs are not protection enough.
Education of the individual is necessary.
114 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
While we are discussing the ideal attitude of mind and way of living,
it is not inappropriate to mention methods used to control the behavior
of those using our recreation areas, where the practice of conservation
principles must be enforced as well as taught. Some park executives
have proved that if they have found some particular practices worth
while, they will secure greater cooperation from the public if they explain
or demonstrate how and why these practices are desirable. The ad-
vantage of combining control or discipline with reason is an eflFective
argument for conservation education.
It is only realistic, however, to advise such "practical hints" as the
digging of narrow roadside ditches to prevent auto invasion of beautiful
meadows as in Yosemite Valley and elsewhere; and the use of such
large or heavy tables, benches or waste-barrels that they cannot be
readily hauled away in the trucks of appreciative park users (see Cook
County Reservation, where Chicago picnickers are reported stronger
than those in some sections of the country). The inexpensive photographs
of park desecration, disorder or destruction caused by a group and
mailed by the park superintendent, with a note, to teacher or group
leader has resulted in the immediate improvement in the behavior of
all the individuals in the group, including the leader's.
The confiscation of plant material in parks or on roads near certain
vulnerable areas can be made into another effective conservation lesson.
In certain areas many believe there should be more such supervised
points of contact with week-end "nature lovers." In Southern California
we can boast that few pick the protected Yucca blossoms, for with
their stalk, they are 6 to 10 feet long, a little hard to hide, and our
"educated public" openly razz the rash soul who tries to observe the
Sabbath by bringing home one of these beautiful "Candles of Our Lord."
EDUCATIONAL MATERIAL
The number of pamphlets, charts and books, on conservation topics
has recently increased rapidly. Many have been published by bureaus
of the Federal Government, a smaller number by State departments and
universities. Many organizations publish occasional bulletins and there
are numerous periodicals now which include or feature articles and notes
concerning our varied natural resources. Among the associations whose
publications have rendered a great service in keeping different audiences
informed and stimulating them to take a more active part in the con-
servation movement, to mention only a few of the more notable, are
The American Planning & Civic Association, The National Association
of Audubon Societies, The American Forestry Association and the
American Nature Association. It is more than a coincidence that the
word "American" appears so frequently in their names.
The most important message which can be brought to you is this:
Those concerned with conservation education and nature study in
STATE PARKS 115
schools and in the youth groups, have one persistent plea which those
in positions like yours should heed. They say: "First, give us more, more,
more factual information and illustrated material. Help us to show how
your work is related to everyday life, but please turn over your material
to curriculum specialists who can best prepare it for teacher and pupil
use." "Second, help us to find ways of making this material available
at the least possible expense."
The demand for and use of visual education material is increasing
rapidly. As more schools are equipped with moving picture machines
and in the larger and more progressive cities and counties, staff members
devote considerable time to collecting maps, charts, pictures, slides,
pamphlets and even films. (The University of California Extension
Division prepared a nineteen -page special catalog of "Films to Aid in
the Conservation of Natural Resources," (Feb., 1918), in connection
with the observance of California Conservation Week.)
The State and local planning boards are busy collecting data and
compiling reports on many subjects of vital interest to citizens. It is
important that planning agencies make available to departments of
education, as well as others, summaries of factual material gathered
and certain maps and charts compiled in connection with their studies
of natural resources.
Taking Conservation into the Schools
JOHN C. CALDWELL, Educational Assistant, Tennessee Department of Conservation,
Nashville, Tenn.
A BOUT fifteen years ago various conservation agencies in Tennessee
jt\. began to realize the importance of education as a means of develop-
ing conservation attitudes. The forestry division of our State instructed
its men many years ago to visit schools whenever possible and to interest
teachers and students alike in the forestry program. In 1926 pressure
was brought to bear on the legislature and a course in forestry and
conservation was set up by law with a legally adopted textbook. Still
later the educational trend had its effects in game and fish work and in
1935 the State Game and Fish Commission inaugurated a Division of
Education to start work throughout the State among the schools. Less
than a year and half ago all existing agencies in conservation in Tennessee
were coordinated and a Department of Conservation was formed. One
of the important administrative units of this new Department was an
educational section. It became immediately the duty of this section of
the Department to try to coordinate the educational activities carried
on heretofore and mould them into a new program of conservation
education. One of the first things that was attempted was a careful
study of all the prior conservation education work in Tennessee and a
study of similar programs of all the other States.
116 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Immediately some very interesting facts became apparent. We soon
saw that relatively little true educational work had been done either in
our State or any other State. Instead of conservation education, the work
that has been done to date might better be called' publicity. We found,
too, that in our State the teachers were not trained in any way to teach
conservation. With few exceptions, they knew nothing of the importance
of conservation and had no idea of the possibilities of teaching it. We
found that most of the school work which had been done had been done
independently of regularly constituted school authorities by individuals
who happened to be interested and was generally more nature study
than conservation. Conservation had been taught, it is true, in com-
pliance with Tennessee law with an adopted textbook for ten years, but
we found that this forced teaching had had but little beneficial results.
A study of conservation education carried on by the other States showed
these same failings. A few States have adopted conservation courses
but they have made no provisions for adequate teacher training. It is
worse than useless to expect a teacher, who knows nothing about con-
servation and whose interest in the subject has not been aroused, to
teach the subject successfully.
Some 15 months ago we started a program of conservation education.
The first and most important project we have undertaken is to see that
conservation is properly taught in the schools of Tennessee, under the
supervision of proper teaching authorities. W^e realized at once that
teachers themselves must be trained and awakened before they can
teach conservation. In Tennessee, county teachers' associations meet
once a month during the school year, generally on Saturday, for educa-
tional programs. We first contacted the county superintendents of
education in the 95 counties of the State, asking them to allow a depart-
ment representative to meet at one or more of their institutes during
the year and explain our conservation program and discuss with the
teachers ideas relative to teaching conservation. During the last year
we met with 37 such groups, contacting some 6,000 teachers, telling
them about the conservation program of Tennessee and our desire to
get proper conservation teaching in the schools. Immediately following
each teachers' meeting, conservation department representatives visited
in that same county, putting on programs at some five or ten schools in
the county. In this way teachers obtain some little mass training but
quite naturally we cannot expect to do much in one or two hours during
the year. However, we consider this early contact of the greatest value
in making our subsequent reception a favorable one.
Our second method of training teachers in the teaching of conserva-
tion is to obtain the introduction of conservation courses into the colleges
and teacher training institutions of the State. During the past year we
have succeeded in obtaining the introduction of such courses in seven
of the leading colleges and universities of the State. Teachers must study
STATE PARKS 117
conservation if they are to teach it. Certainly an English teacher is not
put into a school unless she has studied English. We have met with the
professors selected to teach the courses and have helped them plan their
work and have had department personnel meet with each class several
times during the course and we attempt to supply them with factual
material. We have a surprisingly heavy enrollment in these courses
during this first year and the professors report widespread interest in
conservation.
Next, after training the teachers of the State, we realize that the
general public — fathers, mothers, members of the school board, and other
citizens — must be sold on our conservation program if we are going to
get successful teaching of conservation. With this in mind, we have
traveled the State systematically from county to county, visiting schools,
colleges, school board meetings — meetings of every variety — teaching the
people the importance of conservation and telling of our efforts to obtain
its teaching. After all it is the "patrons" — the people that send their
children to school — who really run the school. In many cases curriculum
content is investigated by these patrons If conservation is to be taught,
these people must be behind it and pushing it.
Some months ago a twenty -foot trailer was bought and outfitted as a
traveling conservation exhibit. The trailer is equipped with exhibits
covering all phases of conservation — forestry products, minerals,
mounted birds, and animal skins, charts, maps, graphs; it also contains
excellent motion picture equipment and a powerful generator so that
we can show motion pictures in any school no matter how far from elec-
tricity it may be situated. Since October, when this program started,
we have scheduled some 340 meetings in nearly every county of the
State. This figure may sound large, but much more impressive is the
fact that during the same period it was necessary to turn down 1200
invitations for conservation speakers. That would certainly indicate the
interest in this important subject.
The third phase of this part of our educational program, and one
which naturally follows the first two mentioned, is to obtain the actual
teaching of conservation in our schools. We believe that conservation is
of great enough importance that it should be taught from the first to
the twelfth grade in every school — city and county — negro and white.
However, a study of the results of twelve years' teaching with an adopted
course and textbook in the fifth grade, made us believe that there should
be better methods to teach conservation than through courses enforced
by law. The State Department of Education in Tennessee has for the
last five years been doing extensive work in the improvement of the
existing curriculum — in an effort to get away from the traditional teach-
ing method where the teacher was a slave to the text. In the traditional
old-fashioned school of America the textbook is almost as important as
the teacher. Most teachers follow the textbook page by page with no
118 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
variation. A text is too limited in the amount of suitable material and
it is too didactic and pre-organized. Even the existent flood of improved
textbooks is insufficient to serve the need of the child who is developing
as he should. To meet this problem, the Department of Education has
developed in our State a method of instruction that has been developed
in several other States — a system of teaching by the use of units of work,
based on actual condition and experience. A teaching unit which makes
use of local conditions and local problems — it is based upon real and
meaningful situation so that the formal tools of reading, writing, and
arithmetic are not learned in isolation. This does not mean that these
basic principles are not learned. They are introduced as they are needed
and there is ample evidence that they are learned more readily and
permanently in this way — that is through application. In Tennessee we
are seeking to teach conservation by the use of teaching units which
may be integrated with every existing course in the present curriculum
in such a way that the formal tools of learning are acquired through
the means of conservation as a general theme.
In connection with the larger teachers' colleges of the State, there
are training schools for practice teachers. Trial teaching units are being
prepared by teachers and then used in these training schools. Other
teachers have prepared teaching units during summer months at teachers'
colleges and then applied their work during the school year in their
particular schools. After they have then tried these units, they are taken
by teaching authorities into the curriculum "laboratories" of our three
largest teachers' colleges where they are studied and discussed and put
into better shape. During this present summer, fundamental — or "key"
units — are being prepared in the largest curriculum laboratory of the
State — at Peabody Teachers' College. The best known teaching author-
ities of this, and several other States, will put them into best possible
shape and they will be distributed in printed form this fall to every
teacher in Tennessee. At another of our teachers' colleges, the one
situated in East Tennessee, the whole theme and discussion of work
during the summer months will be conservation and conservation teach-
ing. Some 150 selected teachers will go over all available teaching
material in an eflFort to produce better teaching units for use in the
schools. Conservation Department personnel meet with these groups
at every opportunity. We do not tell them how to teach conservation
but we tell them what we as conservation experts know should be taught.
In this way we are assured that the right kind of subject matter is being
used. In an effort to increase interest among teachers in the use of
teaching units, we have selected 300 schools, evenly distributed through-
out the State, where conservation teaching by the unit method will be
used during the coming year in every grade and in every course. These
schools will be demonstration schools — schools where proper conserva-
tion teaching is demonstrated.
STATE PARK PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATION
State Park Architecture
ALBERT H. GOOD, Architectural Consultant, National Park Service
IT WOULD have been helpful if Mr. Gallup might have polled this
gathering well in advance. A position on "State Park Architecture"
could then be taken with smug assurance. For, if most of you cherish
that outworn notion that all structures — regardless of purpose and
excellence — are alien and intrusive in all natural park areas — irrespective
of degree of scenic, scientific, and historical endowment, it would be
expedient to render the customary lip service.
After all, a brief, conforming "God save the king" for the creaking
credo would be the easy thing to do. There is, however, a haunting
suspicion that to give it a cheery slap on the back would not be accepted
as enough. One is probably expected instead to lift the moribund idea
tenderly from its sick bed, clothe it in colorful phrase, rouge its shriveled
cheeks with synonym, twine a bright verbal garland in its toupee and
insist once again that the down payment on a shroud was money thrown
away.
Such a feat of superficial rejuvenation involves a technique for which
I have no hand and a belief in which I have no heart. The only alter-
native is to cry, "The king is dead; long live the king," and face the
firing squad, if need be.
Burke, by way of the thesaurus that is a collaborator on this paper
says, "Our antagonist is our helper." Here is classic justification for
the dissenter — and tremendously reassuring. I rush with eagerness and
delight to render all possible aid to friends of the Model-T notion about
park structures, by being radical, disputatious, and generally disagreeable
in what follows.
During the formative years of the natural park concept, its sponsors
raced against time and threatened exploitation to preserve areas of out-
standing scenic and scientific interest. Among the superlative sites early
dedicated to the natural park idea were the incomparable Valley of
Yosemite and the wondrous Canyons of the Yellowstone and the Colo-
rado. Resentment against buildings invading such scenic splendor was
not long developing. It was there that man must have sensed that in
the midst of primary grandeur his best-intentioned structural efforts
reached an all-time high for incongruity; that structures, however well
designed, could never contribute to the beauty, but only to the use, of
a natural park of real distinction; and that only the most persistent
demands for a facility should trap him into clowning with hammer and
saw in unspoiled wilderness.
He promptly and wisely laid down the principle that structures were
alien and intrusive in natural areas. Applied to the areas with which
his preservational interest was first concerned, and which became the
118
120 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
jewels of the National Park System, this formula was perfectly appro-
priate. It nourished the budding park idea and was a favorable and
protective influence in its flowering. General acceptance of the principle
over the years has so held in check the building of structures to a dese-
cration of top-flight Nature that few persons have been moved to chal-
lenge the statement a half truth, standing very much in need of restate-
ment in the light of today's many-sided park concept.
All Nature is not outstanding, inspiring, breath-taking. The really
magnificent areas have stature because the comparatively few acres
they involve are in sharp contrast with hundreds of thousands of rela-
tively unexciting others. The scenic endowment of some broad, densely
populated sections of the land is definitely subsuperlative, even sub-
average.
Once aware of all this, the sponsors of the natural park movement
coidd not long remain preoccupied with top-flight Nature exclusively.
The natural park idea was destined for a truly liberal evolution, in-
fluenced by such weighing factors as distribution of population, develop-
ment of the automobile, increase of leisure time, and tardy realization
that the human crop is important among conservational responsibilities
of parks.
The fact that superlative Nature is non-existent near concentrations
of five to ten million people happily has not resulted in these populations
being denied such recreational and inspirational benefits as subaverage
Nature can offer. It has been wisely reasoned that there is more nourish-
ment in half a loaf in the larder than a full loaf beyond the horizon — or
no loaf at all. Many park preserves have come into being which cannot
boast the highest peak or deepest canyon, bluest lake or tallest tree, but
do succeed in delivering (f.o.b. metropolitan centers) hills and valleys
to pass for superlative in contrast with tenement walls, and swimming,
sun, and shade to seem heaven-sent to youth whose wading pools have
been rain-flooded gutters of drab city streets.
Tracts of land, admittedly limited or even lacking in natural interest,
yet highly desirable by virtue of location, need, and every other in-
fluencing factor, now bloom attractively on every side to benefit millions.
It is inexact to term these parks, in the accepted denotation of the word
— ^they are reserves for recreation. More often than not their natural
setting is only that contrast-affording Nature which makes other areas
outstanding. Does such a background warrant the "no dogs allowed"
attitude toward structures that obtains where Nature plays the principal
role? Should not structures, on the contrary, be welcomed to a fulfilment
of recreational potentialities and needs and a bolstering-up of common-
place or ravaged Nature? Is a charge of trespass justified? It seems
reasonable to assert that in just the degree natural beauty is lacking in
a park area, useful structures have legitimate place.
Mr. "Bobs" Maim says of the popular curved earthen bobsled runs
STATE PARKS 121
he has built in the Cook County Forest Preserve District, "The thrills
vary as the square of the curves." He does not supply any slide-rule
calculations to prove his discovery — :just leans heavily on the sublime
gullibility of the park- and recreation-minded. His success encourages
me to be equally disingenuous, do some postulating myself, and resent
all requests for supporting calculations. Here it is: The justification
for structures varies inversely as Nature's endowment of the park area.
Which is to say: Deficiency of natural values in parks can only he com-
pensated for by introducing other values, recreational in character and very
generally dependent on structures. It is therefore contended that park
and recreation architecture, outside certain sacrosanct areas, need not
cringe before a blanket indictment for "unlawful entry."
This happy idea of rendering service by antagonizing really has great
possibilities. Some helpful irritation might be applied to those of you
whose hostility to construction insists that even the most essential struc-
tures are unthinkable in parks unless they are subordinated to the land-
scape setting — be that good, bad, or indifferent. Now where Nature is
Grade A — Certified, perhaps recreation architecture is properly backed
off into some borrow pit or burned-over area where it can be made to
look meek and forbearant. But why should settings that are utterly
commonplace (and many such are being developed and called parks or
recreational reserves) — why should these constitute a "ceiling" for the
architecture of buildings that are indispensable if the very establishment
of the area is ever to be justified? Isn't it time for park and recreation
architecture to cease being pathetically humble and self-conscious in
settings of convalescent or synthetic Nature? Instead, should it not
frequently step right out in front and make up for scenic deficiencies by
supplying all the forthright, imaginative beauty it can contribute?
Surely the obligation rests on anyone striving to be helpfully antagon-
istic to spread the benefits at his command quite impartially. An archi-
tect, especially, would be open to the charge of prejudice if he refused
to be as hotly helpful as a mustard plaster to those who believe that the
dreadful curse on park buildings is miraculously lifted when landscape
architects design them. Possibly the bona fide architect's sublime
ignorance of plant materials and road alignment logically disqualified
him for designing park buildings, where the landscape architect's
equivalently amateur knowledge of building materials and truss forms
is no handicap. It always gets very complicated when references to the
architect and the landscape architect must be made in the same breath.
One gropes for a descriptive adjective appropriate to the former which
might truly separate the sheep from the goats. "Bona fide" isn't exactly
sporting; "common" applied to a disappearing species is certainly in-
accurate; and to call the architect "the plain, garden variety" is only
confusion worse confounded, in the circumstances. I think that to dub
him the "simple" architect is very appropriate, for simple indeed is the
122 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
dull fellow if he "amens" the loose logic behind the landscape architect's
taking over the designing of buildings in parks.
There is always a formidable bloc in any park and recreation forum
that clings to the belief that "age cannot wither or custom stale" log
construction, as the supreme expression of park architecture. May its
collective toes be trampled on to its benefit. To be sure, there are parks
wherein reproduction of pioneer construction will always be appropriate,
— ^wherever local tradition is the primary theme, as at Spring Mill,
Indiana, and New Salem, Illinois, and wherever in forested States the
timber stands remain so abundant that structures built of large logs will
not appear to have been a factor of depletion. But it must come to pass
that structures employing logs of suitably generous size in settings of
small second-growth trees, as well as all construction that resorts to a
use of spindling logs, will be seen and chuckled over for the stuff and
nonsense that they are. Of course, there will be diehards, lacking in
humor and other senses, who will solemnly continue to re-create log
cabins of the pioneer era in deforested areas, or within sight and sound
of metropolitan areas and gigantic power dams of the machine age.
They are the quaint theorists who must feel pain because the Bear
Mountain Bridge, joining two high, tree-clad river banks, was not fash-
ioned of logs, pegged together.
The public prints lately proclaimed that a swing band leader had
been moved to streamline the National Anthem so completely that a
copyright was granted on the new version. If this foreshadows a drastic
reshaping of familiar and sacred things to suit the modern mood, let's
set about hauling down from the attic the frayed and faded theory of
park structures. Let us dust off and examine it. It may be that by sewing
a new coat on the old buttons we shall contrive something to fit the
diverse needs of parks today.
State Park Organizations: The various kinds:
Their good and bad points
R. A. VETTER, Assistant Attorney, National Park Service
STATE PARK legislation of varying character, but representing in the
aggregate a considerable mass of laws, has been enacted during the
past few years. Underlying much of this legislation has been a search for
the best form of park organization. Other measures have been designed
to strengthen and extend existing agencies.
Notwithstanding this wave of legislative activity, park legislation
has in no sense become uniform. In the strictest sense, uniformity
would mean that every State employ identical legislation, identically
administered, without regard to local conditions, needs and precedents.
Manifestly, uniformity in so rigorous a sense is neither possible nor
STATE PARKS 128
desirable. Viewed at large, however, it is significant to observe that
certain principles, however expressed, are to be found in so much of the
recent legislation as to indicate definite trends.
Existing park organizations may be classified: (1) The departmental
form, generally designated the conservation department, or name of
similar import, in which are centered all or a number of conservation
activities, including parks; (2) the board or commission form, in which
are centered two or more conservation activities, including parks. These
are designated by various names: — the forestry board, the fish and
game commission, the park and forestry commission, etc.; (3) the board
or commission concerned with parks only. While each of these forms has
its champions and its merits, the trend of recent legislation favors the
department form.
In turn, the department form may be further classified as follows:
(a) Those with a one-man director or commissioner; (b) those with an
executive board or commission; and (c) those with an advisory board or
commission. Recent legislation favors the one-man director or com-
missioner; the executive board or commission is second, and the ad-
visory board is running a poor third.
Before leaving the subject of organization, it may be of interest to
observe that while a number of the States have switched from the board
or commission form, as represented by (2) and (3) above, in no instance
has the department form been abandoned once adopted.
Regardless of the form of organization adopted, the paramount
factor in the advancement of its functions is the caliber of the individual
or individuals who man the organization. No administrative arrange-
ment has yet been devised whose purposes cannot be ruined by dis-
interested, incompetent, or subservient officers in the key positions. The
tendency of recent legislation is to take cognizance of this fact, by re-
quiring that all appointees and other personnel be selected solely on the
basis of a knowledge of and interest in the activities of the organization,
and thus discouraging, if not eliminating, partisan or personal favoritism.
By the same token, provision for ex-officio incumbents is found less
frequently. Park organizations composed of or dominated by ex-officio
members whose primary responsibilities and interests are foreign to park
and recreational matters, is partisanship in its worst form.
There is also a tendency to provide that appointees may be either
men or women, a subtle and belated recognition that women are not
only interested in park and recreational matters, but are equally quali-
fied for service in an administrative capacity.
There is a definite tendency toward the elevation of park standards.
In general, this takes the form of a requirement that areas must possess
distinctive scenic and recreational values, or at least some scenic char-
acteristics and unusual recreational possibilities. Areas of historic,
archeological, or scientific interest are now generally recognized as proper
124 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
for inclusion in the park system, especially when such elements are
linked with recreational possibilities.
Where all or a number of conservation activities, including parks, are
under unified control, the tendency is to create separate divisions for
each activity. This provision is generally accompanied by a requirement
that trained, experienced and able officers head these divisions. Also,
there is a growing recognition that parks and forests have divergent
major objectives, and to require that areas be classified and administered
as one or the other.
Unification of control and administration of all parks and recreational
areas is making noticeable progress. But much remains to be done in
this respect. There are now state park organizations with no park or
recreational areas to administer, such areas being under the control of
separate and independent commissions.
The inclusion of parkways in the park system is growing in favor.
There is a growing tendency to recognize that planned and directed
recreational activities have an appropriate place in a well-rounded park
program.
Another trend is toward better coordination and more active co-
operation between the park organization and other agencies — national,
regional, state and local — engaged in similar activities. Parallel legis-
lation is found in enabling acts authorizing cities, counties and other
political units similarly to cooperate. Not infrequently these local units
are authorized to contribute both land and money for the benefit of the
state park system.
Significant as these trends are, it is equally significant to note that
they represent little that is new in park legislation. Their genesis is to be
found in the earlier park laws. In a sense. States which have pioneered
in park legislation may be regarded as laboratories in which these pro-
visions have been tested and their worth demonstrated by time and
experience. Their adoption by States which have more recently entered
the state park field lends reality to this comparison, and is an enduring
compliment to the early exponents of park and recreation legislation.
In conclusion, and taking the country as a whole, it may be said that
park legislation has made definite progress. There are, of course, States
which do not possess adequate park laws. This, however, is not alto-
gether the fault of the legislators, but may be attributed to a passive
interest in state parks within these States. In fairness to the legislative
bodies, it should be said that their apparent willingness to enact com-
prehensive park measures has been one of the most encouraging aspects
of the state park movement. But legislation is largely a reflection of
dominant public opinion. When a more active popular interest in parks
and recreations within these States is manifested, we may confidently
anticipate that appropriate legislative action will follow.
STATE PARKS 125
A Park Administrator on State Park
Landscape Architecture
D. N. GRAVES, Secretary, State Game and Fish Commission, Little Rock, Ark.
AS a whole, I believe state park landscape architecture is now superior
-r\to that formerly accepted as the criterion for national parks. This
statement can be verified by visits to state parks in States all over this
great Nation of ours, and also by careful study of state park plans, and
comparing them with those of our national parks.
A study of state park landscape architecture immediately brings us
face to face with the state park landscape architects who have been
responsible for these excellent results. My criticism is not of the results
that have been obtained, for, in almost all instances, the results are very
desirable. The manner in which these results have been obtained, is, in
entirely too many instances, enough to drive a park administrator to the
verge of distraction. Lack of experience has too often caused our land-
scape architects to resort to the well-known "trial and error" method of
treating a given problem. The resulting waste of man days and materials
has no doubt been responsible for these gray hairs now generously
sprinkled among my erstwhile "raven locks." I have sometimes thought
that surely the old copy-book motto: "If at first you don't succeed,
try, try again," must have been coined after watching progress on some
of our projects.
A park administrator, while engaged in park construction, must
carefully weigh the need and usefulness of a given project against its
cost, for all of us are vitally interested in obtaining the maximum of
values from available funds. I believe our state park landscape archi-
tects have been more extravagant with man days of labor than have any
other group of our technical personnel. This extravagance, caused by a
lack of experience, is the result of a condition, and is not to be blamed on
individuals. The ultimate results are to be credited to the excellent assis-
tance given our field landscape architects by more experienced men from
our Regional offices. Prior to the inception of the ECW program in 1933,
the opportunity for a landscape architect to become experienced in park
landscape architecture was extremely limited. This condition did not
exist to such a great extent with regard to our engineers and architects.
This park experience was gained at a tremendous cost of wasted labor.
One great and lasting benefit that has accrued from the ECW program
is the training of an adequate personnel in park building.
On one certain occasion I recall checking into the cost of constructing
a barbecue pit on one of our state parks. Imagine my surprise when I
learned that solid rock has been excavated to a depth of 18 inches, only
to provide for a concrete base for the stone structure. The bg.se was, as I
recall, approximately 5 feet by 18 feet, some twenty sacks of cement had
been used, to say nothing of the labor of excavating the rock. A few
126 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
months later I was relieved when I learned of a landscape architect in
one of our national parks, who had likewise ordered 12 inches of rock
excavation to provide room for a concrete base for some rubble gutters.
In both these cases the ultimate result and appearance left nothing to
be desired.
There has often been a warfare waged by our engineers, our architects
and our project superintendents on the one side and our landscape
architects on the other. In most cases all concerned were at fault, for
most problems over which discord has occurred could have been peace-
fully settled by compromise if our technical men had made an effort to
see the other fellow's viewpoint. Good park landscape architecture
consists of treating problems, be they engineering or architectural, in a
manner that will not impair the use for which they were designed, but
that will insure their successful and lasting use, and at the same time
will make the project fit unobtrusively into its natural setting.
Different individuals will treat any given problem in different ways,
any one of which may be equally desirable. The landscape treatment of
such a problem is planned and subsequently executed by one landscape
architect, in a manner suggested by his feeling of what is proper for that
particular problem. I know of cases where such a project has been com-
pletely finished, only to be obliterated and done in an entirely different
manner, due to personnel changes and to differences of opinions of some
late comer who happens to have more authority than his predecessor.
Frequently the delay and expense of these changes are such that from the
viewpoint of the administrator it would have been better never to have
begun the project in the first place.
Prompted by a sense of fairness, I want you to know that by no
means have my observations of extravagance been limited exclusively
to om" landscape architects. In this connection I am reminded of the one
classic example of wasted funds that I will always remember. The
gasoline, oil and maintenance account of one of my camps ran faster
than a streamlined train. An investigation revealed the fact that the
project superintendent, who, by the way, was an engineer, had issued an
order that the oil in motors of all his trucks must be changed each Friday
evening at the conclusion of the day's work. This order had been care-
fully carried out for a number of weeks without regard to the amount
of mileage made by the truck that week. I suppose his order had been
prompted by the well-accepted rule of washing on Monday, eating fish
on Friday and bathing each Saturday night.
It has been said landscape architecture is the art of arranging land
for human use with a controlling regard for beauty. This definition is to
my mind the best one I have ever heard. As our landscape architects
have become more experienced in state park work it has naturally re-
sulted that the above definition has been carried out with much less
difficulty than was experienced in the early days of park development.
STATE PARKS 127
State Park Engineering
CHARLES G. ESTES, Chief Construction Engineer, Forest Preserve District
of Cook County, Illinois
STATE park engineering can rightfully be placed in a class by itself,
the same as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or civil
engineering, in that it embraces this entire field, although in most cases
it is more closely allied with civil engineering. It goes still farther.
Landscape architecture has been defined as "Primarily a fine art, and
as such its most important function is to create and preserve beauty
in the surroundings of human habitations and in the broader natural
scenery of the country; but it is also concerned with promoting the
comfort, convenience and health of city population which have scanty
access to rural scenery." That definition also just about fits the subject of
state park engineering as I see it, so therefore, I would insert the name
of landscape engineering into the old line group of mechanical, electrical,
and civil and then a student with an academic training in landscape
engineering would be properly equipped to become a state park engineer.
The successful state park engineer, granting the fact that he has the
proper knowledge of engineering book information and how to apply it,
must possess a definite sympathetic feeling for the landscape architect
and his work. He must possess this naturally or gain it through ex-
perience. Other than the consideration of plant life, their species and
life zones, there should be no marked difference in the approach to park
work by the engineer or the landscape architect. An engineer should be
capable of maintaining the proper balance of the artificial with the
natural. He alone who is modest enough to subordinate his structures
and construction to the landscape will in the end be rewarded with the
additional touch that nature always gives to his work. The state park
engineer must know something about the habits of trees, their root
structures and what he can do in the way of making surface and under-
ground changes among them. He must appreciate the value of trees
and think in terms of them continually in order that he may not become
careless and destroy what it took many years to develop. He must be
alert to all the possibilities that natural tree arrangements offer him for
creating effect in his road layouts, bridge installations and the like. He
should learn the value of vistas and the value of color in his completed
picture, if his work is to be high grade and acceptable.
On the other hand, and I think it appropriate to inject it into this
talk, the landscape architect should know a portion of the technical
answers required in park engineering problems and by all means he should
reconcile his esthetic desires with the more practical thoughts of the
engineer. Without any desire to detract from the landscape architects
I think it is quite common that they have been guilty of a tendency to
maintain too much of the artistic approach to things in our work where
128 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
some old-fashioned thinking with the engineer would be of great help.
I should not be misunderstood here because I am a great champion of
their cause.
It is, no doubt, true that most of the engineers now in state park work
received their former experience in the highway field or in municipal
engineering work. There is a very close comparison in a great deal of the
work performed by the state park engineer and the highway engineer.
The state park engineer can lead the way in directing the highway engi-
neer out of the darkness and show him the dawn of a new day in so far
as protection and consideration of the natural landscape is involved in
his new developments. What has been the practice in the highway field
for the past 25 years? Standardization of most everything that has been
done. The plans for culverts and bridges are generally filed away in mail-
order house style and you could not get a standard headwall length
changed under a court order even though a 100-year oak be only slightly
in the way. Highway cut and fill slopes have been constructed with th e
old 1^-to-l or 2-to-l ratios for so many years that even the universities
have accepted them and taught them to the students. What have been
the results.'' Erosion, slides, washouts and ugly scars. It has been only
in the last few years that any marked trend toward flatter slopes, sodding
and planting has developed on the highways. In Illinois, where a great
deal of promotional work has been done by Robert Kingery, General
Manager of the Chicago Regional Planning Commission, the effects of
landscape engineering on the highways can be noticed.
The highway department can learn about the landscape from the
state park engineer.
In discussing a few typical problems in state park engineering I will
naturally be guided by those in our own reservation of 35,000 acres in
Cook County. I think our problems are typical of those in most any
state park property. We have hills, valleys, meadows, lakes and many
acres of trees. Being within 30 minutes' ride of over 4,000,000 people,
the properties are subjected to a heavy automobile load. This leads to
a road and parking space construction program of great magnitude. On
last inventory over 1,000,000 square yards of improved surfaces were
accounted for. These surfaces have had a low maintenance cost.
The state park road is generally the first thing that impresses the
visitor. It is the shirt front on Nature's body. Visitors nowadays are
so used to comfortable riding on public highways that unless the same
degree of comfort is furnished in our parks, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer
may not appreciate what your park may have to offer otherwise.
A park road is a cheap investment when constructed properly. If it
is not constructed properly it becomes an expensive maintenance burden.
Assuming that we all prefer the gravel or macadam or improved asphalt
surfaces, there are three things to consider. One, ground water table
control by strategically located tile lines; two, a properly stabihzed
STATE PARKS 129
gravel or macadam material with correct clay content for binding, and,
three, cross-sections and longitudinal gradients. When using the black-
top surface it is only as good as its base. With a good base the surface
will be successful only when a rigid control has been maintained, by the
engineer, over the asphalt material.
Continuate with roads and parking areas, in our efforts to control
the automobile, are barriers. Natural planting is obviously most desir-
able. Anything other than that must be designed and installed so it
will be the least conspicuous, A low stone masonry or concrete curb
is desirable for low maintenance cost; while wood log rail barrier is
effective as barrier, it is expensive to maintain. This type of barrier is
fast becoming one of the curses on state park landscapes. More abuses
of design proportions and installations have occurred with this sort of
thing than any other form of park improvement. Now, even the WPA
is going wild with it.
In the early days we installed considerable of it. It was set low using
6-inch rails and 10-inch posts. The right proportions. We are fast elimi-
nating it where possible.
Bridges and buildings, which we all like to play with, are mostly
done in stone. Here the state park engineer must design best to utilize
and assume the most pleasing effect with the type of building stone
material at hand. We cannot create in northern Illinois with stratified
limestone the same effect that you might prefer which exists on a build-
ing or bridge in New York State where different stone formations exist.
Crudity in stone masonry pattern and appearance is what most park
people like, in that it is representative of the pioneer product; however,
the state park engineer must build for permanence and apply certain
knowledge gleaned, since the now tottering pioneer stone structures
were built. This is why the Cook County practice of using a random
rubble pattern with stratified limestone, approaching the ashler, has
been adopted. Our work may appear a bit meticulous, nevertheless, it
is built to stay and is admired, generally, by all.
State park engineering should be recognized by the engineering schools
and they should provide a place for its teachings. The engineer should
be graduated with more knowledge of landscape preservation. Give the
engineering student something to think about other than transit lines,
T squares and triangles.
The National Conference on State Parks has an opportunity here to
perform a much-needed promotional service. State park engineering is a
medium through which the training, particularly, of the civil engineer
may be vastly broadened.
What has the state park to offer the engineer? It offers contentment
in one's work. That is about the best state of mind that one could expect
to attain.
That is what state park engineering has done for me.
ISO AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Problems of a State Park Superintendent
HAROLD W. LATHROP, Director, Minnesota Division of State Parks,
Minneapolis, Minn.
A STATE PARK superintendent should have a pleasing personality
as he must continually meet park visitors. Many come from out of
State, and do not have contact with any other state employee.
There should be a definite requirement that the superintendent have
some experience in the artisan trades. The best superintendent would be
a jack of all trades, but one who realizes the value of specialized artisans
when necessary.
The jfiscal procedure requires that a man have had some experience
in letter and report writing and simple bookkeeping, the latter because
he must control his expenditures against the funds budgeted. In parks
where revenue-producing facilities are state operated, he must be able
to check receipts and determine the probable demand of merchandise
for re-sale.
He must be a conservationist, because the prime purpose of operating
state parks is to permit the wise use of Nature's gifts of flora and fauna
for the benefit of mankind ; but where the human element is injected into
such areas, there should be a balance maintained as to how much in-
trusion should be permitted for the benefit of park visitors against the
despoliation of God's handiwork.
The problems of a state park superintendent are :
1. Land and water protection
2. Wildlife conservation
3. Maintenance and improvements
4. Operation
5. Fiscal procedure
A state park superintendent must be constantly on the alert for fire
hazards, which might develop into disastrous conflagrations. He must
guard against trespassing by owners of adjacent or contiguous private
land, for the removal of timber, filling material, and, yes, even sand and
gravel. He is confronted with the problem of keeping up fences to
prevent stock running over the park area.
There is the problem of retaining uniform water levels, being aware
of the effect of pollution or the diversion or retention of waters or streams
flowing into the park lakes. This is a problem in the northern section of
Minnesota. In many cases dams have been constructed and private
property owners have retarded a normal flow of water courses for their
own benefit. This during periods of closure, leaves the stream-bed run-
ning through the park practically dry or causes the lake-levels to drop.
Thus, a good superintendent is constantly on the alert for the protection
of the state park land and waters.
Wildlife conservation presents the problem of assisting the game
STATE PARKS ISl
wardens, operating under a separate division, to see that the game laws
are abided by. The re-stocking of the fish species is a seasonal problem,
for the park visitors are very instrumental in the depletion of fish life,
which must be balanced by restocking. He must have sufficient knowl-
edge of the lakes and their food value so that he can be sure the proper
species are planted in lakes suitable for each.
Except in the extremely large parks, the onslaught of civilization has
definitely thrown out of balance the wildlife status of the parks. The
predators for which bounties are paid are permitted to be removed. An
over-population of certain species presents a problem, because of in-
sufficient natural food supply, which must be met by artificial feeding,
to eliminate complete browsing off of the seedlings and young tree growth
which must eventually replace the matured timber.
It is a problem to make the public realize that the native flora,
existing along the trails, are to be seen and not picked. Periodic in-
spection along the trails is necessary, to check the condition of trees,
which might create too great a hazard because of rot or wind breaks,
A park superintendent is confronted with the problem of diseased
trees, which may endanger the sound trees or the public. A balance must
be retained from the human as well as the wildlife standpoint, and the
justification for any action based on comparative values.
Maintenance of facilities and areas which the public use, if properly
carried out, should assist materially in conserving the natural sections
of the parks. The maintenance of park roads is a problem which requires
constant vigilance during the heavy use season, but which must also be
done in off-seasons. In our State, we are confronted with a serious snow-
removal problem. If our park roads were paved with concrete, the
maintenance problem would be much simpler, but they would be so
much in conflict with the naturalness of the areas, that I am partial to
well-maintained oiled or black-top roads, because they are less intrusive.
The roadside ditch and backslopes must be sufficiently maintained so
as not to become a fire hazard, because of thrown cigarette stubs. A
constant checking of culverts and bridges is another problem.
Maintenance of firebreaks is necessary to assure ingress in case of an
emergency. Gates to fire trails are often opened by someone desiring to
drive farther into the wilderness.
There is the problem of maintaining the guard rail, so that it may
satisfactorily serve its purpose. The parking areas must be graded
occasionally, especially after heavy rains, if rutting occurs.
One of the most important maintenance problems is the provision of
a potable and adequate water-supply at all times. During the last few
years, under the various Federal relief programs, we have been fortunate
in establishing gravity systems and in so doing have eliminated the old
hand pump repairing, which was almost constant, but power pumps
need periodic checking. Where springs exist, a constant check must be
182 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
made on the possibility of contamination by ground or surface water.
The use of springs as a water-supply is discouraged.
The cleanliness of the various use areas, the allocation of picnic tables
in each, the repair of stone fireplaces, the cleanliness of rest rooms and
shelters, the safety of docks and beaches, adequate firewood supply, and
the proper functioning of sewage-disposal systems all become major
problems unless they are checked often.
If the maintenance crew of a park is sufficiently large, the problems
are few, for each man is charged with certain responsibility, and an
occasional check by the superintendent will eliminate any serious prob-
lem of unsatisfactory maintenance.
No doubt many park superintendents throughout the country are
worrying about the future of maintenance of the many additional park
improvements received under the CCC and WPA programs, especially
where additional personnel will be difficult to obtain. Consideration
should be given the superintendent's ideas as to the need for certain
improvements. The technician often does not give sufficient thought for
the man held responsible for the operation.
We make our park superintendents responsible for any state partici-
pation given to Federal relief projects, and in a number of our smaller
parks hold them responsible for directing improvement work.
The operation of facilities presents a definite problem to the Min-
nesota state park superintendents. We have found that better service
is rendered the public and the State receives more revenue under a
system of state-operated facilities, rather than under lease. Such
operations include concessions, campgrounds, boat rentals, bath-
houses and bathing beaches. In only a few of the smaller parks are the
concession privileges leased to private individuals.
The operation of boats, which in almost every case is insufficient
to meet park demands, must be assigned fairly during such times and
that no such thing as reserving boats for privileged parties be permitted.
He must see that the operation of the bathhouse is properly carried
out, that towels and suits rented are clean and that every effort is made
to eliminate misuse of the checking and dressing room privileges. It is a
problem to determine the periods when life guards should be assigned to
duty, primarily when funds do not permit full-time service.
Many of the problems of a superintendent can be delegated to capable
employees, but the superintendent must assume the problem of continual
checking of the services rendered.
The operation of pumps, electric generators and telephone lines re-
quires mechanical agility, and the superintendent who has some knowl-
edge of such might avert a more serious problem.
The fiscal procedure of a state park superintendent can be lightened
considerably and be less of a problem if it is held to the simple forms.
The park superintendent knows the extent of funds with which he has to
STATE PARKS 133
work and he is held responsible for his expenditures within this amount.
All purchases are controlled under a system of purchase authorities, by
the state office, which encumbers each at the time on issuance against
the budget item to which it properly belongs, and at such time that
certain budget items are over-encumbered, we hold the park superin-
tendent responsible for cutting down his expenditures on other budget
items to that extent. There are also records for concession operation,
which are very simple, whereby all material received is entered on forms
at the resale value. Periodic inventories are made by our auditors.
Boat rental reports are made daily from numbered tickets, which
are punched for the duration boats are used within every hour periods,
and a charge is made accordingly.
The camping privileges must be accounted for according to the type
of equipment, whether automobile and tent, auto and trailer, which are
punched in specific places on the registration tag, one-half of which is
retained by the visitor and one by the operator.
People in park work are expected to be working the hardest when the
rest of the citizenry are vacationing, but although the problems are
many, there is a personal satisfaction in seeing others receiving enjoy-
ment from our efforts, which is a worthwhile way of looking at our jobs.
Elements of a Good State Park Plan
S. HERBERT HARE, Landscape Architect, Kansas City, Mo.
WITH the sudden and rather miraculous growth of interest in state
planning, a system of state parks is now recognized as one of the
important elements in a state plan, and closely related to other problems
of state-wide planning, such as land use, water conservation, and high-
ways. As in the case of other phases of city, county and state planning
or development, the first essential is a satisfactory legal, financial, and
administrative status. If parks do not have a proper standing under
state laws, their life and usefulness will be uncertain. If they depend for
support on funds from some related department such as from fish and
game licenses, there will always be jealousy on the part of hunters,
fishermen or others supplying such funds, over their diversion to park
use. If the administration of the parks is assigned to some department
or board having only an incidental interest in them, they will soon
become the "step-child" of that department. It seems much better to
include state parks as a department or division under a conservation
commission, with definite allocation of funds.
While a repetition of what has often been said before, perhaps in
somewhat different words, the general functions of a state park system
might be outlined as follows :
1. To preserve unspoiled for present and future generations the best examples
of the characteristic scenery of the State — the hills, moimtains, streams, springs.
134 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
woodland, prairie, swamps or ledges — as well as the flora and fauna which are
an integral part of that scenery.
2. To provide the types of recreation which are normally based on the en-
joyment of natural scenery such as picnicking, camping, boating, swimming,
riding, hiking, and nature study; rather than the more sophisticated types of
recreation requiring artificial facilities and a high degree of maintenance, as
tennis or golf, which are more properly suited to city parks.
3. To preserve areas of special historical, geological, botanical or archeo-
logical interest, such as the homes or birthplaces of famous men, old inns, mills
or public buildings, battlefields, fine specimens or groves of trees, Indian mounds
or villages, unusual rock outcrops or fossil remains of extinct animals.
The "state park" should be to the State what the superb areas of
primitive scenery, known as "national parks" are to the Nation. While
it is difficult to fix a minimum, areas to be classed as "state parks"
should usually include 500 to 1,000 acres and preferably more, at least
enough to make the scenic unit self-contained.
The boundaries of state parks should have careful consideration so
that topographical units of scenery are included. Also in the case of
lakes one of the most common mistakes is failure to include an adequate
border of land around the water to provide space both for reasonable
use and scenic protection. At least three to four times as much land as
water area is usually needed to accomplish this.
Historical, geological, botanical or archeological areas might be
classed as "preserves." These woidd be comparable to the so-called
monuments under the National Park Service. The extent of these prop-
erties, as well as the recreational value incidental to their primary use,
would be subject to local conditions. Care should be taken that they
will not be overrun or worn out by attendance out of proportion to the
area and facilities provided.
The growing importance of turn-out places along main highways
justifies "roadside parks" as a separate classification. These can be at
scenic points and can provide for picnicking, or even camping if proper
sanitary facilities and supervision is provided. The area may vary from
a slight widening of the right-of-way to several acres. There is a serious
question whether, in the interest of efficiency and economy, such areas
should be placed under the control of the state highway department or
under the state park department. The state highway department can
police them more readily, but may not have as sympathetic or esthetic
a point of view in their development or maintenance. Such parks are
usuaUy best located at stream crossings or at high points having a
scenic outlook.
The value of "parkways" as a part of the state park system cannot
be over-emphasized. Pleasure driving is one of the most common forms
of recreation, but the commercialization of the main highways has made
them unsuitable for this purpose. The roadway of such a parkway need
not have quite as high standard of gradient or curvature as the main
STATE PARKS 135
highways, but should be bordered by a strip of land of sufficient width
to preserve the natural scenery and prevent commercial intrusions. This
width may vary from 300 or 400 feet to 1,000 feet or more, depending on
topographical conditions. The Federal Government is setting an am-
bitious example in these parkways and several States are considering
similar developments. States which have a continuity of good scenery
along river valleys or ranges of hills can most easily develop parkways.
Probably "sanctuaries" is the best term for areas devoted to the
preservation of wildlife. These may be separate areas set aside for this
purpose, perhaps under some related department, without provision for
visitors or they may involve an incidental use in portions of the larger
state parks. All state parks, parkways and preserves should have some
value in wildlife protection and preservation.
It seems hardly necessary to say that the planning of a comprehensive
state park system should be based on data as to physical, social and
economic conditions in the State. These data should usually include
growth, distribution, trends and composition of the population; historical
and archeological facts and location of areas; physiography and geology;
climate and precipitation; present and recommended land use and prob-
lem areas; land values and tax delinquency; and volume of traffic.
What Does the Average Man Expect to Find
and Do in a State Park?
PAUL V. BROWN, Associate Regional Director, Region II, Omaha, Neb.
THAT this subject was assigned me on a moment's notice — almost as
an after-thought — is indicative of something significant. It is proof
that park people in general are backwardly advancing. That is, they
are progressing, perhaps, but like the crayfish their hind ends are fore-
most and their eyes are focused on a receding landscape.
Have I made myself clear? We have been discussing learnedly on the
development of parks and their maintenance and then someone, whose
attention must have been wandering, incidentally strikes a discordant
note by suggesting the subject of the people who are to use these parks
and for whom, presumably, they are being created. May we not accuse
ourselves of loving our parks and resenting our public? I recall a serious
discussion on a park planning and development problem one time that
was broken up by a remark by Bob Roberts, who said in effect:
"We could plan the park in question a lot better and keep it preserved
more economically if we kept the public out of it."
Who is this average man? He is an unknown that every politician and
businessman would like to know and clasp firmly to his bosom. He is
the subject of vast research — official and private. The very existence of
1S6 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
our political and economic and social life depends upon his whims and
trends. It is important, therefore, that we try to find out something
about him, and yet he is too variable to be catalogued or tagged. How
then can I tell you of the average man — his wants and needs as regards
state parks and outdoor recreation.^
What the average man does in a state park is the subject of a study
that is being conducted throughout the country. But even after these
data have been carefully tabulated it will need intelligent interpretation
and then perhaps we will find that we have a standard pattern that can-
not be applied to any given park area. It has been the contention of
some of us, therefore, that these studies had best be conducted, inter-
preted and applied by the local agency best qualified by familiarity with
the local condition.
Also studies are being made to learn what the average man wants
in state parks. A word of caution in this connection. Your average man
will often express the desire for something that he thinks he wants or
for something which he thinks he should have, but after it is provided he
does not use it. How many of us think we should have the privilege of
working daily in a rose-garden and yet burn up our surplus energy and
use our leisure time on a golf course? It is advisable not to follow the
expressed wishes of the average man blindly. A careful study of what he
actually does may better provide the key for solving the development
problem. Such advice should be tempered, however, with delayed action.
To point to the miniature golf course should be sufficient to illustrate
the soundness of this advice.
We build parks for people. We believe that parks by providing a
means for an intelligent use of leisure can contribute towards the further-
ance of a better life for people — mentally and physically. Yet we may
not set ourselves up as the final judge of what is best for the average
man, but it is our privilege to try to serve him, and to be able to do so
we must provide those things which he will and can use.
This leads us to our concluding observation. Once we determine
who the average man may be, we may find that state parks are not
built for him. The Recreation Study that is now being conducted may
show that the state parks generally are too remote for the use of the
average family in the metropolitan areas and that the accommodations
are too expensive for the average pocketbook. Then too, we may find
that the extensive type of recreation provided in state parks is not in
rhythm with the tempo of our normal. That should not be construed
as a disparaging remark on state parks as we now conceive them. Our
use charts show that there is ample justification for our wilderness
preservation and scenic conservation program as exemplified by our
state park policies. Likewise it does not mean that we should forget our
opportunity to provide outdoor recreation facilities accessible and agree-
able to Mister Average Man.
RECREATIONAL PROGRAMS
Recreational Development in the National Forests
C. M. GRANGER, Assistant Chief, U. S. Forest Service
I AM struck with the extent to which the objects of this Conference,
as quoted in your program, furnish a broad viewpoint and basis for
the whole public effort toward providing outdoor recreation of a non-
urban character. You have stated the objects of your organization as
follows :
To urge upon our governments — local, county, state and national — the
acquisition of additional land and water areas suitable for recreation, for the
study of natural history, for the preservation of wildlife, and for historical monu-
ments leading to the better understanding and appreciation of the history and
development of our Nation and its several States, until there shall be public
parks, forests, and preserves within easy access of all the citizens of every State
and territory in the United States; and to encourage private citizens and groups
to acquire, maintain, and dedicate for public uses similar areas.
This statement does several things. It indicates that the program
should be one in which all branches of the Government, local, county,
state, and national, should join; it proposes that there shall be recre-
ational areas of the different types, such as parks and forests ; it suggests
that the dispersion of these should be such that all citizens of this country
should have easy access to at least one of them; it indicates that the
purpose is not only conservation and recreation, but education in both the
ways of the outdoors and in the history and development of our Nation.
It would be hard to find a better exposition of the purposes and
responsibilities in this field of outdoor recreation and education. Al-
though it does not specifically say so, there is the obvious implication
that the efforts and programs of the different divisions of Government
should complement each other rather than be in competition.
Out of this statement, one draws also the obvious inference that the
lands must be in public ownership, or specifically dedicated to public
uses, in order that they may serve the stated purposes.
As a preliminary to the definition, as I see it, of the part which the
national forests should play in this general scheme, may I refer briefly
to the history of the efforts on the part of Government to meet the
spirit of your objective. A study of the creation, development, and
management of city parks, metropolitan parks, and county and state
parks discloses a desire on the part of Government to provide, for the
benefit of the people, areas for play in which there should be preserved
to the fullest practicable extent the natural environment. Putting it
another way, there was the desire to afford city dwellers an opportunity
to enjoy a part of their recreation in surroundings contrasting with those
of the city streets and having the general quality of undisturbed nature.
History shows too that the effort was one of combating encroachment
137
138 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
of the city, or its characteristics, first upon many of the city parks,
thus forcing Government to set up parks outside the city — metropoHtan
district parks, etc., then the movement of the city toward these parks
and their increasing urbanization. Where this has been true, the next
step has been the provision of county parks, and then the state parks.
The latter, of coiu-se, have not been estabhshed solely to afford outlets
to city dwellers whose near-by parks have become overcrowded or over-
urbanized, but they do in a measure represent the efforts of Government
to maintain reasonably accessible recreation areas of a natural character.
The national parks, appearing in the picture in relatively recent
years, also contribute in a large way to the provision of such outlets,
though their primary purpose was the preservation of the supreme and
not the development of mere recreation areas.
The national forests might be described as a "surprise package" of
gigantic dimensions more or less suddenly unwrapped for the satisfaction
of those who wish and need recreation amid the works of nature on a
large scale. This opportunity has necessarily been circumscribed in the
local park areas originally set aside, because so many of them have, as
suggested above, become overcrowded or overurbanized.
You are all sufficiently familiar with the general character and dis-
tribution of the national forests, so that I need to go into no detail on
that point here. They contain nearly 175 million acres of Government
land — about one-twelfth of our land area. Obviously, they are more
important, in terms of area, in the recreation picture in the West than
in the country east of the Mississippi which, nevertheless, contain some
of the best recreation areas in the East.
In addition to vast opportunity for the commoner types of forest
recreation, such as camping and picnicking, the national forests present
widespread opportunities for very distinctive types of "wild land"
recreation, such as trips in the wilderness, climbing high peaks, and what
we may call the dispersed type of recreation, namely, that which spreads
itself over large areas in a nonconcentrated form, such as hunting, fish-
ing, hiking, touring, and the like. And more recently, there is the ex-
tremely popular winter sport type of recreation which the national
forests, particularly in the West, provide opportunities for in large degree.
The opportunities for the foregoing distinctive types are obviously
not limited to the national forests, but in a good many places the national
forests contain by far the greater part of the area on which they may be
enjoyed. The size element is very important because it permits spreading
recreation use and avoiding to the maximum degree the evils of over-
crowding.
I used the term "surprise package" with reference to the national
forest for this reason: The original purpose of setting aside national
forests was in the main two-fold — ^to provide supplies of timber and to
protect watersheds. No one in the beginning of the national forest enter-
STATE PARKS 189
prise could have seen the many uses to which they later would lend
themselves. Yet, the Secretary of Agriculture, when he assumed charge
of the national forests by transfer from the Department of the Interior
in 1905, displayed a prophetic vision of their future use and usefulness.
In his letter of February 1, 1905, to the Chief Forester, he instructed:
That all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent
good of the whole people .... All the resources of forest reserves (now national
forests) are for use, and this use must be brought about in a thoroughly prompt
and businesslike manner, under such restrictions only as will insure the per-
manence of these resources. . . . Where conflicting interests must be recon-
ciled, the question will always be decided from the standpoint of the greatest
good of the greatest number of people in the long run.
Back of this broad charter was one of equal breadth provided by Con-
gress in the Act of June 4, 1897, which authorized the Secretary of Agricul-
ture to "make such rules and regulations and establish such service as will
insure the objects of such reservations, namely, to regulate their occu-
pancy and use and to preserve the forests thereon from destruction."
Thus was laid the groundwork for a type of management for these
properties so flexible as to provide for any suitable type of use. By suit-
able I mean one which in combination with other uses definitely serves
the public interest and is at the same time compatible with the general
character of these areas. Recreation has come to be a suitable use of
major proportion. It has come not by any effort to get people to use
the forests, but because the forests contain that thing which the people
were seeking which could not be denied them, and which should not be
denied them. It has come so fast that in 1937, there were estimated to
be over 14 million visits by people who actually stopped and used the
national forests for recreation of one type or another, and over 18 million
visits by those who just went sightseeing in them. Many millions more
drove through the national forests on travel with some other primary
purpose, but nevertheless got at least fleeting enjoyment from what
they saw while on these areas. Thus, we have these vast tracts in public
ownership under permanent management, which may be said to be
almost a gift from Santa Claus of a large-scale opportunity to find recre-
ation in a generally natural environment.
The basic policy of the Forest Service in recreational management
of the national forests involves several fundamental things: First, the
provision for all forms of recreation appropriate in the forest environ-
ment, but the exclusion of those which do not find their logical outlet in
the forest. Thus, campings picnicking, hunting, fishing, touring the
forest roads, winter sports, water sports, and the like are traditionally
a part of forest recreation. What we may call the Coney Island type of
thing, namely, the amusement center, is not a part of forest recreation,
and is excluded.
Second, priority is given to the form of recreational use open to every-
140 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
one, with anything of an exclusive nature permitted only where the
general needs are adequately served. Thus, provision is first made for
camping and picnicking facilities, for camps for the use of low-income
groups, and for resorts, before room is made for the desirable but neces-
sarily exclusive use, such as summer homes.
Third, effort is made to provide a balanced program which will meet
the desires of those seeking different types of recreation. Thus, there is
sought adequate provision for the mass forms of recreation, such as
camping, picnicking, and at the same time the reservation of areas from
the mass types of development, so that they may be kept in a wilderness
condition and enjoyed by those seeking that form of outlet.
Fourth, effort is made to determine where recreation values are so
high that other uses of the national forests must be modified in a major
way or excluded; areas where recreational uses are so nearly absent that
they need little or no consideration, and those areas on which there is
approximately equal limitation of recreational use and other uses and
where both may be enjoyed concurrently without serious diminution in
the satisfaction of those benefiting by the two different groups of uses.
This latter situation is the prevalent one, but there is also provision for
setting aside from other forms of use areas needed for campgrounds and
picnic grounds, for the preservation of roadside and waterside beauty,
for suitable areas of unmodified virgin forests, etc. All these types of
adjustments are included in the multiple-use program.
In introducing developments into the national forests to facilitate
use, such as physical improvements on campgrounds and other struc-
tures of various sorts, effort is made to follow the principles of landscape
architecture and disturb the natural appearance of things as little as
possible. In the earlier years, less attention was given to this, and the
record is indeed not without blemish, but in the accelerated development
of later years, incident to the emergency programs, this has been a
controlling feature. In this connection, I take my hat off to the splendid
example set in so many places in state park developments in which both
state and national park services have done such fine work.
One other major objective in national forest recreation management
deserves emphasis — this is the effort to make the recreational opportu-
nities available in fullest possible measure to the low-income groups. We
believe in fostering the building of simple organization camps at public
expense which can be used in turn by different groups for forest vaca-
tions, so helpful to those not able without aid of others to have a real
change from arduous daily occupations. What has already been done in
some places through cooperation between city and private social agencies
on the one hand and the national forests on the other to provide such
opportunities should, we beUeve, be multiplied many, many times. The
Forest Service wishes to make the National Forests serve to the maximum
degree the objectives so well stated in the platform of your organization.
STATE PARKS 141
Recreational Development in the National Parks
CARL P. RUSSELL, Director, Region I, National Park Service, Richmond, Va.
A FIRST responsibility of the National Park Service lies in the safe-
guarding of the native values that justified the establishment of
the reservations. Our problem now is not one of encouraging travel to
the scenic national parks. Statistics reveal a rapid increase in numbers
of visitors, and that increase will continue. During a seven-year assign-
ment in Yosemite National Park I witnessed conditions change from a
moderate summer vacation program to an all-year operation that
brought 20,000 people in one day to the floor of Yosemite Valley. During
winter months, snow sports enthusiasts fairly thronged to upper levels
in the park that formerly knew little or no activity.
One may say that granite walls and snowy slopes are not noticeably
aflFected by human traffic. But topography is not the only feature that
makes a Yosemite. The fauna and flora are quite as important in that
Sierra picture as are the domes and cliffs — and those biological features
are sensitive, so sensitive in fact that the native character of Yosemite
Valley has already been modified, and continued punishment may alter
it quite completely.
You know, the Service knows, and the park operators know and are
appalled at the threat of destruction to be wrought by the persistent
human load that the parks must carry. In spite of this knowledge, some
people advocate a wide-open policy which will bring to the parks as
many recreation seekers as can be freely crowded into camps, or sold
accommodations in cabins and hotels. Others go to extremes in urging
that we follow Germany in excluding the pleasure-bent tourist from the
more sacred areas, making them available only to scientists and students
of natural history. A reasoning and more reasonable group argues for
the levy of a fee which will automatically control the number of people
who will wish to enter park gates.
Whatever the solution, we face the fact that a maximum load of
visitors must be cared for in national parks, and that the entire crowd
seeks recreation in one form or another. The demand for amusement and
entertainment will transcend the call for physical enjoyment or pertinent
instruction. How then are we to adjust our program of service so as to
maintain the original design of Stephen Mather?
Such able workers as Superintendents John R. White, Edmund B.
Rogers, and the late C. G. Thomson have contributed excellent thought
on park standards and recreational use in papers published in the
American Planning and Civic Annual. These Superintendents have
been in full agreement in decrying the development of artificial facilities
in national parks recreation. Baseball, races, tennis, golf, badminton,
artificial swimming pools, slot machines, commercial picture shows,
constructed skating rinks, artificial toboggan slides, constructed ski-runs.
142 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
and ski or toboggan elevators are banned by these executives. In the
words of Mr. Rogers, "Recreation is a by-product of some activity or
state. An activity, physical, mental, or spiritual, may be recreational.
It is not what is done; it is what is assimilated that makes an act rec-
reation."
That most effective conservationist, Aldo Leopold, of the University
of Wisconsin, has just published a revealing analysis of his ideas on out-
door recreation. His essay appears in the March-April number of
Bird-Lore. Mr. Leopold classifies recreationists as (1) trophy seekers,
(2) those who look for solitude in the "wilderness," (3) those who merely
desire "fresh air and change of scene," (4) those who grope for percep-
tion of nature, and, finally, (5) a group possessing a sense of husbandry, —
that is, being people of perception, they apply some art of recreational
management to their own lands.
Mr, Leopold's conclusions can be very closely applied to our national
park problem. Actually, he has pointed to the fact that national park
and national forest employees, if working in the field, get a bigger share
of true recreation — and get paid for it — than any other class of citizens.
Quoting from his paper, "The Government, which essays to substitute
public for private operation of recreational lands, is unwittingly giving
away to its field officers a large share of what it seeks to offer its citizens.
Foresters and game managers might logically pay for, instead of being
paid for, the job as husbandmen of wild crops."
Mr. Leopold, like Mr. Rogers, is definite in his assertion that "to
promote perception is the only truly creative part of recreational en-
gineering. . . . The only true development in American recreational
resources is the development of the perceptive faculty in Americans."
We are not apt to place too much emphasis upon this principle. Director
Cammerer has defined the interpretive objective in Park Service work
as the dominant one and linked with it he recognizes the inseparable
recreational element. "Provision for recreation is the modus operandi
of the system."
Our recreation planners and technicians will, I think, recognize the
prime importance of the "development of the perceptive faculty in
Americans" in all of their planning in national park areas. There may
follow some attempted ridicule in charging that we "make heavy work
of it," but if we undertake organization and supervision of artificial
means of amusement or force facilities for play in national parks, we will
be shame-faced before the critics of later years. Recreation has not
acquired such sanctity that in its name any crime may now be com-
mitted against the public areas in which atmosphere and inspiration are
more important than the lazy disposition of leisure time.
Mr. Leopold's trophy hunters, if they be content with the capture of
trout, taking of photographs, or the recording of a climb on a mountain
top, may enjoy their brands of recreation in national parks.
STATE PARKS 143
Those vacationists who crave the feeling of isolation in nature, may,
in spite of popularity of scenic national parks, find full satisfaction for
their every whim. Mass use of parks means concentration centers and
heavy traffic lanes. It is still a simple matter to leave the crowd and
move alone in vast tracts of unmarked wilderness in the larger scenic
parks.
The fresh-air enthusiast who must have physical activity with his
recreation is easily cared for even in congested areas or on popular trails.
If he finds pleasure in camping, hiking, horseback riding, mountain
climbing, cross-country skiing, or snowshoeing, he can get his deep
breathing and satisfying change of scene in the national parks. This
group, in the minds of some recreational specialists, is the important
crowd to plan for. I can agree that it is important that we plan for this
element in shaping facilities, but campgrounds, riding stables, roads, and
trails probably are not in themselves wholly adequate provision, for in
this class is a multitude of those who would, if they could, accept further
recreational values in understanding the attributes of the out-of-doors
that has attracted them.
He who in his recreation would perceive the natural processes by
which the parks and their biology have achieved form and character
may indulge in his study with no drain upon the natural values of the
reservation, but if the Service keeps faith with this breed of vacationist —
and he arrives in ever-growing numbers — preparation must be made.
Service officials must know more about the scientific and historic aspects
of the parks than do the visitors. To attain this end, original research
is frequently necessary. A program of interpreting the defined park
stories must be planned and put in operation. This involves lecturing,
guiding in the field, preparation of certain small trailside exhibits, and
the establishment of central contact stations and museum exhibits.
Distribution of publications on the essential subjects rounds out the
program and makes for dissemination of the information among those
who have not entered the park. In all of this provision for a recreation,
based upon the idea of a perceptive faculty in visitors, care is taken not
to make the facilities obtrusive. To impose the geologist's explanation of
canyon-cutting upon the Yellowstone visitor who is intent only upon
enjoying the sublime scene in solitude is as unreasonable as insisting
that he fish for trout. Probably, the important consideration from a
service standpoint is that we be prepared to give the geologist's explana-
tion to the many who do want it.
Those National Park Service officers who have attempted to look into
the future of recreational developments in national parks have been
frank in admitting their inadequacy in picturing ultimate needs, but
all of them, too, have been determined in their official capacities to limit
their activities to those phases of recreation in which the native values
of the parks contribute the essentials.
144 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Accomplishments of the Park, Parkway and
Recreational-Area Study
CONRAD L. WIRTH, Supervisor of Recreation and Land Planning,
National Park Service
Editob's Note. — See also article on the same subject by H. E. Curtis on page 57.
WHILE the fundamentals of recreational planning are similar for
all States, influencing factors which modify the problems involved
vary widely as between States and more particularly as between regions.
That is why the Study is being made, first on a state basis, involving
careful analysis of local conditions and requirements, such as the existing
legislative and administrative provisions, the ability of the State to
finance an adequate recreational program, the per capita income of the
people, specific racial requirements, the availability of recreational lands,
and many other considerations. Upon the completion of preliminary re-
ports by a group of States which form a more or less homogeneous recrea-
tional region, it is expected that the work of coordinating these reports
and tentative plans into a regional report and plan will be undertaken.
In any consideration of a park and recreational area system and
program for a State, the matter of proper administration is of vital
importance. It is encouraging to note the successful efforts being made
by the various States in improving the elBBciency of their state park
organizations. As a single example, the State of Tennessee last year
established a Department of Conservation under which were brought
several existing state conservation agencies in addition to a newly
established Division of Parks. This is considered a decided step in the
right direction. It is in line with the trend toward establishing the
administration of state parks under a separate governmental unit
distinct from and not subservient to established forestry or game and
fish commission. Furthermore, the tendency is to correlate and co-
ordinate those related conservation agencies; such as those dealing with
parks, forests, fish and game, wildlife and other natural resources, in a
department of conservation, as has been done in Tennessee.
In considering budgetary provisions for state park and recreational
areas and programs, proposals incorporated in the Mississippi report
are cited as exemplifying results of the Study in this connection. These
proposals provide for a director, two technicians, a supervisor of rec-
reation, a supervisor of operations, six park superintendents, a sufficient
staff of stenographic and clerical help, and a force of park employees,
including custodians, lifeguards, and laborers.
This careful attention to fiscal needs characterizes the situation in
all the States, In this connection, you will be interested to know that
22 States which established their first state park budgets after initiation
of the Federal emergency program appropriated $946,006 for 1937-38
against $278,000 for 1933-34, Fourteen States which had state park
STATE PARKS 145
systems prior to receiving Federal aid appropriated $1,919,771 for 1938
compared with $1,258,315 for 1933.
The reports for both Mississippi and Louisiana recognize the de-
sirabihty of locating areas and facilities near enough to the larger
population centers to permit their frequent week-day as well as holiday
weekend and vacation use; whereas the most important recreational
needs of the rural and rural non-farm sections are for playgrounds,
playfields and small community parks providing opportunities ior
picnicking, swimming and group activities of a local character.
Another problem dealt with in the reports of these southern States
has been met by making detailed studies of the special needs of the
Negro population, for whose use areas and facilities are meager or non-
existent at present. Because of their economic condition and lack of
transportation, the Negroes are in need of a greater number of smaller
areas located near their homes, with facilities for day-use activities such
as picnicking, swimming, mass and organized sports, social programs
and other types of gregarious activities.
In Virginia, there has been applied a method of locating and ap-
praising recreational needs, based on an analysis of the factors of time and
cost as they influence travel for recreational purposes. The first step in
applying this method in Virginia consisted of establishing 15, 25 and 50-
mile zones, by highway distances, aroimd each of the state's existing areas.
The extent of each of these zones was predicated on the results of
studies which revealed that frequent week-day use of an area could not
be expected from people living more than 10 or 15 miles away and that
virtually no week^iay use could be expected from people living farther
than 25 miles away. People in the lower income brackets must depend on
facilities within 25 miles of their homes for practically all of their recreation.
(Incidentally, these lower income groups comprise 54 per cent of our
southern population, which is a significant factor in all phases of recreation
planning.) Due to the elements of both time and cost, a vast majority of
those people who earned moderate incomes (comprising something like 35
per cent of the remaining 46 per cent of our southern population) would
not travel more than 50 miles for their holiday-weekend outings.
These distances vary in different sections of the country, depending
on such factors as the economic conditions and travel habits of the people,
adequacy of highways and length of work day. Even daylight saving
time has its influence, as has been demonstrated by the larger week-day
use in northern areas attributed partially to this factor.
By using a zone map as a transparent overlay in conjunction with a
population distribution map, those population centers of the State not
served by existing areas were clearly indicated.
It might be added that these zones also provide an excellent means of
breaking a State down into logical and well-defined planning units for
the purpose of analyzing and determining the need for specific types of
146 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
facilities, such as those providing swimming, picnicking, boating, hiking
and other similar activities. It facilitates the appraisal of such in-
fluencing factors as racial characteristics and economic conditions and
otherwise simplifies problems connected with the planning of adequate
recreational area systems and programs.
The serious interest of the States is indicated by the fact that 20
of them are contributing funds or detailing personnel specifically to
assist in its conduct and 17 others are making contributions through the
part-time assignment of personnel and facilities. The Works Progress
Administration has rendered valuable assistance to most of these States in
carrying out the Study through the provision of such facilitating personnel
as work supervisors, statisticians, draftsmen, clerks and stenographers.
The Study is a practical and business-like approach to the task of
conservation for outdoor recreation in that it first takes stock of what
now exists in the way of recreational areas and facilities, then seeks to
appraise the needs of the people and the recreational resources of the
section of the country in which they live.
To a large degree, it is breaking new ground. Certainly no under-
taking of such magnitude in the field of recreational research and plan-
ning has ever before been attempted. This necessitates a certain amount
of trial and error, but through a pooling of procedures and techniques,
made possible by having the National Park Service to act as a clearing
house for successful ideas, it is rapidly formulating a method of study
and planning which should assure sounder future results in the field of
conservation for outdoor recreation.
Camping Trends and Public Areas
JULIAN HARRIS SALOMON, National Park Service
TWENTY-FIVE years ago the first organized camps were established
in Palisades Interstate Park. Last year, according to the official
report, camps in that park were attended by 90,000 children and adults.
That is a splendid record. It is even more significant when we consider
that the number of visitors is not the final test of a park's value but
rather the kind of use they made of it.
These 90,000 campers were in the park under trained leadership
which provided recreational programs. Their stay was made pleasant
and profitable. They were taught how properly to use and enjoy the
park and as a result of their experience, they will, for the most part, have
developed a lifelong appreciation for outdoor recreation. City dwellers
need this leadership and training, for during the past few decades they
have had little opportunity or experience in the use of natural rec-
reational facilities.
Another interesting fact about the 90,000 is that most of them would
never have reached the park if organizations had not existed to bring
STATE PARKS 147
them there and if the park commission had not made the camping
facilities available at low cost. Many children whose parents do not
own automobiles and who could not afford to go on vacations were in
those camps. Some of the parents were there too. Here is a splendid
example of the way in which cooperation between a park and public,
semi-public and private non-profit organizations can contribute toward
a solution of the park leadership problem and of that of providing for
vacations and park use by the lower income groups.
These campers were in the park 24 hours of the day, seven days of
the week and many of them were in the park again in the fall, winter,
and spring. Park-use studies so far made, reveal that on week days our
parks are little used in comparison with Sundays and holidays. This,
coupled with the comparatively short season during which most parks
are open, makes increased week-day use and longer seasons most im-
portant conditions to adjust if parks are to economically fulfill their
objectives. It seems that camping offers a solution.
The camping movement in the past few years has gone forward with
a strength and vigor greater than at any time in its history. New in-
terest and activity in this field is evident in all parts of the country and
with it has come a better understanding of the opportunities camping
offers for recreation, education and the conservation of human resources.
We find in the sponsors of new camping enterprises the schools, churches,
cooperatives, labor unions, stores, industries and public and private
agencies representative of every phase of our national life.
It is natural that these groups and those interested in hiking, water
sports and winter sports should turn to the state and national parks, for
these types of recreation are inherent in a forest environment. Only
on these and other publicly owned areas can be met the great need for
outdoor recreational facilities on a wide scale, at a low per capita cost.
They will not be provided on a commercial basis for there is not suflficient
profit in them and semi-public and private agencies have proved over
the years to be unable adequately to provide those facilities from their
limited funds. In the field of camping this is particularly true. There is
a great need on public areas for camp facilities of all types that can be
made available at low cost.
To a small extent these camping needs have been fulfilled during the
past three years by the development of the Recreational Demonstration
Areas. Last year 21 camps had been completed which operated to a
capacity of 101,000 camper-days. This year it is hoped nearly to double
these figures. Several new camps have been erected or proposed in state
parks during this time but it is quite apparent from the increasing and
continued demand that we shall not go wrong in providing more camp-
grounds, group camps and trail lodges in our parks and recreational areas.
Among recent developments in this field none has greater significance
for park planners than the new interest that is being shown in camping
148 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
by the schools. Some reasons for this are pointed out in a recent state-
ment by Commissioner of Education, John W. Studebaker, who says :
CampiBg has served to give new meaniag to education, lifting it from a
cloistered world of theory into one of realism and everyday experience. Camping
has operated as a liberalizing and progressive force in American education.
The educators of the country are wise who recognize what the camp — be it
private or public — is now doing to develop the individual's whole personality,
his interests and his abilities. The camp has helped much to develop plans for
using work as a vitalizing force in the educational process. It has taught youth
to learn to do a job while actually at work in it — to learn by doing.
There is an opportunity in the camp to get back to a natural type of educa-
tion and individualized development. Here the youth learns how to deal prac-
tically with life situations and to adapt himself to them.
It is greatly to be hoped that camping will continue to contribute to the
progressive development of American education and that public schools will
increasingly make camping activities a part of their program.
In a report on "Human Resources" made by the American Council
on Education to the National Resources Committee this recommenda-
tion is made:
Programs of land usage should provide, in the vicinity of each city, for one or
more large areas which may be used continuously by the public school system.
There are many types of nature observation and study, many forms of art and
craft, and many types of recreation which can best be carried on in the woods.
It should be expected that, throughout the full twelve months of the year,
groups of pupils would go to live in the school camp for a week or so at a time.
Closely allied with the school camp are the new field study trips and
travel camps of which there are a rapidly growing number. You have
probably seen the articles in Time and the Readers Digest on the Lin-
coln School's trips to the South and to the Pennsylvania coal fields.
They are but the forerunners of a great recreational-educational travel
movement for youth, for the schools have recognized that while ex-
perience through reading is good, experience through direct observation
and participation is better. The New York Times said that after the
first Lincoln School trip, tests showed that the senior class almost
doubled its knowledge of soil management, flood control and the pro-
duction of electricity after visiting the TVA site at Muscle Shoals and
rural rehabilitation projects in Georgia and Virginia.
We need to be prepared to meet and help this movement by pro-
viding inexpensive overnight accommodations, such as trail lodges, in
parks of special scenic and historic interest and those located on main
transcontinental travel routes.
On this subject I would again like to quote from "Human Resources":
Schools have only begun to utilize the changes in methods of teaching his-
tory and geography which are made possible with modern methods of trans-
portation and demonstration. In addition to preserving historic spots as public
parks, it is important to build up facilities which will make a visit by youth
groups as rewarding as possible. This means museums of the "active" type
which call for participation, not merely passive observation.
STATE PARKS 149
It involves also adequate camping facilities because such tours should be
made available to the large sections of the population with low incomes. The
time may come when every adolescent will include as an important part of his
development, satisfaction of the age-old desire to "see the world,"
When proper facilities have been arranged, a year of travel about the country
might prove no more expensive and much more rewarding to the average Ameri-
can boy or girl than a year of college.
On the Blue Mountain Reservation in Westchester County we have
recently completed our first trail lodge. This structure contains dor-
mitories for 15 boys and 15 girls, a common kitchen, a living-dining-
room and an apartment for the custodian. Four smaller lodges to be
ready for use on July 1, are under construction on the Recreational
Demonstration Areas where traveling youth groups may be accommo-
dated at a fee of 25 cents per person a night. In addition, as parts of
the organized camps, we have provided over a hundred of these small
lodges which are similarly available for use by traveling groups during
the greater part of the year. These lodges are open to any group under
adequate adult leadership.
As young people in this country make their long trips mainly by bus
or automobile, the lodges are located near motor roads. In scenic or
natural areas they will serve as a base for tramping trips afield when
the groups will sleep in lean-tos or other simple shelters on the trail.
This plan was outlined by Regional Director Frank A. Kittredge of the
National Park Service in a recent paper. He said :
Typical portions of the primeval areas of the future must be made accessible
on foot to the boys and girls; the men and the women who shall safeguard these
great primeval areas in the next decades.
The finest possible expenditure both in conservation of our youth and in
conservation of our natural resources will be obtained when the Federal Govern-
ment expends some hundreds of thousands of dollars in building moderate trails,
low-cost shelters, and trailside lodges.
These facilities will permit groups of young folks, under auspices of organiza-
tions such as the Boy Scouts and the Girl Scouts, and families to go afoot be-
tween shelters, between places where low-cost subsistence may be had for those
who are unable to meet the expense required to pack in their subsistence and
shelter. There seems no reason why a boy's two weeks' hike through the high
Sierras or through Glacier National Park or Mt. Olympus could not be made to
cost about as little as he now spends for two weeks in a Y. M. C. A. camp.
So far as the future (National Park) System is concerned, we may be hearing
about the forgotten boy and the forgotten girl who are going to run the con-
servation activities of the country in the next generation. There is no better way
of conserving natural resources than to spend a little money in the primeval
areas of our country to make them walkable and livable to oiu* youngsters.
A return to tramping trips and smaller and simpler camp facilities
is indicated in the programs of some of the larger camping organizations.
These groups desire a minimum of facilities which may be easily pro-
vided in most parks. In their simplest form they would consist of camp-
grounds large enough to accommodate a group of twenty or thirty with
160 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
safe water and sanitary facilities. A site of this kind might be further
developed with a cabin, with an attached outdoor kitchen and a wash
and shower house. Such a unit would be useful to a great variety of
urban and rural groups.
So far, I have spoken of the needs of organized groups of young
people. For families and the independent camper the need for low-cost
camping facilities is equally great. Campgrounds have not been as
generously provided in our state parks in the East as they have in the
West. Yet the need for them here is equally great and that Easterners
will use them is known to anyone who has visited the Adirondacks, the
White Mountains and the southeastern national forests. A few cabins
to be rented at $2.50 to $3.50 a day and from $15.00 to $30.00 a week,
have been provided in many of our parks. These serve in a very limited
way, a small part of our population. The same labor and money put into
campground development would serve a great many more.
Campgrounds, when they have been provided, have nearly always
been great mass aflFairs resembling commercial tourist camps where the
maximum number of tents and trailers are crowded on each acre. In our
organized camp planning we once followed the same mass idea. Because
of its many disadvantages it was abandoned and our big camps are now
broken down into small units. The same idea needs to be applied to
public campgrounds in state and national parks.
Smaller units would need to be distributed over a larger part of the
area than are concentrated campgrounds but they would in the long
run be less destructive to the park. Certainly they would be less likely
to become the unsightly recreational slums which some of our public
campgrounds undoubtedly now are and they would be far more satis-
factory to the campers.
We also need in the East to find ways to provide family camps similar
to those that have been so successfully operated by municipalities on the
Pacific Coast. Here is a field our park systems might well enter. As an
example of their low cost I might mention the San Francisco Municipal
Camp near Yosemite where a cabin and three wholesome meals may be
obtained for $2.00 a day. In addition, an excellent recreational program
is provided in which campers may participate, if they so desire.
The cabins in these western camps are built to rent at a low rate.
They are much simpler than the expensive stone and log bungalows we
so frequently provide and they do not contain the bathrooms and
plumbing that some think are absolutely essential. The cabins are
grouped around central shower, toilet and laundry facilities and the
inconvenience of walking to them is readily accepted as part of the
adventiu*e of camping out. They even get along without electric lights!
Says Superintendent White, of Sequoia, on that subject :
Electric lighting is such an accepted utility that at first it seems necessary
everywhere in public or operator areas. Yet nothing conduces to a quiet park
STATE PARKS 151
atmosphere as general darkness except in or near buOdings. — We are against street
or highway lighting. Operator's cabins are lit by kerosene hand lamps and candles.
Many visitors like it. Few complain. Some are loud in approval. I think that
with a little pressure we could have had a $100,000 electric light layout at Giant
Forest a few years ago; but we are now glad that the pressiu-e was not exercised.
I am sure that we will find these simpler facilities, which to my mind
are in keeping with the park atmosphere, acceptable to the greater part
of the public which we should be serving.
Camps, campgrounds, and low-cost cabins for the use of schools,
traveling youth groups, recreational organizations and for families are
among the most needed recreational facilities on all types of public areas
now and in the foreseeable future. As we make evident our willingness
to make our areas of greater value to the community by meeting these
recreational needs we may lay claim to substantial and continuing
appropriations to make this work possible.
In closing I want to share with you this recent letter from Lebert H. Weir:
Please accept my heartiest thanks for a copy of the report entitled 'The
National Park Service in the Field of Organized Camping.'
The fact that the National Park Service has gone into this important service
field ought to have a very profound effect in extending it among municipalities
and private agencies — in fact it already has, as I see by the report. I sincerely
hope that sometime the educational authorities of the country will incorporate
camping as a part of the regular school activity, organizing their schools on a
year-round basis, utilizing the summer season for camping and other forms of
outdoor life activities, especially for the pupils in city schools. Of course every
park and recreation department ought to do something in the field of camping.
I feel very strongly that one of the greatest social-educational-recreational
services that can be rendered city boys and girls is to bring them into vital con-
tact with the open country just as often and just as long as possible. The more I
see of city life the more I fear for the future welfare of our country, especially so
long as urbanism is the dominant characteristic of our culture. Industry and
the soil must be more closely linked somehow if we are to avoid the ever mounting
numbers of unemployed and the ever rising need for public and private relief. It
is an interesting fact that most of our present-day pathological social problems
arose with the rise of industry and urbanism — also oiu* economic problems.
I think that there is no more important thing both in the social and economic
fields than the things you in the National Park Service are doing to turn the
minds and hearts of the people to the first and the last mother of us all — Mother
Nature. The longer I remain in this work the more I feel that the park people
hold the most fundamental elements for wholesome recreation both in its
physical and cultural sense.
Value of Water and Shore Line for Recreation
H. S. WAGNER, Director-Secretary, Metropolitan Park District, Akron, Ohio
THE opportunity to enjoy restful or inspiring scenery will always be
cherished. To come in contact with the sights and scenes of historic
or natural interest remains sufficient recreational opportunity for many.
State and metropolitan parks offer picnic opportunities for the family.
152 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The further uses of such areas, overnight, week-end and vacation
camping, are by no unusual train of thought, little more than extensions
of the part day use which is involved in picnicking. Where facilities exist,
there seems to be just as much variety in the type of recreation by the
visitor for a day or the party on a vacation for several weeks. In anti-
cipation of this demand therefore, it seems to follow that provisions for
recreation by means of water should be made whenever possible. It
follows also that in regions where natural bodies of water are nonexistent
and where the population is concentrated, this demand is automatically
increased. Where winter sports are impractical there will be greater
demand for recreation by water in the longer summer season, and in
the northerly part of the country the possibility of the year-round use
of such developments through winter and summer sports is equally
forceful. In both cases the value of natural or created bodies of water
in the broad landscape is a foregone and accepted conclusion.
Several writers of note have expressed the sentiment that the land
areas of the world must be reserved for the production of the necessities
of life, and that water areas therefore should be better prepared and
reserved for broader recreational use. Surely nobody will deny that the
appeal of water for people on recreation bent is ages old and on the
increase. Whether the park administrator adjusts an existing body of
water or creates an artificial one seems to be beyond the scope of this
suggestion. It is conceivable that in certain locations, structural pools
are to be preferred to lakes resulting from the building of dams. Here,
it might be suggested, the value of both water and shore line for rec-
reation is almost wholly dependent upon sound engineering design which
has regard for size and character of the watershed and the rainfall. Even
though no troublesome draw-downs are presented as in the case of
water impounded for hydraulic electrical purposes, the body of water
which is expanded beyond the facts and is based upon hopes rather than
on statistics is quite certain to be found in a list of liabilities of a park.
Upon the location of the service features of waterfront activities the
value of such facilities is also nearly wholly dependent. Whenever the
activities reach all around the shore, nearly all of the value is lost. The
sand and turf beaches, the bath houses and the usual features may be
made to contribute to the advantages of many people for many years
only when a balanced and well-conceived plan which recognizes the
maximum possible use has been followed. The overloading of water-fronts
invariably results more disastrously and the damage is often longer lived
than in the over-burdening of facilities created or existing on the land.
The ever-present problem of expense in development and mainte-
nance should be weighed more heavily than it has in the past in this
matter of facilities for recreation by water, despite the fact that such
features lend themselves to operation on a fee basis better than do any
of the other services which are rendered to the public in such parks.
INTERSTATE RELATIONS
Interstate Agreements and Compacts
GEORGE W. OLCOTT, Park Planner, National Park Service
THE first interstate compacts respecting any park, parkway or recre-
ational area were consummated in 1937: The Palisades Interstate
Park Commission was established as a joint cooperate municipal in-
strumentality of the States of New York and New Jersey; Ohio and
Pennsylvania entered a compact relating to the development, use, and
control of Pymatuning Lake for fishing, hunting, and other recreational
purposes. This same year a bill was introduced before the General
Assembly of Missouri providing for the establishment by interstate com-
pact of the Missouri-Illinois Parkway Commission but did not pass.
While these are the first compacts respecting parks. States have
resorted to this means of furthering their mutual interests ever since
the formation of the Constitution. In 1785, Maryland and Virginia
entered into a compact or treaty regulating the right of fishing in the
Potomac River.
It is well established that States, as sovereigns, may enter into any
compact or agreement with each other, subject to the consent of Congress.
On June 23, 1936, the Park, Parkway and Recreational-Area Study
Act was approved. Section 3 of this act reads as follows:
The consent of Congress is hereby given to any two or more States to nego-
tiate and enter into compacts or agreements with one another with reference to
planning, establishing, developing, improving, and maintaining any park, park-
way or recreational area. No such compact or agreement shall be effective until
approved by the legislatures of the several States which are parties thereto and
by the Congress of the United States.
Although this enactment indicates that such compacts properly re-
quire the consent of Congress, in giving its prior consent to the negotiat-
ing of such compacts Congress recognized the importance of interstate
compacts dealing with recreation.
What are the reasons and necessity for two States entering an agree-
ment regarding recreational development? Why can't each State manage
its own recreation affairs, planning its developments to meet its own
needs and the overflow requirements of the adjoining States without
going to all the trouble of formal compacts, requiring legislative action
by the States and the Federal Government.'*
These questions can best be answered by considering the reasons for
the recent compact of New York and New Jersey pertaining to the Pali-
sades Interstate Park. After working together for 37 years on the ac-
quisition, development, and operation of this park the two States found
it desirable legally to establish the interstate character of the park.
The statement of Mr. J. DuPratt White, President, Commission of
the PaHsades Interstate Park, at the hearing before the Ways and Means
158
154 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Committee of the New York Assembly regarding the then proposed
compact, estabHshed many sound reasons for the compact. He said:
The PaHsades Interstate Park was established in 1900. The machinery set up
at that time for its management consisted of two separate State bodies — a New
York Commission and a New Jersey Commission — each consisting of ten mem-
bers. It was contemplated that the activities of the two state boards would be
coordinated through having identical members of the two state Commissions,
five residents of each State. This coordination, however, rests entirely upon
comity and has no basis in law. A Governor of either State may refuse to con-
tinue this policy of appointing identical members. If this should happen, the
management and development of the park as a unit would be destroyed.
In 1925 the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, which had contributed
large sums to the park, employed Mr. Mark M. Jones of New York City to make a
study of the park, its management and operation. The report consisted of 399 pages.
Apparently the only basis for his recommendation against any large or im-
portant financial support was the corporate structure of the Commission. The
survey stated as follows:
"The imity and continuity of the park as an interstate enterprise are not
formally assured at the present time. Legally, its affairs are in the hands of two
separate corporations. Withdrawal or fundamental changes in policy on the part of
either state would sacrifice the advantages of the interstate basis. The present or-
ganization structure, resting on comity and custom alone, does not provide a suffi-
cient guarantee of permanence to warrant large and important financial support."
We believe that the proposed compact will be of inestimable value to the
future of this great interstate project. It will allay the fears of possible donors
that there might be a change in the fundamental policy of either State toward
the park and thus frustrate the purposes of the gifts. With these fears allayed,
the Commissioners look forward to the time when they will obtain gift funds
with which they can provide income-producing operations that will make the
park wholly self-sustaining. The compact will insure for all time to come the
protection of the interests of each State in this project. The compact accom-
plishes this without either State surrendering one iota of its sovereignty. Neither
State is obligated to appropriate anything to the park. The compact will make
clear the status of the park as an interstate project and remove the embarrass-
ments which have arisen so often in connection with laws which are state-wide
but which, if applied to the Palisades Park would seriously interfere with the
interstate aspects of its operation. And finally the compact will legalize expedients
that have been adopted in the interest of the park and make for its eflScient and
economical operation.
The reasons, needs, and advantages of the Palisades Interstate Com-
mission established by compact may equally well apply to other inter-
state recreational areas. A single authority simplifies the administration,
development, and maintenance of an area as a single unit. It aids in the
cooperation with other agencies. It will allay the fears of possible donors
as to the permanency of the park.
Roy A. Vetter, Assistant Attorney with the National Park Service,
has stated in his article "Interstate Compacts in the Field of Recreation" :
No participating State need surrender or subordinate its powers or prerog-
atives to the other. Authority deemed incompatible with the purposes and
objectives of the compact may be withheld. Appropriations, both as to amount
and purpose, are determinable by the legislature of each State. While a primary
STATE PARKS 155
purpose of such compacts is to insure permanency of administration, it is open
to the participating States to stipulate the terms upon which the compact may
be terminated.
On the other hand, added authorities and duties may be conferred by a
participating State, to be exercised exclusively within its territorial limits, with-
out the necessity of concurrence by the other. Additional jurisdiction, authority
and duties may be conferred by joint action of the participating States.
The compact, upon adoption, becomes a contract protected by the Federal
Constitution against legislation impairing its obligations.
The Park, Parkway and Recreational-Area Study has brought to
light several desirable interstate areas and others will probably be
planned as a result of the study. There are several metropolitan regions
which include parts of two or more States (for example the Chicago,
St. Louis, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Omaha regions). The provision of
adequate recreational areas to serve these metropolitan regions may
involve interstate cooperation and the establishment of Interstate
Commissions as it has in the New York region.
The state planning agencies of Wisconsin and Illinois have recommended
a large park on Lake Michigan at the Wisconsin-Illinois State line. It
would provide a public beach serving the people of Chicago and Milwaukee.
In the St. Louis region the War Department is constructing a naviga-
tion dam which will form a large pool or lake in the Mississippi River.
The lake will be of great recreational value to the people of Illinois and
Missouri. The Corps of Engineers, United States Army, the National
Park Service, the States of Missouri and Illinois, and the St. Louis
Regional Planning Commission have been cooperating for the recre-
ational development of the lakeshore. In the National Resources Com-
mittee report "Regional Planning Part II — St. Louis Region" referring
to this project it is stated:
An oflScial regional authority would have proved of great assistance in bring-
ing about the necessary coordination and would also have been the logical
agency to sponsor the project.
The proposed Missouri-Illinois Interstate Parkway Commission
would have authority to acquire, develop, administer, and maintain a
parkway from Chicago to St. Louis along the Illinois River and south-
west to the Lake of the Ozarks. Another interstate parkway proposal
has come from Missouri. Considerable interest has been indicated in the
proposal of a parkway along the Mississippi from Duluth to New Orleans.
Interstate Park Commissions have been suggested as the proper
authority to develop and administer two proposed interstate parkways
out in the southwest: The Raton Pass Parkway between Raton, New
Mexico, and Trinidad, Colorado, and the Anazazi Parkway between
Lupton, Arizona, and Manuelito, New Mexico, which would not only
preserve unusual scenic and historic strips of land, but also provide
outstanding entrances to the States and certain recreational facilities
for tourists and the local people.
156 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Extensive trailways may also require interstate agreements if their
value is to be protected. It has been suggested that there should be an
agreement between the States traversed by the Appalachian Trail as
to the development and maintenance of the trail.
It is certain that interstate agreements or compacts offer a means of
solving some of the problems involved in the ever-widening fields of
recreation and conservation.
Parkways and Freeways
EARLE S. DRAPER, Director, Department of Regional Planning Studies, TVA,
Knoxville, Tenn.
IF YOU drive from Norris to Knoxville you will traverse, for part of
the distance, the Norris Freeway, where you will observe an absence
of billboards, gas stations, tourist camps, beer gardens, and hot dog
stands along the right-of-way, and in the road itself, an absence of sharp
turns, vertical curves, and other hazards to safe motoring.
It is not mere chance that these undesirable traffic hazards and
unsightly roadside developments are missing; nor is it because the high-
way is new and the mushroom of ribbon growth has not yet sprung up.
It is because the road to Norris is a freeway — a rural freeway — and
standard equipment of a freeway does not include hot dog stands, bill-
boards, blind intersections and the like.
"Freeway," as you probably know, is not just our pet name for this
stretch of road. Freeway is a specific type of highway designed for a
specific type of traffic.
Obviously different from 99 per cent of American highways today,
a freeway is not essentially a through express highway, nor is it solely
a parkway. It embodies principles of design and esthetic standards.
Above all, a freeway is safe. "Free" from the normal traffic hazards
so often attributable to engineering design (or lack of it) — intersections,
steep grades, sharp curves, side roads, narrow bridges, and obstruction
of vision. It permits a relatively high driving speed with much greater
safety than the average highway.
Although not primarily a recreation drive, it often features wayside
picnic areas and overlooks. Scenic easements may be acquired to further
protect the natural beauty of the roadside.
But its most distinguishing feature, a feature responsible both for a
large measure of the freeway's safety and practically all of its harmonious
roadside development, is that of controlled access. Owners of property
abutting the freeway have no rights of light, air or access. Through this
factor of control are eliminated virtually all accidents resulting from
cars entering the highway; through this same factor of access control
are eliminated the undesirable roadside developments.
Controlled access, however, and the development of wayside areas
STATE PARKS 167
are often features of other types of road. How, then, is the freeway
especially different from other roads?
Edward M. Bassett, City Planning Authority of New York, gives
us the most concise and precise definitions of the several types of road:
A highway is a strip of public land devoted to movement, over which the
abutting property owner has a right to light, air, and access.
X freeway is a strip of public land devoted to movement, over which the abut-
ting property owner has no right of light, air, or access.
A parkway is a strip of public land devoted to recreaiion, over which the
abutting property owner has no right of light, air, or access.
From Mr. Bassett's definitions it is readily apparent that the prime
difference between a freeway and a highway is not one of use — for they
are both devoted to movement of traffic — but one of control, one of
controlled access; whereas the parkway differs from both the freeway
and the highway in that it is dedicated primarily to recreational use —
rather than to movement — and at the same time it embodies the freeway
principle of controlled access.
During the hectic days of the 1920's parkways all but passed out of
the picture in the wild scramble to build highways, mile after mile of
highways. The accent was on quantity — a veritable race between the
States to see which could have the most miles of concrete or asphalt
per car. Today we are paying in lives and in dollars for this emphasis
on quantity and for the lack of selective design.
But getting back to parkways, this type of road first appeared as a
carriage drive. Literally, a "way" through the "park." The coming
of the automobile and its eventual spread to all income levels pushed
the demand for parkways far beyond the limited accommodations of the
carriage drive type. So, bigger and better parkways were built.
You have all risked your necks on many of these parkways.
And it must be remembered that this all sprang from the original
idea of pleasure drives.
Happily, however, we at last seem to be returning to the original
concept of the parkway. Today we see a national interest in parkways,
in purely recreational drives. The magazine Fortune not long ago had a
comprehensive study on the nation's highway system and recognized
the need for a type of road that would take the pleasure driver — ^the
tourist and the Sunday motorist alike — off the congested through high-
way with its traffic hazards and its uninspiring roadside signs of "prog-
ress," and put him on a road of his own, a road where he can proceed at
his leisure or speed up at his pleasure, where he can stop to get a view of
the sunset, where he can park his car near a tumbling stream and spread
a picnic lunch in a clean, enjoyable, uncommercialized atmosphere.
More recently, March 26 of this year, the Saturday Evening Post carried
a thoughtful article by Paul G. Hoffman, president of the Automotive
Safety Foundation and of the Studebaker Corporation. Treating the
158 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
subject from the viewpoint of safety, Mr. Hoffman pointed out the need
for a definite type of road for definite types of traffic. Recreational traffic is
a very definite type and the parkway is its corresponding type of road.
For despite the fact that the parkway of today — scaUng mountains,
penetrating forest wilderness, bridging swamps (as some now under
construction will do) and possessing several undeniable rights — would
scarcely be recognized by its parent, the carriage drive through the park,
parkways today perform the same function as they did before the advent
of the automobile. That is, they are first, last and always, pleasure drives.
Mr. A. E. Demaray, Associate Director of the National Park Service,
sums up the characteristics of the parkway :
A parkway is designed for passenger car traflBc and is largely for recreational
use. It aims to avoid developments which mar the ordinary highway.
A parkway is built within a wider right-of-way, which acts as an insulating
strip of park land between the roadway and the abutting private property.
A parkway is preferably located through undeveloped areas of scenic beauty
and interest and avoids communities and intensive farmlands.
A parkway makes the best scenery available even at the sacrifice of short-
ness of route.
Grade crossings between the parkway and main intersecting highways and
railroads are eliminated.
Points of entrance and exit on a parkway are widely spaced to reduce traffic
interruptions, and a secondary road is often provided to carry local traffic.
Scenic easements are introduced to secure a maximum of protection without
increasing the land to be acquired in fee simple.
These regulations established by the Park Service for the acquisition
of parkway rights-of-way, nevertheless apply in general to all
modern parkways. The parkways of Westchester County, including the
Bronx and the Hutchinson Parkways, are well known to millions of
people. The new Merritt Parkway, extending through Fairfield County,
is an advanced type of project. The George Washington Memorial
Parkway, from Washington, D. C, to Mount Vernon, is our best-known
national parkway. All of these parkways serve as speedways as well as
park routes and at the present time divert considerable through travel
because of attractiveness of setting.
Two extended national parkways, both at present under construction,
must also be mentioned as they represent long strides forward in the
solution of our highway problem. These two projects are the Blue Ridge
Parkway and the Natchez Trace Parkway, with which you undoubtedly
are acquainted. The Blue Ridge Parkway, when completed, will connect
the Shenandoah National Park and the Great Smoky Mountains
National Park. This road will be more than 450 miles long. The average
elevation of its projected route is 2,500 feet above sea level. Rights-of-
way averaging 150 acres to the mile are being obtained by the States of
Virginia and North Carolina and are being deeded to the United States
in fee simple and under scenic easement. Access to the parkway will, of
course, be limited, and suitable overpasses over important highways
STATE PARKS 159
and railroads are provided for. Adjacent to the parkway route the Fed-
eral government is developing several recreational and service areas
which will provide for overnight accommodations, camping, hiking, and
other recreational opportunities.
The Natchez Trace Parkway will follow the historic military and
trade route from Nashville, Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi. The
same principles of roadside protection and traffic safety are being fol-
lowed in this project as in the Blue Ridge Parkway.
The opportunities for such development are practically yet untouched
and the need is unquestioned.
But what of freeways in the recreational development picture?
Freeways will undoubtedly play their part. In the crowded metropolitan
regions where volume of trafl&c demands several different types of road,
freeways may serve to divert much of the through traffic now using the
metropolitan parkways and will thus leave the parkways free to return
to their original purpose. In the definitely rural areas, freeways, by
virtue of their superior engineering design and their controlled access,
may serve as both the movement and the recreation type of highway.
That is the role of the Norris Freeway. We have applied freeway
principles to a rural highway and are well satisfied with the results.
The Appalachian Trail
PAUL M. FINK, Member, Board of Managers, Appalachian Trail Conference,
Jones boro, Tenn.
EVERY forward stride of progress in this or any other country has
been the result of a dream — a vision in the mind of some far-
sighted soul who could see beyond the immediate present and visualize
some great thing out in the future. Benton MacKaye dreamed a dream
— a dream of a people turning more and more for recreation from the
crowded cities and densely populated areas to roam afoot in the woods
and mountains, to seek the wilderness for rest and physical relaxation
and spiritual up-building. For their use he could see in his mind's eye
a series of woodland paths and wilderness areas, bound together into
one far-flung system by a master trail running North and South down
the backbone of Eastern America, from the Canadian border to the
foothills of Georgia. This long path he christened the Appalachian Trail,
and in 1921 he presented the idea to the public in an article published in
the Journal of the American Institute of Architects.
It immediately attracted widespread attention, particularly in New
England, where recreational use of the mountains had long been estab-
lished and where the New England Trail Conference had already in
existence a coordinated trail system from Maine to the Hudson, a splen-
did nucleus from which to build. Recruits were enlisted and the route
farther South was considered. The first southern terminus suggested was
160 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Mt. Mitchell, but further study of the terrain has relocated and extended
the Trail until its Southern extremity has rested on Mt. Oglethorpe, in
Northern Georgia. North it has been pushed from Mt. Washington more
than 250 miles across a wilderness to Mt. Katahdin in Maine.
Various outing groups and individuals were contacted and interested,
routes chosen and scouted, and some marking and construction done.
In the spring of 1925 a meeting was held in Washington and there the
Appalachian Trail Conference was formally organized, officers elected
and a constitution adopted, and the movement was all set.
Yet soon interest lagged and the Conference bade fair to die a death
of inaction, until Arthur J. Perkins, of Hartford, Conn., became in-
terested. His energy and enthusiasm put new life into the project; he
visited many places and people, North and South, helped locate doubtful
sections, made valuable contacts and stirred up new interest all along
the line, until the Conference began to function as never before. But
he was not fated to see the Trail completed, for in 1930, just as he pre-
pared to attend the meeting of the Conference at Skyland, Va., he was
stricken by illness and was never able to resume active connection.
Laboring enthusiastically with Judge Perkins was Myron Avery, a
young admiralty attorney of Washington, and into his capable hands
the task fell, to be pushed on energetically until now the Appalachian
Trail stands complete, some 2,050 miles of it, the longest continuous
footpath in the world — an epochal achievement, when one remembers
the multitude of difficulties that have had to be overcome. The names
of these three men — Benton MacKaye, Arthur Perkins and Myron
Avery — will always be remembered as those to whom we give all credit
for the conception and the completion of the Appalachian Trail. At the
same time, we do not in any way minimize the efforts of those hundreds
of other enthusiasts who have labored so faithfully in the work.
To some who are yet unacquainted with it, the name Appalachian
Trail is misconstrued, for they find it difficult to envision a trampers'
trail so long and instead think of it as a motor trail or highway, like the
Appalachian Scenic Highway, so highly advertised a few years ago, and
when mentioned we hear them say, "Yes, I've driven over it." Not so, for
the Appalachian Trail is a. footpath, pure and simple, and save in those few
spots when the necessity of crossing valleys in changing from one moun-
tain range to another makes imperative the following of motor roads for a
few miles, it is not to be traversed by any wheeled vehicle, unless it be the
one seen by a certain trail follower in North Carolina a few years ago.
This man recounted that he had penetrated the depths of the Great
Smokies until the trail he followed had all but "petered out" and he felt
sure no one had gone farther than he. Sitting down to rest, he heard a
noise, and looking farther up the dim trail, saw approaching what he
called "a crazy Indian riding a bicycle." Instead of an Indian it proved
to be the late George Masa, the Japanese trail enthusiast of Asheville, a
STATE PARKS 161
bright bandanna handkerchief tied about his head and pushing before
him the measuring wheel with which he was gathering trail data.
This great footpath, following as nearly as possible the skyline of the
Appalachian Mountains from Katahdin in Maine to Oglethorpe in
Georgia, two thousand and fifty miles of it, every foot complete, marked
and signed and with trail data available so that it may be easily followed
from end to end, is the longest single trail in the world. A metal marker,
of copyrighted and distinctive design, has been developed, that is placed
at frequent intervals and between, on trees and posts, have been painted
white blazes to guide the traveler. The footway has been chopped and
brushed out wherever necessary, and periodically working parties from
the various interested organizations go over the sections under their
care, to clear and maintain the right-of-way.
For the further guidance of the tramper, every foot of the Trail has
been traversed by the measuring wheel and complete trail data have
been compiled, showing distances, connecting trails, water, shelters, and
description of points of interest. This has been made available to the
public in a series of five guide books, covering all the Trail. So now
there is no reason one should have to depend on local information as
he goes along, and getting such directions as were once given a friend
of mine. This friend, asking a native what path to follow, was told,
"Just go down this trail a ways 'til it forks. There you take the right
hand fork and keep on that a spell 'til it forks again. Then you take the
left hand and go with that a far piece 'til it forks three ways. Then it
makes no difference which one you take, for you're done lost already."
Another unique feature about the Appalachian Trail is that it is
entirely the result of volunteer labor, the work of men and women who
have received no compensation for their services other than the satis-
faction of having a hand in putting across so magnificent a project. The
budget of the Conference, including the cost of postage, stationery, paint,
markers, and publications, is only about $500,00 per year. No officer of the
Conference draws a cent of salary or even expense money. The tasks of
scouting, routing, clearing, and marking the trail have been done by vol-
unteers, the working parties being mostly composed of professional men
and women, office workers, college students, and others — the white-collar
class — who have welcomed this opportunity to get into the out-of-doors.
In telling of the completion of the Trail we must give recognition of
the wholehearted cooperation of the National Park Service and the
U. S. Forest Service. In its way from North to South the Trail passes
through two National Parks and seven National Forests, and in every
instance those in charge aided in every way possible, making available
those portions of their own trail systems that were desired to be included
in the main trail thoroughfare. Had it not been for this great assistance
on their part, years more would have been required before we could
pridefuUy point to a completed Trail.
162 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
I say "completed Trail" and yet I do not mean just that. For the
moment, it is completed in that it is open, marked and logged the whole
way, but there is yet much work ahead of us. One great problem is
that of maintenance. In a country of profuse and rapidly growing
vegetation, like the Southern Appalachians, the growth is so heavy that
it must be brushed out at least once a year, to make it passable. Wind-
falls and down timber must be cleared away and the footway improved.
Intrusion of new roads and new logging operations calls for partial re-
location; markers and blazes must be renewed — the problem of physical
trail maintenance is always before us, as is the somewhat kindred one
of maintaining enthusiasm among the workers, some of whom may be
prone to lose interest if we call the work done.
There is also the task of giving the Trail more widespread publicity,
leading to its greater use by the public. But the greatest task ahead is
that of carrying on to completion another phase of the original concep-
tion of Benton MacKaye, and it is in this that many of you, interested
in public areas through which this Trail passes, may take a hand.
The thought underlying the Trail plan was not simply a path, a way
to follow, and stop at that, but provided for a much broader utilization
of the recreational possibilities so opened. The tramper would need some
place to spend the nights en route, so shelters would be necessary. Some
of these are already built and building, and more will be added to the
list as well as more elaborate camping facilities at points of scenic and
other interest, for those who might wish to tarry for longer periods.
Some of these are springing up already, and that problem will solve
itself as the need arises. But the more vital one, of protecting the Trail
in its status of a wilderness walkway, of shielding it from any commercial
invasion and the building of parallel or intersecting roads that might
destroy its continuity, is before us. A solution, and one that if worked
out will insure the perpetuity of the Appalachian Trail, is the creation of
the Appalachian Trailway, and it is toward that end we are now working.
This Trailway, as suggested by Edward Ballard, of the National
Park Service, at the last meeting of the Appalachian Trail Conference,
would be a continuous strip of land two miles wide, one mile on each
side of the Trail, under public ownership, to be forever withdrawn from
any commercial usage, and where wilderness conditions can be preserved.
What a magnificent domain that would be, a strip of wilderness two
miles wide and going over mountains and across valleys for more than two
thousand miles, with a total area of greater than four thousand square
miles, bigger than the combined States of Rhode Island and Delaware, or
half as big as Connecticut, all dedicated to the use of the foot traveler alone.
The magnitude of such a project was enough to bring to life even the
best of dreamers, but the task was started at once. There is abundant basis
for a glimpse into the future that will show us the ultimate and complete
realization of Benton MacKaye's dream.
STATE PARK DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTH
Alabama
PAGE S. BUNKER, State Forester and Director of Parks, Montgomery, Ala.
THE need of a park system in Alabama was recognized and dis-
cussed for some years, but it was not until 1927 that the State
Legislature passed an act, usually referred to as the State Land Act,
vesting the state's interests in parks in the Commission of Forestry and
placing such areas under the administration of that department. This
law provided a means of quite limited application by which, upon the
approval of the Governor, certain state-owned lands might be segregated
and devoted to the purposes of state parks. Under this law the Com-
mission established the first state park in Alabama in 1930, without
cost to the State. From that time, until the passage of the DeVane Act
of 1935, most of the land for parks was donated by public-spirited
citizens. By the spring of 1933, the State had acquired seven small
parks.
With the advent of the Civilian Conservation Corps a tremendous
impetus was given the state park movement in Alabama and extensive
acreage was added to existing areas and several new areas were estab-
lished. Thirteen of the Parks have been partly developed by the Civilian
Conservation Corps. Other agencies that have been of assistance to the
State are the Works Progress Administration and the National Youth
Administration. At present there is a total of 15 State Parks and 2 State
Monuments with an aggregate area of approximately 27,000 acres,
Alabama has peculiar natural advantages of extent and variety
equaled by no other southern State. The climatic range from the tem-
perate highlands of north Alabama with their winter snows to the semi-
tropical shores of the Gulf of Mexico, the 21,000,000 acres of forest land
in the State, the altitudinal range of more than 2,400 feet from the
mountains and canyons of northeast Alabama to the deltas and beaches
of the Gulf, and the wealth and variety of flora and fauna form a com-
bination of recreational opportunities found in no other section.
In locating, designing and developing the state parks care has been
taken to coordinate the scenic and recreational qualities with the pe-
culiar needs of most of the people who will resort to each particular
area. Any wholesome form of recreation, regardless of whether it may be
exactly what students of social branches believe most desirable, should
be given comparatively free play. The urge within the breasts of people
to direct the lives of other people is very strong, but this impulse should
be kept well under control. Where the recreational habits of people are
firmly fixed the state park authorities believe that consideration should
be had for local customs and expectations. This does not mean that what
we may regard as better forms of recreation should not be made open to
park visitors, but nothing like an attempt to force compliance with
163
164 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
external conceptions of what people ought to do is in contemplation.
Holding in view these and other more obvious principles of park develop-
ment and administration, Alabama feels that its state park system is on the
way to achieving maximum benefits to the people of the commonwealth.
Georgia
CHARLES N. ELLIOTT, Director of State Parks, Atlanta, Ga.
THE legislation authorizing the Department of Natural Resources,
and creating the Division of State Parks, was passed by the Georgia
Legislature on March 5, 1937. The organization of the new Division
was started on April 1, 1937, with the appointment of a Division Direc-
tor. The Division of State Parks was created to open and operate the
state parks as they became ready for public use. Last year the Division
opened four state parks to the public. This year they will open the
fifth. The money for over 5,000 dollars worth of equipment and for the
operation of the parks, was made from charges for concessions and for
special conveniences and privileges. Charges are made only for special
services. Entrance to the park itself, including police protection,
picnic tables, outdoor fireplaces, trails, roads, shelters, parking space
and some of the games, all normal conveniences, is furnished free of
charge. A family may spend a day in the park without spending one
penny except for gasoline to get there and for picnic lunch.
By this charge for special privileges, three of the parks paid their
own way last summer. We are expecting a much better season this year.
The Division of State Parks is cooperating in related work with other
state and national organizations. We are working with the National
Park Service, which is spending some $750,000 each year in Georgia
to help develop the state park system. In addition to this construction,
which is under the general supervision of the State Park Division, the
Division is cooperating in the development of children's recreational
areas, where the average boy and girl of the city, who would not other-
wise have an opportunity to leave the city streets during the summer,
may go for a week or two weeks, be taught to live with his fellows out-
of-doors, be taught organized play in the development of clean minds,
clean bodies and better citizenship. Three of those Recreational Demon-
stration Areas in the State total some 10,000 acres. They already have
been enjoyed by hundreds of Georgia children.
The Vocational Division of the State Department of Education and
the State Parks Division are collaborating in the establishment of a
Future Farmers Camp in Newton County. There, 3,000 boys will camp
for two weeks each during the summer months. These boys, who are
from an entirely different group than those using the RDP areas, will be
taught organized camping and play. They will be given lessons in Geor-
STATE PARKS 166
gia's natural resources and taught how to appreciate the beauty and the
history of our State. They will be provided with enough land on which
to plant and to study trees, on which to study soils and birds and
animals and other natural resources of the State. They will have almost
half a mile of lake front for boating and swimming and fishing. We
believe that such programs lead any boy to better citizenship.
We are collaborating with the State Highway Department on a road-
beautification program and in publicizing Georgia's beauty-spots, and
in maintaining state park roads.
Some of the other organizations giving the Division of State Parks
special services are the Health Department, which checks all plans for
lakes and swimming pools, tests the water in all state parks twice
each month, and gives the Division benefit of their knowledge and ex-
perience in all matters pertaining to health in the state parks; the
University of Georgia, which is in the process of establishing a course in
recreation to develop Park Superintendents and Rangers in order that
the parks may be more properly operated and maintained, and in order
that the park visitors may have the ultimate in service. The rangers
taking this course will be given scholastic credit for satisfactory work in
the parks during the summer months, and from the most satisfactory
ones we may take our permanent employees. The recreation course is
announced in the University Bulletin this year.
We are cooperating with the State Planning Board and the National
Park Service in making a Recreational Survey of the State to determine
what additional parks and facilities are needed for the public, which
parks are being used and what facilities are most popular. The results
of this survey will be reported to the Governor and to the General
Assembly, with recommendations.
We hope to designate by markers the important historic sites of the
State, which have not already been marked, and through the publica-
tion of a booklet, to give the Georgia people and others a deeper appre-
ciation of our history and the part it played in the making of a nation.
We hope to preserve within the State certain select areas of scenic
splendor, where commercial interests threatened to destroy them.
Through its program to preserve scenic areas in the State, several new
state parks areas have been acquired or are in the process of acquisition.
These include Kolomoki Mounds, Providence Canyons, Little Tybee
Island, Sitton's Gulch and Black Mountain. Plans are under way to
enlarge several of the existing park areas. Legislation has been intro-
duced into the Congress of the United States to enable the State to
acquire 4,000 additional acres of land at Vogel State Park from the
United States Forest Service. Approximately 6,000 new park acres were
acquired during the last year.
Last year the state parks were used by nearly half a million
Georgians and many out-of-state visitors.
166 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The Division has given special attention to the publicity concerning
areas under its control. Each day, requests come from all over the
United States, asking for information about Georgia.
Many talks, state and national, have been made. In addition to a
special newspaper and mat service to the weekly papers of the State,
and special important items to the daily papers and news organizations
as the Associated Press, special publicity features were put on as :
1. A full page of pictures of each Georgia Park, which ran for 9 weeks in the
Sunday Rotograviu-e Section of the Atlanta Journal. This brought comments
from all over the Nation.
2. A photographic contest of pictures in state parks. Pictures submitted
from all over the State.
3. Name contest, selecting a name for the lake in Vogel State Park. Over
a thousand names were submitted.
4. Magazine stories on Georgia Parks in such publications as the Atlanta
Journal Magazine Section, Architectural Concrete, published by the Portland
Cement Association; The Georgia Builder, Junior Chamber of Commerce;
Behind the Wheel, an AAA publication, several unpublished articles for magazines
as American Forests, Atlanta Journal magazine section, and others. These are
expected to appear in the near future.
5. Materials prepared by request for several editorials in papers of the State.
Two groups were organized and sponsored by the State Park Divi-
sion: the Butts County Historic and Archeological Society, to develop
and support the museum at Indian Springs State Park, and the Georgia
Park and Recreation Association, a citizens' recreational organization to
promote state park and other recreational activity in Georgia. This
latter group cooperated with the National Park Service in the acquisition
of five historic sites between Atlanta and Chattanooga.
Florida
H. J. MALSBERGER, Director, State Forests and Parks, Tallahassee, Fla.
An ACT of the 1935 Legislature established authority for the Florida
-iV Forest and Park Service to commence actively the acquisition,
development, and maintenance of a system of State parks in Florida.
There had been some work done toward the establishment of State parks
as early as 1934. The development of the parks, however, actively com-
menced in 1935 when CCC camps, in cooperation with the National
Park Service, were assigned to some of our park areas.
At the present time, we have nine state parks, of which six are in the
process of being developed with CCC camps. There remain three areas
undeveloped, but a CCC camp has been assigned to Florida Caverns
State Park, commencing July 1. This office is also directing the develop-
ment of the Florida Overseas Parkway, in cooperation with the National
Park Service and the Overseas Toll and Bridge District. The areas
dedicated for park purposes represent an acreage of 15,830 acres.
STATE PARKS 167
Highlands Hammock State Park, which was developed by the
Roeblings and donated to the Florida Board, of Forestry to be admin-
istered as a State park, is the only one at this time which is completely
open for public use. Partial facilities are available at Hillsborough
River and at Gold Head Branch State Parks.
The public facilities to be developed in these parks are consistent
with accepted state park uses and cover the activities expected to be
found on these areas. A very definite attempt has been made, however,
to plan these facilities in conformity with the recreational activities
participated in by the people who use the area. A blanket master plan
has not been forced in the development of the areas; each one has been
studied and planned as an individual unit.
It has seemed desirable, however, to adopt a policy of selecting areas
which had outstanding scenic, botanical, recreational, or historical
values which are unique within the State. Florida has numerous loca-
tions of this character, and it should remain our policy to accept only
areas which meet these qualifications. It should be possible to plan our
State park system with the idea of providing adequate recreational
facilities within a reasonable traveling distance for our residents without
deviating from this policy. Florida has a population of approximately
one and a half million which is engaged primarily in agrarian pursuits.
We are not confronted with a serious concentration of residents in in-
dustrial areas as are many States. It is possible to drive a maximum of
ten or fifteen miles from any city and get into the great out-of-doors.
It is also necessary for us to select areas of outstanding attractions
and develop and operate them in such a manner as to maintain the
reputation Florida now has for being an outstanding winter playground.
A portion of the tourists who visit Florida by the thousands during the
winter months, have probably stopped at various state parks en route
from Maine to Florida. They have a definite perception of the type of
facilities which should be available and the manner in which they should
be maintained. A director of state parks in Florida is definitely on the
spot to provide as good or better facilities than are found in parks in other
States. It is for this reason that it is my belief that our parks must be
maintained in a way to attract visitors by providing first-class facilities
and to be able in a proper manner to compete with the privately
developed attractions in the State which have state, national, and in
some cases, world-wide recognition. It is entirely possible that in meet-
ing the problem of providing adequate facilities for the residents and
tourists it will be necessary in some parks to develop the type of
facilities which will satisfy both classes of park visitors.
It is also our objective to obtain additional beach and lake areas for
the sites of state parks. There are approximately three thousand miles
of shore line in Florida, and it is our purpose to preserve portions of these
beautiful beach areas for posterity.
168 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In concluding, it may be well to summarize the main objectives of
the creation of a system of state parks in Florida. I would say that
they should be located and developed in such a manner as to:
1. Provide facilities, at a minimum cost, for healthful recreation for leisure
hours for the residents of, and visitors to, the State.
2. Preserve for continuous public use areas of outstanding scenic, botanical,
recreational, and historical value.
3. Eliminate the possibility of future desecration and exploitation by
private development of these wonder spots for which Florida is noted.
Mississippi
J, H. FORTENBERRY, State Park Director, Jackson, Miss.
IN MAY, 1934, an area for Mississippi's first state park was acquired.
Any report that I might make relative to our accomplishments neces-
sarily means that which has taken place within the last four years. It is
true that plans, dreams and wishes for a state park system have been in
the minds of certain interested individuals for a number of years, but it
has taken the help of the New Deal and the present administration to
initiate the move.
To this time we have acquired and set aside as state parks ten areas
which are comprised of approximately 12,500 acres of land and water
and they are scattered the entire length of the State. Two of these parks
have facilities suflBciently developed that we have been able to operate
them for the last two years. Four more of the number are now ready
for the using public. The most recent addition to the parks of Mississippi
is Magnolia State Park on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, located near
Ocean Springs, Mississippi, a place which has served as a resort since
the days when people traveled a hundred miles in an ox cart to enjoy
the pleasant breeze of the Gulf Coast. The next possibiUty we have for
a state park is one located near Jackson, Mississippi, the property for
which the State Park Department is negotiating at present. This pro-
posed park area is significant for its scenic and historical features, but is
also of special interest relative to the use we propose to make of it. It is
our plan to develop this area as a negro state park, the first area in
Mississippi to be developed exclusively for their use. It is located ap-
proximately 12 miles from Jackson, near the center of the colored popu-
lation of the State, and bids fair to be an outstanding recreational area.
It is our aim and purpose to place a park within reach of every citizen
within the State. To do this it is necessary for us to select some areas
that are not so outstanding in scenic beauty or historical significance.
Yet the areas selected have responded very readily to protection, and
within a short time all of our areas will furnish recreational features
becoming to a state park according to our interpretation of the word.
May I state in relation to the meaning of the word "state park," it is
STATE PARKS 169
our opinion that it is an area that has scenic and/or historical features,
yet is typical of the State, and is in a location convenient to the using
public; that has facilities encouraging the types of education and whole-
some recreation most desired by its patrons.
The facilities made usable and in process of construction on the State
Parks of Mississippi are along the line of other state parks in the Union,
their planning being influenced, generally, by one advising department,
the National Park Service. For the first three years, in our efforts to
develop and conserve our state park areas, we enjoyed the pleasure of
coasting along a level road, encouraged and advised, as well as financed,
by the National Park Service. However, in the last 12 months we have
had a different experience — we have learned the truth of the logic that
it is easy to coast along in level territory with the help of others, yet you
must make the hills under your own power, and in the last year we have
marshalled our forces in an effort to make the grade. Our accomplish-
ments have not been as much as we have desired, yet we review with a
degree of satisfaction the fact that we have acquainted a large percentage
of the people of Mississippi with the state park movement, as well as its
prospective benefits. We have secured the advice and help of quite a
number of influential citizens of the State of Mississippi, and have been
able to get the first state appropriation for the support of state parks.
We realize at this stage of the game that our work on the state park
areas has just begun — that there are many things yet to do to make these
parks as serviceable as we desire. Although a number of these are in
shape that we can invite the public and furnish a reasonable amount of
accommodations, yet we realize that the parks will be more successful
and more serviceable with the addition of more facilities and additional
equipment. It is further realized that the citizens of the State of Missis-
sippi must be more thoroughly acquainted with the possibilities of our
state parks, and that funds for the operation and maintenance of these
parks must be increased.
May I take this opportunity to discuss briefly some of the recreational
features one may expect on a visit to the parks of Mississippi. You may
enjoy a wide variety of scenery, as well as outdoor action. You may walk
the trails of northeast Mississippi and view the landscape that is very
rugged, almost mountainous, and listen to the waterfalls of the streams
of this area. You may try your skill with hook and line in the fresh
water lakes of central Mississippi that have a background of low, rolling
hills covered with hardwood and pine. You may rest in a cottage located
on the flat lands of the Mississippi Delta that has long been famous as
the most fertile agricultural region of the Union. Or you may spend
your vacation on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, in either winter or summer,
since we propose to develop this park for year-round use. We have the
balmy atmosphere for which the Gulf Coast is famous that you will
enjoy during the winter. We also have the cool and refreshing breeze
170 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
that makes this place so inviting for visitors in summer. In visiting the
parks of Mississippi we hope you will detect and enjoy the results of
our efforts to make them typical of our State. You will be greeted with
the hospitality which comes naturally to our citizens. You will be en-
couraged to join in the activities that Mississippians enjoy and you will
without reserve or restraint feel the freedom of a welcomed guest.
It might be well to note that we of Mississippi are a rural people and
that isolation from our fellows is not always desirable, therefore in de-
veloping facilities we have planned for gathering places as well as places
of isolation. We think that with the proper combination of the two our
state parks will become places for education in conservation, both in
natural and human resources.
Louisiana
NICOLE SIMONEAUX, Secretary, State Parks Commission, New Orleans, La.
STATE park development in Louisiana was first undertaken by the
Longfellow-Evangeline Memorial Park Association, which, as it
was unable to raise the necessary funds, induced the state legislature in
1930 to appropriate 10,000 dollars for the purchase of 157 acres on
Bayou Teche. In 1933-4 a CCC camp, under the supervision of the
National Park Service, constructed a lodge, a water supply and sewerage
system, a lighting system, picnic shelters, outdoor ovens, roads and
bridges. More recently the State Parks Commission has constructed a
caretaker's cottage and has secured over 150 pieces of furniture and
utensils to furnish the old Acadian house in the park, which, according
to local tradition, was once occupied by Louis Arceneaux (Evangeline's
lover, Gabriel).
The State Parks Commission, created by Act of the Legislature in
1934, acquired Fort Pike State Park, which consisted of 125 acres pur-
chased by the State of Louisiana in February, 1928, from the Secretary
of War of the United States, primarily for use of a bridge-head. The area
was transferred to the State Parks Conmiission by proclamation of
Governor Aiken on November 15, 1934. Fort Pike State Park, which is
now improved with wharves and table-and-bench combinations for
picnickers, has long been one of the favorite sport fishing grounds for
residents of New Orleans, many of whom keep motor boats there, as it is
only 30 miles from town by concrete highway.
During the fall of 1935, the State Parks Commission acquired a 500-
acre tract in Morehouse Parish in the northeast section of the State. The
Crossett Lumber Company gave 400 acres and the Morehouse authori-
ties purchased 100 acres. Through a CCC camp, under the National
Park Service, the park has been provided with a lodge, 5 vacation cabins,
water tower, tool house, garage, park roads and sewerage system.
STATE PARKS 171
The Bogue Falaya Wayside Park, at Covington, was opened in June,
1937, under a combined caretaker-concessionnaire plan. The land was
donated by the city of Covington and the development was a WPA
project. This little park, although only 13 acres in area, has over 1,100
feet frontage on the Bogue Falaya River, whose waters are fine for
swimming, fishing and boating.
The Tchefuncte State Park and Conservation Reservation will
include 5,800 acres, purchased from the Great Southern Lumber Com-
pany. The area allotted to the State Parks Commission for recreational
purposes will consist of about 1,000 acres. The preliminary master plan
for this area calls for two quite distinct types of development — one to
include a public bathhouse to accommodate 1,000 people at one time,
a clubhouse, a lodge with lounge, dining-room and dance floor, and
individual cottages; the other to cater to organized groups such as Boy
and Girl Scouts and other organizations and clubs. A separate beach and
bathhouse will serve these groups. Bridle paths and necessary roadways
leading to the buildings will be provided. In the park there will be a
fine harbor for yachts and motor boats, and a fine white sand beach about
3 miles long. The park is characterized by large live oaks, magnolias and
other hard woods and some fine specimens of virgin pines. National
park officials have stated that this area will be one of the finest state
parks in the United States, not only on account of its unusual scenic
value but also because of its interesting historic background and its
accessibility to so large a part of the population. It is said that the
site of the park was visited in 1699 by Jean-Baptiste LeMoyne, Sieur
de Bienville II, the founder of New Orleans.
The State Parks Commission has recently accepted an offer from the
National Bank of Kentucky, in liquidation sale, of 4280 acres, to estab-
lish the Chicot Lake Park in Evangeline Parish. The Commission is
negotiating for the acquisition of 1221 acres in small tracts. Of the total
area of 5500 acres to be acquired, some 2500 acres will cover a lake which
will provide aquatic sports and fine fishing.
The State Parks Commission received its first appropriation from
the legislature for the fiscal period 1936-38. The budget for the fiscal
year 1938-39 is $104,000 and for 1939-40, $85,500.
Kentucky
BAILEY P. WOOTTON, Director of State Parks, Frankfort, Ky.
OF ICENTUCKY'S twenty-two parks and monuments but ten can
properly be classed as parks. The total acreage of these parks is
6500; however, additional acreages will be added to two of them, bring-
ing the total acreage up to 20,000. Two of the parks will have an acreage
of about 7500 acres each; the others ranging from 87 to 1100 acres.
172 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
One of the principal parks of Kentucky is the Cumberland Falls
State Park of 600 acres, embracing the Falls of the Cumberland River,
the "Niagara of the West." This park, however, is in the center of a
United States Forest area comprising some two hundred and fifty thous-
and acres. Therefore, a visitor in this park will enjoy all of the wooded area
that he may desire, including the Falls and other spots of scenic beauty.
The Natural Bridge State Park, comprising 1100 acres, is in the
center of a United States Forest area of perhaps one hundred thousand
acres. The Audubon State Park contains a museum housing the priceless
John James Audubon collection, paintings and prints, as well as his
personal effects, these being the donation of the Audubon family. This
park is located near Henderson, Kentucky, and will be formally dedi-
cated about the first of October. The Columbus-Belmont State Park is
situated on the Mississippi River and embraces the old forts erected in
1862 on the bluff overlooking the town of Columbus, Kentucky, and
Belmont, Mississippi. Forts, redoubts and trenches have been restored.
Blue Licks Battlefield Monument embraces the historic battlefield
of Blue Licks fought in August, 1782, between some four hundred Indians
and one hundred and eighty-two white men. The Jefferson Davis Monu-
ment in Todd County, Kentucky, is 351 feet in height, being second
highest in the United States. The battle site of Perry ville is preserved
in a monument. My Old Kentucky Home, the home of Judge John
Rowan, where his cousin Stephen Collins Foster wrote the immortal
"My Old Kentucky Home," is a State Monument. The old Wm. Whitley
Home, the home of the celebrated Indian fighter, William Whitley, the
slayer of Tecumseh in the Battle of the Thames, is a State Monument.
This is a brick structure and the oldest brick house west of the Alleghany
Mountains. Connected with it, also, is the Whitley Race Track, known
as Sportsman's Hill. This was the first circular racetrack built west of
the Alleghanies, if not in the United States, and on this were run the
first horse races in Kentucky. Old Mulkey Meeting House is another.
This is an old log church, having twelve corners representing the twelve
apostles, built in 1797 or 1798. In the churchyard are the graves of many
Revolutionary soldiers and that of Hannah Boone, sister of Daniel Boone.
Butler Memorial State Park, situated on the Ohio River at the mouth
of the Kentucky, embraces land and the old mansion of the Butlers.
The Butler family was a family of generals, some five of them having
fought in all the wars from the Revolutionary down to the World War,
and the old ones are buried near the old mansion.
Pine Mountain State Park embraces an area of some eight or ten
thousand acres and is in the Pine Mountain region of southeastern
Kentucky near Cumberland Gap. There is a skyline drive in this park
some seven miles in length at an elevation of two to three thousand feet.
It is one of the most beautiful of the scenic spots east of the Mississippi
River.
STATE PARKS 17S
Two other monuments of importance in the park system of the State
are the Lincoln Cemetery and the Lincoln Homestead Country; the
former is in Hardin County and in this old cemetery is the grave of
President Abraham Lincoln's grandmother and those of two or three of
his aunts and uncles. Lincoln Homestead Country is in Washington
County and embraces the home of Abraham Lincoln, the grandfather
of the President. Here also was where he was killed by Indians and
buried. It is also the home of Nancy Hanks, her uncle and her cousin
with whom she lived at the time of her marriage to Thomas Lincoln.
Here also is the home in which Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks went
to housekeeping and where their first child was born and was buried,
also the site of the woodwork shop where Thomas Lincoln learned the
trade of carpentry.
Kentucky parks and monuments are financed largely by charging a
small entrance fee to the most important ones and by meager appro-
priations from the Kentucky Legislature.
South Carolina
R. A. WALKER, Assistant State Forester, State Forestry Commission, Columbia, S. C,
THE South Carolina state park system was very rapid in its forma-
tion. Prior to the spring of 1933, there were no state parks in South
Carolina. Today, there are 14 state parks, totaling almost 21,000 acres.
In addition to these are two Recreational Demonstration Projects,
totaling almost 17,000 acres, one of which adjoins an existing state park
and will be operated and maintained together with the state park as one
area, both of which, when added to the state park system, will give us a
total of 15 state parks and 38,000 acres of land.
There is no doubt that the South Carolina state park system was
bom through the wonderful emergency conservation program of the
President and through the help given us by the National Park Service
and U. S. Forest Service, in the acquisition, development and operation
of the areas.
Many of our areas were acquired and development work begun before
an appropriation for state parks was ever received. We were operating
state parks before the Division of State Parks was created and even
now, after the legislature has recognized state parks and granted an
appropriation, the funds are not adequate to provide proper main-
tenance and operation. We could not afford to wait for the State Legis-
lature to recognize the need, for then probably we might have lost all
opportunity for the acquisition of the land and for the securing of
Federal help in development. It was a case of seizing an opportunity
when it presented itself. We believe that we have a fine system of parks
now and indications are that their need and tremendous value are being
174 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
recognized by the people of our State and especially by our legislature.
We feel sure that sufficient appropriations will be forthcoming.
For the present fiscal year we received an appropriation of $12,500,
but expect to spend $28,000, a balance of $15,000 being receipts from
park operation. We have a good law in South Carolina which enables us
to expend our receipts as fast as we make them. With this appropriation
of $12,500, we entertained 460,000 visitors, which is a little less than
three cents a person. Next year, we have an appropriation of $22,500,
and expect to spend $50,000, the difference again being expected receipts.
The developments in our state parks are much like those in the
state parks of our sister States. We have trails, recreational lakes,
bathhouses, picnic areas, vacation cabins, trailer camps, camping grounds
and necessary facilities, such as custodians' residences, access roads, and
parking areas. These developments, thanks to the help and advice of
the National Park Service, we believe are well done.
As for our state park policies, I believe we differ, at least along some
lines. We do not believe in entrance charges. We consider human con-
servation as a most important part of the conservation angle of our
state parks. We do not overlook the conservation of oiu* natural re-
sources or the preservation of our beautiful scenic areas. In fact, we
hold these things in very high regard, but we feel strongly that if we
should attempt to make our parks self-supporting — and we feel that we
could — we would exclude the man from the lower income bracket and
this is the man we want most of all, for he is the man who needs a moral,
physical and mental uplift that can be given by the state parks, and he
cannot afford to pay big money to get it either in the state parks or
elsewhere. Do not misunderstand us — our state parks are not designed
primarily for this type of man, but are designed so that he can be in-
cluded. We pride ourselves on the fact that a man and his family can
enter one of the South Carolina state parks, park his car, enjoy a picnic,
roam through the woods and trails without charge. Of course, there
must be charges made for special facilities and special concessions, but
this is necessary and expected, and no one but a Bolshevik expects
special service for nothing.
We do not ever expect to lease our bathhouse or cabin concessions.
By running these facilities ourselves, we are able to insist on the strictest
kind of discipline from our lifeguard corps and to insure at all times that
our bathhouses and cabins are beyond criticism from the standpoint of
cleanliness and sanitation. These, we believe, are most important points
and no matter how strict, or carefully the agreement is drawn, when these
facilities are leased, trouble is bound to arise along these lines. We have
an excellent record, so far, with our lifeguard service, having taken care
of over 60,000 swimmers last summer, with no serious accidents.
In the main, we run our own refreshment stands. This involves a
great deal more trouble and detail work and we do not intend to con-
STATE PARKS 175
tinue indefinitely, but we have two main reasons for starting out operat-
ing them ourselves. First, we wish to set a standard of operation which
can be demonstrated and, second, we wish to know the value of the con-
cession in order to determine the amount at which we will lease it. We
expect to lease concessions at three parks this coming summer. These
are the parks which have dining facilities.
We are building up a permanent organization for our summers'
operation, of men who have permanent winter work. Such men as
college professors, football coaches, high-school teachers, etc., are avail-
able in the summer. Since our organization is so large in the summer and
so small in the winter, this is the only method that we can see and in
which good men can be secured for the summer recreational work and
can be had each year. We employ two trained recreational directors,
whose duties are to supervise the recreational activities in the parks and
to promote, in the surrounding cities and towns, activities in the parks.
We have not chosen the easiest road, but our park policies have
been carefully considered_:andj^we believe they present our idea of a true
state park.
Tennessee
R. A. LIVINGSTON, Director of State Parks, Nashville, Tenn.
JUDGING from the natural beauty of certain sections of Tennessee,
Nature, in the making of this State, surely had what we call parks
in mind — places for rest, recreation and inspiration.
Under the direction of the National Park Service and with the aid
of the CCC, the TVA, the Farm Security Administration and other
Federal New Deal agencies, splendid progress has been made in the
development of a fine system of parks in this State.
Prior to the organization of the CCC, some five years ago, Tennessee
did not have a single state park area. Today, two parks — Norris and
Big Ridge — have been in operation for two years and it is expected that
six additional areas will be ready for use by July 1st of this year. In
addition to these, seven other state parks are under construction. Upon
completion of the program now under way, we will have a total of fifteen
well-developed state parks, several of which are models and unexcelled
elsewhere. These, of course, are in addition to the Great Smoky Moun-
tains National Park, four national military parks, nine national cemeter-
ies and a national monument.
Until the establishment of the Department of Conservation, a little
more than a year ago, our State was able to do little in assisting Federal
agencies in park developments. Facilities in our parks have been so
designed and developed that all types of outdoor recreation are provided.
These include camping, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, horseback
riding, nature study, vacationing in attractive cabins and many other
176 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
activities included under an organized camping program. To make such
recreation possible, there have been developed in our state parks fourteen
lakes, twelve of which have excellent swimming beaches; two artificial
swimming pools; ninety -three vacation cabins; six lodges and several
group camps. Each area also contains hiking and horse trails.
Vacations have been placed within the reach of thousands of boys
and girls and adults as well, who heretofore, due to distance of travel,
have been denied these privileges. Our parks are located so that they
are not in conflict with each other and so that from any section of the
State it is possible to reach some one of them in an easy two hours' drive.
Citizens of this country, especially those who are interested in its con-
servation problems, in its progress and its becoming a better place in
which to live, are fast learning of the need for establishing state parks;
for developing them; for their proper administration and that necessary
fimds should be provided for the carrying on of this great work.
Director Fechner of the CCC has said :
It would be utterly useless for the Federal Government to spend the millions
that it is spending in the development of the beautiful state parks and then when
the CCC Camps have completed their work and moved on to other projects, for
the States to forget all about what had been done and let the lakes dry up, the
trees die or the weeds grow up and destroy the value of all the work.
I realize fully that maintenance of these new projects may rim into real
money. But the States need developed parks. They need state park systems and
if they need them and desire them, they should be fair enough to provide for
their maintenance after they have once been created, and improved.
We are convinced that the cost to the State of the proper operation
and maintenance of our system of state parks will be more than offset
by the saving which will be effected in the operation of penal institutions.
Statistics are available which prove that properly supervised recre-
ational activities for both adults and children, such as state parks have
to offer, materially reduce delinquency and crime.
Considerable preliminary work has already been accomplished toward
the establishment of entrance parks at state line crossings of our principal
highways. It is planned that improvements at each entrance into the
State of a primary highway will consist of an attractive state line marker,
landscaping and beautification of the right-of-way for a mile or more
from the state line while at some suitable location within this mile, a
small area similar to a roadside park will be developed to include an
attractive contact station. Under an agreement with the State High-
way Department and the Highway Patrol, highway maintenance crews
will be responsible for the care of these entrance parks and patrolmen
in uniform will be on constant duty at the Stations to greet visitors
entering the State and give them such information as they may desire
concerning points of interest, etc. These patrolmen, while being fur-
nished by the Chief of the Highway Patrol for a friendly and courteous
purpose, will also be located at a strategic point if and when law viola-
STATE PARKS 177
tions should occur within the State as each Station will be equipped with
either a radio or telephone.
In so far as the South is concerned, we believe that Tennessee is
pioneering in the establishment of a negro state park. Necessary land
has been acquired in Shelby County near Memphis and a colored CCC
Camp is now moving onto the area to begin the project. This area will
be developed exclusively as a negro state park with all types of recre-
ational facilities usually found in a state park.
In closing this paper I wish to give you the words of that noble
conservationist and naturalist, John Muir, who thirty years ago realized
the value and the need for state and national parks when he said :
The tendency nowadays to wander in wilderness is delightful to see. Thou-
sands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that
going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that
mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and
irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life. Awakening from the stupefying effects
of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying as
best they can to mix and enrich their own little ongoings with those of Nature,
and to get rid of rust and disease.
T. V. A.
C. A. TOWNE, Tennessee Valley Authority, Knorville, Tenn.
IN THE spring of 1934, a year after the TVA was established, arrange-
ments were perfected whereby the National Park Service agreed to
cooperate with the TVA in a program designed to furnish a demon-
stration in the planning, construction and development of parks. The
Authority, in turn, agreed to sponsor the construction and operation of
certain regional parks on lands acquired for reservoir purposes which
would serve as demonstrational projects. Pursuant to this agreement
the National Park Service assigned eleven CCC camps for work in
constructing Big Ridge and Norris Park on Norris Lake, landscaping
improvement in the Norris Freeway and the development of parks at
Wheeler Dam and Muscle Shoals. Park development was also initiated
at Pickwick Dam a year later.
Today we find these parks completed and in operation and serving
as demonstration parks in the Tennessee Valley Area. A combination of
factors has brought about this development. The TVA has been author-
ized to make plans and conduct experiments and demonstrations, lead-
ing to the promotion of legislation designed to promote the use of the
natural resources of the valley, one of which, of course, is the Valley's
vast recreational resource. These recreational resources, by fortunate
coincidence, have been augmented through the construction of reservoirs
designed primarily for the purpose of controlling the waters of the
Tennessee River and its tributaries.
178 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
By developing demonstrational parks to make use of these resources,
the Authority has fulfilled one of the mandates of the Act.
The eflPect of the construction of these parks is now being felt. In
1933 there were no state park systems in the southeast. Today every
State touched by the Tennessee Valley has such a system in some form,
and certainly the TVA demonstration parks have had a stimulating effect
on the States, and have been an aid to the National Park Service in its
remarkable and highly successful endeavors to assist in the establishment
of state park systems throughout this region.
TVA is now reaching the end of one chapter in its activities in the
field of park development. But its endeavors as a stimulating agent
with respect to recreational development in the area have by no means
ceased. A second chapter has begun. A CCC camp is now constructing
Cove Lake Park on the shores of Norris Lake under plans approved by
the Authority. The area in which it is working is owned by TVA but is
now leased to the State of Tennessee which will operate the park.
Another CCC camp is just beginning its work on TVA land on the
shore of Chickamauga Lake. This camp is under the administrative
direction of the Tennessee State Park Department, which will furnish
the plans for the development ; and a lease has been drawn up conveying
this property to the State of Tennessee which, in turn, has agreed to
accept the responsibility for the operation of the park. The Authority's
position with respect to the design of the park is that of consultant.
Other developments of similar character are being discussed at this time
with the State of Alabama. This chapter in the progress of recreational
development in the Tennessee Valley is in many respects far more
significant than the one just completed in that it recognizes definitely
the local interests and responsibilities as vested in the various state
governments in this region in the field of park management.
In forecasting future trends it is diflBcult to visualize the profound
effect which the chain of lakes created by TVA dams will have on the
recreational development of this region. Already these effects are be-
coming evident. They cannot be measured in terms of regional parks or
in terms of areas bounded by public ownership. The ultimate picture of
recreational development throughout the Valley will include the results
of both public and private enterprise, and there will result a regional
picture tremendous in extent and of great social and economic impor-
tance to the whole Valley. The Authority's job in the future will be
oriented to the tremendous task of assisting in the guidance, in so far as
it has the power, of these various developments so that the result will be
coherent and sound. The Authority is in a position to help the Valley
state and local agencies in the field of recreation with such planning and
operating experience as it has acquired during the past four years. This
constitutes the proper fulfilment of TVA's mandate given it by Congress to
plan, experiment and demonstrate in the interests of the Valley's welfare.
PLANNING
PAPERS AND REPORTS PRESENTED AT THE
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PLANNING
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
JUNE 20-22, 1938
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS
American City Planning Institute
Tracy B. Augur, President
Harold W. Lautner, Executive Secretary
American Planning and Civic Association
Frederic A. Delano, Chairman of the Board
Horace M. Albright, President
Harlean James, Executive Secretary
American Society of Planning Officiam
Morton L. Wallerstein, President
Walter H. Blucher, Executive Director
Director of the Conference
Walter H. Blucher
Local Committee
Herman E. Olson
City Planning Engineer, Minneapolis City Planning Commission
George H. Herrold
Managing Director, Saint Paul City Planning Board
PLANNING
The Need for Planning
BEN H. KIZER, Chairman, Washington State Planning Council, Spokane, Wash.
IN THE New York Constitutional Convention of 1915, that eminent
American statesman, Elihu Root, was presiding officer. At its opening
session, the clergyman failed to show up and Mr. Root, on the spur of
the moment, offered a prayer that ended with an invocation of the three
great words of our American democracy: Peace, Justice and Liberty.
On these three great words, as on wings, men's aspirations soar above
the bitterness of conflicting interests that make up our daily work. But
Peace, Justice and Liberty are still far from us in their completeness,
because we fail to organize the kind of world in which Peace, Justice
and Liberty can be fully realized.
The planning movement, too, has its three great words — not words
that point to a distant goal or ideal, but words that describe a technique,
a right method of approach to our problems. They are foundation words,
not soaring words. Our three words are Research, the Plan, the Educa-
tion. First, the careful, impartial study of all the facts, then the plan
that can most wisely grow out of the research, and finally the educative
process by which the plan travels toward adoption.
It is not just an accident or a coincidence that this planning movement
should emerge at the same time that men are discovering that we are
moving out of a world of scarcity into a world of potential plenty.
Planning is the handmaiden necessary to a world of plenty. Without
wise planning, we shall fail of our world of plenty, and instead move into
a world of artificial scarcity, more cruel in its operations than the older
world of natural scarcity.
For thousands of years men have lived in a world of comparatively
simple human arrangement, a world in which the rugged common sense,
the personal experiences of men were equal to almost any problem that
confronted them. Members of legislatures and councils felt little need to
give close or expert study to a given problem. The problem was generally
simple enough so that their best judgment of it was fairly adequate. A
sharing of the varying experience and wisdom of those in the assembly was
usually enough to disclose a workable answer. No more was looked for.
But it is a commonplace to remark that this past century of intensive
scientific and industrial growth has created a vastly different world,
with vastly different and more numerous problems. We have grown so
much into the habit of remarking that this present world is highly
complex and interdependent that we have almost forgotten the driving,
compelling force there is in this fact. Manifestly, the varied and com-
plex problems, so numerous and with roots running so deeply into our
interdependence, call each for close, thorough and impartial study.
Many of them require study by men who do nothing else for the time
181
182 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
being, so that those who make the decisions may rely on this factual
basis for their decisions.
Yet, our ingrained habit is to go on with this older technique of a far
simpler day, to settle such complex problems in offhand opinions and
emotionalized debate. Knowing but little of the basic facts, men fall
back on the little that relates to their own immediate self-interests.
This produces conflicts of interest, where there need be none, and ought
to be none. For, in the larger knowledge of all the relevant facts, it will
generally be seen that, in a world of plenty, interests need not be in
conflict but each can be planned in support and re-enforcement of the
other. In such a world there is enough for all if only we plan it so.
Not only have we lived in a simple world for these thousands of years,
but we have lived in a world that was almost continuously arrayed in
conflict. Because there was not enough to make all comfortable, each,
excited by his fears, has fought with others for the lion's share. Now
that earth's plenty unites with man's cunning to yield enough for all,
we still use the technique of battle and strife to tell us what to do. We
are so used to fighting that we cannot see that there is a better way —
the way of planning. Even in our own democracy, where real swords
are not used, nevertheless over every problem men draw their little tin
swords of slogans, and go out to struggle and fight with party cries and
recriminations as their weapons. Men appeal to fears and hopes, to
cupidity and shortsighted selfishness, whilst the facts and the truth are
ignored. In our ignorance, we help the industrialist at the expense of
the farmer, we help the farmer at the expense of the consumer, we help
the laborer at the expense of all three, and then find that none of them
has been truly helped, because each is tied in interdependence to the
other, and whatever hurts one hurts all. In short, in our ignorance of
the facts we help each group in turn at the expense of the whole, and all
suffer. If one fact stands out plainer than another, it is that we must
study and plan for the whole, not for the group or the class.
Putting it another way, if these great words of democracy — Peace,
Justice, Liberty — ^are to have their full meaning for us, what we need
most to realize is that the technique of strife and battle to settle public
problems belongs to that past age of scarcity. In a world where plenty
can be realized, a cooperative study of the facts and a cooperative
planning of policies is the only program men can use if they are to go
forward. It is this working together for the whole, not that battle to
seize booty for the individual, that alone can save our society. Whether
we like it or not, we must adjourn our battling techniques. We must lay
aside our tin swords. We must acquaint ourselves intimately not only
with the whole of each problem, but with the problems of the whole.
In a world of potential plenty, vain strife extravagantly wastes the
plenty that should be shared, not seized.
And yet, we should be largely wrong if we pictured this need for
PLANNING 183
planning as only a late, modern need. Let me illustrate. Quite a num-
ber of years ago, a famous archeologist thought he knew, at last, where
to excavate to locate one of the earliest beginnings of modern civilization.
If any of his workmen really expected him to look for the Garden of
Eden, they must have been greatly puzzled when he settled down on one
of the most desolate and barren desert wastes of western Asia for his
work. They dug for a long time, and quite deeply into the sands of the
desert, when one day they came across the remains not only of an
ancient but of a powerful, well-organized civilization.
When this excavation was complete after many months of toil, the
head of the expedition again surprised his fellow -workers. He proposed
that they dig still further, to see whether there were not buried below
the level of this city yet another city, of a still earlier civilization. So
this new work went on for yet other months. Finally, below the level
of that first city, they uncovered evidence of a far earlier civilization.
Here had been a much more primitive people, living far more simply
and less well than in the first city.
When this second excavation was complete, a curious outsider asked
the expedition's head how it came that on such a forbidding spot two
successive civilizations had flourished and disappeared. The answer was
about as follows: "Originally, this land was not a desert at all. Once
many thousands of years ago, it was a rich and fertile valley, through
which ran a considerable river. At either edge of the valley were hills
covered with forests, and the valley itself was covered with succulent
grasses. Accordingly, a primitive people, moving from lands worn out
by their herds, found this choice valley and settled in it. As they in-
creased in numbers, their flocks grew so that they cropped closer and
ever closer the herbage, giving less and less opportunity for nature to
protect and restore her natural cover. They then burned off the timber
on the hill slopes, to increase the area for pasturage. As the roots of the
grasses were more and more exposed by the grazing, the rains washed the
rich topsoil of the valley into the river, the best of it to be carried to the
sea. As the timber disappeared, floods began to be frequent, and the
springs of water tended to dry up. The soil began to blow as well as to
be washed into the river, and the huts began to be buried by the drifting
sand. Finally, the last man was forced to leave this once fertile valley;
for man, in his ignorance, had completely destroyed the earth's fertility
and its ability to maintain him.
"Then hundreds of years went by. Gradually, grasses again obtained
foothold, and first shrubs and then trees covered the slopes of the hills.
Once more was formed Nature's balance between the rainfall, and the
grasses and shrubs and trees necessary to absorb that rainfall and hold
it within the earth, and a new humus began to take the place of the
barren desert cover. Finally, after thousands of years, this valley was
almost as fertile as before. Again, a wandering tribe discovered a new
184 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
fertile valley, and the second settlement, more civilized than the first,
was built up. In time, it repeated the blunders of that first, primitive
civilization, and in time the desert again reclaimed the outraged and
ravaged land."
The inquirer looked about him skeptically. "Do you suppose the
grass and the trees will ever get another foothold here?" he asked. "Not
likely," was the scientist's reply. "You see, at last the hills have been so
lowered and the valley so filled up that the wind, sweeping over it and
moving its surface to and fro, gives no chance for new humus to form.
But, more important, the stream of water that once flowed through this
land is lost, below the surface, in the sands of the desert. So far as we
can see, Nature has taken her final revenge for man's devastation, and
the desert must remain as a permanent monument to man's folly."
Now, I have dwelt on this incident at some length because to me that
racial experience is symbolic. It contains in a nutshell the long history
of the despoiling of the good earth, from the birth of the race of men
down to our present time. Always, tribes or peoples of men, finding their
living standards sinking with the years that they have robbed the soil
of its cover and of its fertility, have traveled onward, seeking new lands.
Sometimes they have found a more primitive, helpless people, such as
our American Indians, living on these undespoiled lands. These they
have driven oflp or conquered. From Asia, the cradle of the race, they
have spread to Africa, to Europe, then to the Americas, and finally to
Australia. More than once they have turned back on their tracks,
invading with their western civilization the less occupied lands of Africa
and Asia. But always, they have committed the same old mistakes of
spoliation over and over again, down to the present time.
We in the State of Washington, year by year, see the struggle- weary,
travel-weary victims of the dust bowl trekking by the thousands into our
midst, in the immemorial search of man for new lands, free lands. And we
have to tell them: "Yes, we have farm lands, but they are occupied and
they are not cheap. For you, there is no new land, no cheap land."
Here and there, in these newest sections of the West, we shall have in
time fresh lands as the result of clearing and reclamation, but they will
be neither free nor cheap. And that is the cry that goes up, not merely
in the last regions of the United States to be settled, but all over the
earth. "No more land! No more land!" From now on, man can no
longer be a nomad, a wanderer, moving from despoiled land to fresh.
The individual may move about, but as a people, we must stay where
we are. That means we must adopt a permanent policy of care for this
good earth, not a shortsighted policy of devastation. If we have forests
and timber products, we must grow those forests as fast as we cut them.
If we would eat the products of the farm and the garden, we must pro-
tect and restore the fertility of the soil, and so use it that neither wind
nor water shall carry it away in excess. If we would eat meat, we must
PLANNING 186
see that our grass lands are not over-grazed. If we would have our
drinking water unpolluted, we must clean up and keep clean our springs
and our streams and our lakes. If we would have fish and game, we must
protect the supply, and not allow more to be taken than the sea and the
lake and the stream and the wilderness can afford to give us. In short,
we must learn that the good earth is not a treasure-house to be robbed,
but rather a rich storehouse, in which we must supply at one door what
we take out at another.
All of this calls for careful survey and study, and for more careful
planning for the future. We have thought in terms of the individual and
of the present. We must learn to think in terms of the whole and of
man's permanent well-being. It is this long-range thinking and study
that is of the essence of this planning movement. If we do not plan for
tomorrow's security and happiness on this earth, then the good earth
will no longer be our friend, but our triumphant and chastising adversary.
Looking at, not our remote future, but our immediate future, it is
"plan or perish."
Nor is it alone with natural resources that research and planning must
deal. And here may I utter words of limitation. There has been much
outcry of late against national economic planning. If by this is meant
administration and control of economic functions by or on behalf of
those who plan, then it is clear that neither as a people nor as members
of planning agencies are we ready for such over-all functioning. It is
my own conviction, as I believe it is yours, that we who plan should
avoid administrative functions, as far as possible, that we should look
upon research, and non-political plans that grow out of research, as our
job. But the last ten years have taught us, so that he who runs may read,
that it is not alone with natural resources, but with human resources
as well that research must deal.
It is plain to those of us who plan that we cannot study or plan for
the conservation of our natural resources without considering most
carefully the needs of those who use those resources. Whenever we
approach a natural resource study, we find that it takes us at once into
the study and research of connected policies of taxation, of public
education, of public health administration, of policies of relief for the
unemployed, the aged and the infirm, of the development of our public
works and public improvement programs. In short, the needs and the
capabilities of the good earth on which we live, and the needs and
capabilities of us who live upon it, are so closely interwoven that we
cannot study and plan for the one without considering the welfare and
needs of the other.
Every thriving industry of America has its research and experimental
laboratories. On these it depends for the testing of its materials, the im-
provement of all its processes of manufacture, for the research that
devises new methods and better equipment. This successful use of the
186 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
laboratory method of research is, more than anything else, responsible
for the marvelous advances our society has made in the field of manu-
facture and industry. To my mind this marks only the beginning of the
far broader use of the scientific method of approach. Not long ago, I
was in company with a group of men that included one of America's
foremost business executives, a man whose name is widely known
throughout the United States. The talk happening to turn for the mo-
ment upon planning and research, this executive remarked:
I think perhaps most of you know that our company spends huge sums
annually in our research laboratories. We have recently made an important
extension of this research method that is not so well known. In the past, each
member of our board of directors was expected to pass upon all questions of
administration, with only the limited knowledge that he had of it, plus some
passing comment that one of his better-informed fellow directors or officers
might offer. But our operations have become so far-flung and so complex that
we have long felt that we were inadequately informed. Sometimes, we have
discovered that we made serious mistakes in policy, simply because we didn't
know, when we made the decision.
Some time ago, when we were discussing a subject connected with the work
of our research laboratories, one of our members remarked how easy it was to
decide this problem, because all of the facts were available to us through the
research department's report. Another member said, "You know, I've been
thinking for a good while that we ought to use this research method on many
of these administrative problems that so trouble us. I have the feeling that
we're using research in only one branch of our business, when all branches
might profit by it."
Out of the discussion that followed grew a most important decision for us.
We decided, then and there, that there was scarcely a decision to be made by
our Board that would not be more wisely made if we could have preliminary
research made upon it. Accordingly, we now have a research department that
works directly for our president and the board of directors, just as our manu-
facturing division has its research. Before any executive problem comes up to
the Board, it is carefully studied by our directors' research department. They
impartially and intelligently collect all of the facts they think will have an im-
portant bearing on the question, and give us a report, with their findings attached.
To me, it is simply amazing how greatly these studies simplify our work, and
remove the elements of speculation and doubt from our decisions. We used to
postpone decisions that now we make promptly. We used to have hot arguments
that now largely disappear because these facts control the decision.
Our distinguished guest here paused a moment, and then spoke quite
slowly and emphatically, to add impressiveness to what he was about
to say:
This new technique of research is the most valuable instrument of corporate
management of which I have any knowledge. Mark my words, within a genera-
tion every successful business in America will have to adopt it. In my judgment,
it is destined to revolutionize modern business methods.
No business in America, however great, is so complex or has so many
unknown and unstudied factors as these problems of natural resources
and human resources that confront our whole people. Here, most of all,
research — the research that points to plans — and the plans that call for
PLANNING 187
the free use of the educative and informational processes is imperative.
No government and no people can be wiser than their information.
It is only by the orderly processes of research and planning and educa-
tion that this necessary information can be gathered and disseminated.
Again, a word of limitation. This does not mean that our planning
agencies should expect either to conduct all this research or to suggest
all the plans. It is rather for us, I believe, to press for the adoption or
the wider use of the technique of research and planning wherever
public administration, legislatures or educational institutions can profit
by it, or can most effectively render a service through its use. Executive
departments of government, such as forestry, fisheries, highways, public
welfare, and public utility commissions should have their own research
staffs. Some of them have, or are making beginnings in this field. Sim-
ilarly, our agricultural colleges and scientific schools have developed
research departments, often pitifully underfinanced.
Wherever planning agencies can do so, they ought to challenge the
public to the usefulness of these research agencies, and plead for more
generous support of their activities. We should urge that more and more
of our debatable public problems be committed to their study, instead
of allowing the public to be the victim of the loud outcries and con-
flicting claims of self-interested propaganda.
But the most serious problems that confront our people, in dealing
with natural and human resources, are broader than any single gov-
ernmental department or the research of any single educational institu-
tion. There are, and always will be, wide gaps for planning agencies to
fill in the research of these many agencies. Often, too, there is the
pressing need that these various agencies should collaborate in research.
Planning agencies here serve as rallying points, as coordinating and
synthesizing agencies. We must not only study and plan, but we must
encourage and assist all other appropriate agencies to use research and
planning within their own fields, yet without duplication.
And this brings me to what I believe to be the final need of planning,
the need to keep our activities well decentralized, and therefore well
democratized. Our agencies should not think of themselves primarily
as bureaus or departments of governmental administration, though we
may work closely with administrators. On the contrary, we should live
as closely as possible with the people whom we serve and our work
should be carried on for and with them. Our philosophy is one of study,
thinking, counsel, not of governing.
Therefore, I rejoice that so far our planning commissions of cities,
counties. States and regions are composed almost wholly of men who
retain their work-a-day status as private citizens, who are paid no salary,
but rather serve because they believe in this principle of research and
planning as one absolutely necessary for the health of our interdependent
civilization. It is my hope that we may remain so, alike sympathetic
188 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
to the problems of the whole that concern the public administrator and
acquainted with the problems of the individual.
Planning should never become wholly professional, though we badly
need trained and professional staffs. If it does, then it will shrink to
the obscure status of being merely another department of a govern-
mental system that counts its departments by the thousands. Planning
should rather stand midway between the trained public official who
gives the whole of his working time to the service of the government,
and the private citizen so immersed in his daily round that he is rarely
conscious of his government save when it has something to give him,
or to collect from him. And in keeping our planning democratic, we
must think first of our local units of planning. If planning is to serve
the democratic spirit of our nation, it can only do so as it uses and
supports its city and county planning agencies. Without these basic
units of planning, our work will in the end survive, once the novelty
has worn off, only as another frill or decoration of government. In the
beginning, we need the inspiration afforded us by the splendid efficiency
of the National Resources Committee in its nation-wide surveys. We
in the regional and state planning commissions are greatly strengthened
and helped by that fine example. But in tiu'n we must spend much of
our time and strength in aiding our county and city planning commis-
sions to do the best job possible for their communities. Planning cannot
win public confidence unless many believe in it, many participate in it.
By helping to plan, men come to believe. I hope that as our National
Resources Committee acquires permanent status through favorable
action by the Congress it can do much more, not merely by the example
of its own work but by working hand in hand in a closer affiliation with
state and local commissions. As members of planning agencies, we need
constantly to bear in mind the wisdom of that fable of old Antaeus who
was strongest whilst his feet remained on his mother earth. If we in
the work of state and national planning neglect to build more founda-
tions for planning in each community of city or county, we, like Antaeus,
will ultimately be conquered because our feet have left the good earth.
And now, for the sum of the whole matter. The totalitarian state lives
by propaganda, and the word of command. Democracy lives by un-
tainted information and persuasion. By comparison with the swiftness
of action of the totalitarian state, democracy sometimes seems to suffer,
as we see it, reaching its decisions slowly, often with painful compro-
mises forced by some noisy minority. Democracy then needs to fashion a
newer and a sharper tool, to enable it to reach its decisions with less delay
and more wisdom. Here, in research and planning, is that new tool that
democracy needs. Let her use it wisely and well, and when every totali-
tarian state has perished of the slow poisons in their systems engendered
by false propaganda, our democracy will still be standing, because of her
power to know the truth, the truth that makes and keeps her free.
PLANNING 189
Planning a Housing Program
COMMITTEE
Charles B. Bennett, Chairman, City Planner, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jacob L. Chane, Jr., Acting Director, Project Planning Division, United
States Housing Authority.
John Ihlder, Executive Officer, The AUey Dwelling Authority of the District
of Columbia.
REPORTER
Robert B. Mitchell, University of Chicago.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Allan A. Twichell, Technical Secretary, Committee on the Hygiene of
Housing, American Public Health Association.
Howard P. Vermilya, Director, Technical Division, Federal Housing
Administration.
Elizabeth Wood, Executive Secretary, Chicago Housing Authority.
PURPOSE OF REPORT
The intent of this report is to interpret the meaning of planning a
housing program; point out the relation between the local housing
authority and the city plan commission ; and to suggest what information
is necessary to enable the local housing authority or others to plan
intelligently for housing.
INTERPRETATION
The Committee feels that the title of this report emphasizes the im-
portance of planning rather than a housing program. Therefore, it is the
meaning of planning as it relates to housing that should be clarified.
Since the primary purpose of planning is to forecast the future on the
basis of available knowledge, it is necessary to assemble, analyze and
disseminate data that bear upon the present and future development
of the community. These data and their interpretation will enable all
municipal agencies to organize their programs more eflfectively. Among
these agencies are those that deal with housing.
Dwellings constructed and operated by private enterprise are regu-
lated by such municipal agencies as the Bureau of Building Inspection,
the Health Department and its Bureau of Sanitation, the Housing or
Tenement House Division — when there is one, and the Zoning Com-
mission. In addition, the work of private enterprise is to a considerable
extent conditioned by the city plan.
Dwellings erected and operated by public housing authorities are,
or should be, subject to the same principles and to the same conditioning.
Private enterprise has been building the great majority of our houses
and occupies by far the greater proportion of a city's area. So the
significance of private enterprise in any housing program must not be
190 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
minimized. At the same time we must be alert to the significance of
public housing which introduces a new public agency into the municipal
family. Its relationships to the other members of the family should be
clearly and early defined.
We in this conference are particularly concerned as to the relations
of the new agency to the city planning agency. Perhaps we can best
clarify our thinking by a gradual approach. All municipal agencies
have a common objective that can be stated in general terms : the devel-
opment of a better city. Each, however, has its own part to play in this
development and for this part it is primarily responsible. The boun-
daries of the difiFerent parts will necessarily overlap to some extent and
to that extent we must depend upon mutual understanding and a
spirit of cooperation. Any attempt of one to impose its will upon another
will arouse unnecessary antagonisms. So it will help if we can be clear
as to what is the primary function of each agency.
As we understand it, the primary function of a public housing agency
is to eliminate existing slums and to assure an adequate supply of good
low-rent dwellings so distributed as to type (one family, multi-family,
etc.), size, cost, and location that they will meet the varying housing
needs of the population. In carrying out its program the public housing
agency must take account of what is done by private enterprise. It must
secure the cooperation of the Bureau of Building Inspection, the Health
Department, the Housing Division, the Zoning Commission, all of which
can aid in two ways: facilitating the demolition of existing unfit dwell-
ings; preventing the erection of new unfit dwellings. For, obviously, the
job will be endless if new slums are created coincidentally with the
wiping out of old ones.
In the development of its program the public housing authority, like
private enterprise, must conform to the city plan. The primary function
of the city planning commission is to forecast the best possible physical
development of the city. That it may do this it must assemble, analyze,
disseminate, and interpret data that is of guidance value to every other
municipal agency concerned in physical development. This is peculiarly
true in the case of the housing authority which must fit its program to
the pattern of the city. Consequently, there should be the closest relation
between the city planning commission and the housing authority.
At the same time it is recognized that the housing authority requires
data and interpretation of that data in fields that lie outside the province
of the planning commission.
RELATION BETWEEN HOUSING AUTHORITY AND
PLAN COMMISSION
It is not meant by the statements made in the preceding section of this
report to infer that the city planning commission can or should assume
all of the planning responsibilities of a local housing authority. It is
PLANNING 191
merely the intention of the Committee to point out that in the "plan-
ning" of a housing program the planning commission has a definite place
in the picture even though the precise duties of a housing authority, as
defined in the statute under which it is created, would seem to indicate
that planning, as well as the site development, actual construction, and
management of housing, was the sole function of the housing authority.
Because of its past years of experience and wider familiarity with
community problems, a properly functioning city planning commission
is better equipped to accumulate certain data through research and
surveys than is any newly created housing authority. Likewise, it can be
of considerable assistance in analyzing the assembled results of the survey.
The establishment of policies, the actual design of the houses, the
plan for financing the program, the supervision of construction, and the
ultimate management of the project, are necessarily functions and
responsibilities of the local housing authority.
INFORMATION TO BE ASSEMBLED
Considered in its broadest aspect, the planning of a housing program
should take into consideration housing that can and should be supplied
by private enterprise as well as public agencies. Therefore, the data
gathered must be comprehensive enough to be of value to anyone inter-
ested in housing.
The Committee concedes that for the purpose of justifying approval
of a single housing project it is seldom necessary to explore such a wide
field in search of supporting data. Very often, without the aid of exten-
sive research, public oflScials intimately familiar with local conditions
can determine the size, type, and location of a public housing project
for low-wage earners and do as good a job "guessing" as the "experts"
could "researching."
However, the planning of a long-range housing program requires a
much more careful analysis of the factors that influence trends in urban
development, and if it is to be of any value it must be predicated on a
comprehensive understanding of local conditions, with specific knowl-
edge of the following items: (1) Housing needs — both present and
anticipated. (Requirements of population based upon family size and
composition; living habits of various groups; family income and budget
needs.) (2) Present supply of housing — quantity; quality; and structural
condition. (3) Probable future housing to be supplied by private
enterprise.
To secure such information it will be necessary to carry on extensive
surveys if the data are not already available through real property in-
ventories or housing studies previously made. Even though much of it
may be available it probably will be necessary to make new surveys in
order to obtain a knowledge of present-day conditions which may be
different from those existing at the time of the previous investigation.
192 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Especially is this true in the matter of vacancies in living units, rental
brackets, and family income. Therefore, it is suggested that a house-to-
house canvass be conducted to obtain information on those items for
which data are needed.
Since the technique of the survey will have to be developed to fit local
conditions and the type of personnel available, no method for gathering
the required information is suggested. The National Association of
Housing Officials in Chicago, will gladly furnish up-to-date information
on techniques employed by the different cities where such surveys have
already been made or are about to be conducted.
Good examples of housing surveys conducted under the supervision
of planning commissions are the following:
Housing Survey, 1934-1935, Kansas City, Missouri; Housing Condi-
tions in the Older Areas of St. Paul, Minnesota, 1934-1937; Minneapolis
Property and Housing Survey, 1934, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Real
Property Inventory, 1935, Boston, Massachusetts.
FACTUAL INFORMATION IN MAPS AND GRAPHS
The following data which it is suggested be available in map or graph
form may seem like a large order, but much of it is usually available in
the offices of various agencies of the local government. The composition
of a land-use map is a rather big undertaking in any large city, but aside
from its value as an aid in planning a housing program, planning com-
missions cannot very well carry on efficiently without such information;
therefore, it is listed as "essential" No. 1.
The census tract map is necessary for the reasons specified and for
the additional reason that it may not be possible to show some of the
information by the spot map method. Often, agencies dealing in relief,
family welfare, etc., do not care to have case work shown by residence
location; therefore, these data may have to be tabulated by census tracts.
A. Maps.
1. Land use:
The purpose of land-use maps is to show the present actual use of every
piece of property in the city. Such information is of considerable value
since it indicates the location of industries, stores, residences, schools,
recreational areas, undeveloped sections of the commimity, etc.
2. Census tract map:
It is recommended that an official census tract map be prepared in con-
formity with United States Census Bureau regulations. All information
should be tabulated on the basis of census tracts. With such a map officially
adopted it will be more easily possible to get a breakdown of the 1940
United States Census information.
3. City maps showing:
a. Zoning.
b. Transportation facilities — all types.
c. Main thoroughfares, including trunk highways.
d. Educational faciUties, including chiirches.
PLANNING 198
e. Recreational facilities: parks, playgroiinds, and parkways (existing
and proposed).
f. Population density (spot map if possible), and population changes —
increases and decreases, by census tracts.
g. Distribution of foreign-born nationalities (data from 1930 government
census).
h. Juvenile delinquencies for past several years — spot map showing
residence location by census tracts.
1. Juvenile truancies for past several years — spot map showing residence
location by census tracts,
j. Vacant lands available for development (data from land-use maps),
k. Streets without water mains.
Streets without sewer mains.
Streets unpaved.
1. Tax delinquent property.
m. Location of firms employing ten or more persons,
n. Building ages — areas by census tracts where majority of buildings are:
under 10 years of age;
between 10 and 20 years of age;
between 20 and 30 years of age;
between 30 and 40 years of age;
over 40 years of age.
o. Housing types: one-family, two-family, three-family, multi-family
areas, by census tracts, where a type is predominant.
p. Building construction since 1900. Spot maps showing location of each
building. Maps can be made in series, each map showing five-year
period,
q. Building demolitions. Spot map showing location of buildings razed,
since 1900 or any year thereafter for which records are available,
r. Transition areas, by census tracts, where one use is giving way to
another,
s. Blighted areas. Areas where living conditions are the poorest,
t. Relief cases for past several years. Spot map showing residence location
by census tracts,
u. Health statistics for past several years. Spot maps showing residence
location of deaths caused by various types of contagious diseases. The
health commissioner can suggest those to which poor housing may be
considered a contributory cause.
V. Family welfare cases for past several years. Spot map showing residence
location by census tracts.
B. Graphs or curves showing:
1. Living units constructed yearly since 1910.
Number and type — one-family Detached-Semi Detached-Group or Row.
Number and type — two-family Detached-Semi Detached-Group or Row.
Number and type — three-family Detached-Semi Detached-Group or Row.
Number and type — multi-family Detached-Semi Detached-Group or Row.
Number and type — mixed occupancy Detached-Semi Detached-Group or
Row.
2. Range in living imit construction costs yearly since 1910. For various type
units. (Secure data from building permits.)
3. Number of owned homes by value (1930 census data).
4. Number of rented homes by monthly rental (1930 census data).
5. Annual natural increase in population (births minus deaths) — since 1900
or 1910.
194 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
6. Annual number of marriages — since 1900 or 1910.
7. Living units constructed annually — since 1900 or 1910.
8. Living units demolished annually — since 1900 or 1910.
WHAT THE PLANNED PROGRAM SHOULD INCLUDE
1. Desirable and practical residential land-use pattern in relation to compre-
hensive plan of development of region, including:
a. Areas and housing which should be conserved.
b. Areas where housing development should be discouraged.
c. Areas which should be demolished or cleared and either rebuilt for housing
use (low, middle or high income) or reserved for other uses.
2. Delimitation of field of public and private housing.
3. Establishment of plan for coordination of demolition with provision of housing.
4. Progressive scheme for timing and location of public housing projects.
a. New construction.
b. Reconditioned buildings.
c. Combinations of above.
5. Measures for control of private housing, including:
a. Zoning code.
b. Building code.
c. Housing code.
d. Condemnation of vmfit buildings.
e. Tax foreclosure.
f. Subdivision regulation (quantity and quality).
6. Measures for promotion of private housing, including:
a. Voluntary demolition.
b. Tax policy.
c. Legislation aflFecting mortgage foreclosure.
d. Legislation aflFecting investment of fimds (life insurance, trusts, savings
banks, etc.)
e. Relation of public improvements, streets, transportation, and zoning to
housing development.
7. Detailed planning studies for neighborhood conservation or rehabilitation
where desirable.
8. Public education and propaganda.
9. Special problems.
AGENCIES PARTICIPATING IN PLANNING THE PROGRAM
1. Housing Authority.
2. Plan Commission.
3. Health Officer.
4. Building Commissioner.
5. Other concerned municipal officers.
6. Private agencies (housing associations, tax associations, real-estate associa-
tions, etc.).
7. Neighborhood groups.
8. Combinations of the above.
CONCLUSION
This report is not ofiFered as the "last word" in planning a housing
program. Its principal objective is to pave the way for the broadest
kind of discussion on the subject. If it accomplishes that end, the labor
involved in its composition will have been justified.
PLANNING 196
The Value of Planning to Public Officials
COMMITTEE
Neville Miller, Chairman, Assistant to the President, Princeton University.
George W. Coutts, former Mayor, City of Waukesha, Wisconsin.
Clifford W. Ham, Executive Director, American Municipal Association.
Daniel W. Hoan, Mayor, City of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Arthur C. Meyers, Director of Budget, St. Louis, Missouri.
Edward C. Rutz, City Manager, Kalamazoo, Michigan.
REPORTER
Eugene H. Callison, Assistant Director, New York Division of State
Planning.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Clarence C. Ludwig, Execviive Secretary, Minnesota League of Municipalities.
Herman C. Miller, Ciiy Planning Commission, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
THE attention of city planning normally is focused on important
physical improvements, both public and private. Primarily, it has
been concerned with such developments as public buildings, parks, play-
grounds, new arterial streets, street widenings, rail and highway separa-
tions, plazas, slum clearance, sewer systems, etc. City planners assume
the post of architects for the city — directing remodeling, expansion,
general improvement. The purpose is, obviously, to achieve a master
plan for a coordinated growth of the city, a growth which will embrace
the greatest aspects of beauty, convenience, necessity and economy.
SCOPE OF REPORT
We all agree that there is much value to be gained from planning
when that word is used in its widest meaning. However, to keep this
report definite and within bounds, and also because it is a part of a
program of a conference of city planning, we shall limit the meaning of
the work "planning" to what is generally understood as "city planning"
and confine our discussion to the value of the work performed by the
usual city planning commission.
The subject may be divided into four main divisions: (1) The value
of planning as a coordinating force in tying together the actions of the
various departments within a single unit of government. (2) The value
of planning as a coordinating force in tying together the actions of the
various units or layers of government. (3) The value of planning to the
functional work of a government. (4) Long-term planning.
COORDINATING THE ACTIONS OF ONE UNIT OF GOVERNMENT
There is no general accepted number of departments in any govern-
ment. The Federal Government has ten cabinet members, and there is a
19« AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
bill in Congress to create two more. State governments diflfer in nmnber
of departments, and so do city governments. However, for the purpose
of this report let us consider the government as divided into six divisions :
(1) financial, (2) public works, (3) legal, (4) safety — comprising both
police and fire, (5) welfare, (6) health.
Each group of public officials accepts the responsibility of spending
annually a large sum of public money for the benefit of the citizens of
the community. Intelligent public administration requires first the pre-
paring of a budget, by which the available funds are properly allocated
to the various functions of government and the proper administration of
the budget. The best and most carefully prepared budget may fail of its
purpose due to poor administration. Although it may be the duty of the
chief executive to coordinate the work of the various departments, there
are certain phases of this coordination which can only be carried out
after detailed study and the making of surveys. This character of work
can best be p>erformed by a planning commission. For example, the chief
executive may coordinate the work of the public works department and
the fire department, but a planning office can perform a very valuable
service by mapping fire routes, and seeing to it that the entire thorough-
fare is well paved; by studying the possible elimination of grade cross-
ings. Many times a small sum of money expended by the public
works department may greatly increase the effectiveness of a fire com-
pany.
Zoning is a subject most cities appreciate and are undertaking. But
zoning laws generally are too elastic and too subject to easy change
through political influence and maneuvering. Strict zoning will do
wonders toward conserving real estate values and consequently tax
values.
Likewise, the planning office may be helpful in coordinating the work
of the finance department and the public works department. Public
improvements cost money, but if properly placed may so increase prop-
erty values as to pay for themselves. A live finance department aided by
a planning office may map out an extensive public works program with-
out seriously affecting the financial condition of the city.
We are quite sure that all chief executives who have struggled with
WPA programs are aware of the value of a planning office in coordinating
that program.
COORDINATING THE PLANS OF THE UNITS OF GOVERNMENT
We all live under at least four layers of government — federal, state,
county and municipal. Each governmental unit has its own program de-
veloped by its own group of officials, one group many times working in
total ignorance of the plans of the other groups.
A subject of ever-increasing importance is regional planning. This
is relatively a new idea in civic plan work, but is eminently necessary
PLANNING 197
for large cities all over the nation. Advent of the automobile has caused
large urban communities to spread far beyond their corporate boun-
daries into metropolitan areas. These metropolitan areas extend for
miles through suburban towns, villages, the unincorporated communities
fringing the cities proper. As the metropolitan population mushroomed,
little attention was paid to planning. But it is not too late. The plan of
the large city is no longer sufficient. It is necessary, but should now
become a unit in a comprehensive plan for the city's whole metropolitan
region.
Regional planning is to correlate public improvement throughout a
large urban district. It calls for extensive cooperation and usually state
enabling acts. But it is imperative. New York, Washington, D. C, Los
Angeles, Milwaukee, and other large cities have regional plan com-
missions and are mapping out long-time programs of development so as
to spot parks, highways, sanitary and utility services most advanta-
geously for the entire area. The regional plan steps up to the city plan to
cover an increasingly urgent need for the effective coordination of
development afiFecting vast, sprawling communities.
Cities have already taken form, and improvements, though necessary,
are extremely costly. A planned regional development would be much
less costly and will prove enormously beneficial a few decades in the
future.
The best example of lack of cooperation is seen when you drive along
a beautiful state road only to find it enter the city through a narrow wind-
ing street in poor repair, or vice versa. However, the lack of coordination
is not limited to highways; it exists in many other branches of govern-
ment.
VALUE OF PLANNING IN FUNCTIONAL WORK OF A
GOVERNMENT
Regardless of the efficiency of the every-day work of a department,
unless that department has vision and performs its work with an eye to
the future, it is not performing its full duty. True, a good street is a
thing of beauty, no matter where built, but if placed in the wrong place,
it may create a traffic problem.
Slum areas create a terrific drain upon the resources of all govern-
ments. More tax money is spent upon the area than is collected. The
problem can be solved only by attacking it at the source; namely, the
elimination of the slum. The planning office, by a detailed study of the
area many times can uncover interesting statistics which are of great help
to the police, the health and the welfare departments in dealing with the
problems of the area.
Again, we all know that property values change and that increase in
assessment lags behind increase in property values. Today every city is
faced with a serious problem in the preservation of the value of its
198 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
downtown business section. Unless some solution is found for the park-
ing problem, much business will gradually move to the outlying areas,
and with it many millions of dollars of assessments will disappear from
the tax rolls. Zoning, street widening, setting back curbs, parking meters,
all may be of some value, but the assessor's office and the traffic division
of the police department need assistance before it is too late. The plan-
ning office can be of real help to these departments.
LONG-TERM PLANNING
The public officials of any governmental unit change comparatively
rapidly. There are a few outstanding exceptions, but, on the whole, few
public officials are in office long enough to do any long-time planning
which they expect to carry out. It is therefore all the more important
that a long-time plan be prepared and that a city, for example, not be
allowed to develop in a haphazard manner. Some of the advantages to
be secured from long-term planning are:
1. Development of a city according to a definite city plan.
2. Control of subdivisions.
3. Reservation or acquisition of school sites, or sites for other public
buildings for future development.
4. Establishment of supplemental building lines to protect future
street widenings.
5. Cooperation between building department, city council, and plan-
ning commission to avoid issuance of permits for structures which
would lie in bed of streets planned to be opened or widened.
PLANNING 199
Traffic Studies in Relation to City Planning
COMMITTEE
I. S. Shattuck, Chairman, City and Traffic Planner, Oakland, California.
D. Grant Mickle, Head of Traffic & Trans-port Division, Jensen, Bowen &
Farrell, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Hawley S. Simpson, Research Engineer, American Transit Association,
New York City.
Fred C. Taylor, Director of Highway Planning Survey, State Highway
Department, Lansing, Michigan.
REPORTER
Edmund N. Bacon, City Planning Division, Flint (Michigan) Institute of
Research and Planning.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Fred W. Fisch, Director, Bureau of Traffic and City Planning, Schenectady,
New York.
Gerald S. Gimre, Engineer, City Planning and Zoning Commission, Nash-
ville, Tennessee.
Ernest P. Goodrich, Consulting Engineer, New York.
THERE should be no more important subject than city passenger
transportation to the professional man engaged in planning of
traffic, or for that matter, to any public planning or traffic agency or even
to the general public. It is hoped that this report will be of value, first in
increasing the importance of the subject in the eyes of the professional
men and next in securing a greater appreciation and intelligent attention
to transportation problems from public bodies. The main purpose of
our work is to produce something which will incite interest and cause
discussion, and possibly create the desire to deliberate and report
further. This present paper, then, can in a sense be considered an interim
and not a final report.
To persons professionally experienced in planning and traffic matters
it is obvious that traffic planning in its broad sense is a phase of city
planning. It may not be so obvious that traffic planning or city planning
does not necessarily, although at times it may very properly, include
traffic engineering, as we accept the meaning of the latter term. Before
proceeding further with this discussion it will be helpful to set forth
and agree upon the broad meaning of each of the three terms: city
planning, traffic planning, and traffic engineering. Your committee, there-
fore lists the following meanings which it has accepted for the present
purpose :
City Planning: Planning the city's physical development starting with
collection of data on existing conditions and ending with plans on maps
for future development, including the location of businesses, industries.
200 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
single and multiple residences, parks, playgrounds, schools, public
buildings, etc.; the location and widths of circulatory main streets and
their general design according to type of abutting property; the location
and extent of mass transportation services and other transportation
facilities; the location and adequacy, under various forms of transporta-
tion, of terminal facilities at the central destinations of persons.
Traffic Planning: A phase of city planning primarily devoted to the
planning of new or enlarged facilities for the transportation of persons
and goods, or the terminal storage of vehicles used, with cognizance of
the relative need for and feasibility of each separate mode of travel by
private vehicle, by public vehicle, and by foot must be based on such
city planning studies as population densities and trends, present and
future business and industrial development and concentrated residential
development, and needs special traffic studies of existing travel, quanti-
tatively and qualitatively.
Traffic Engineering: Investigating the movements of vehicles of all
kinds, including mass transportation units, over the existing street
system. Includes analyses of spot congestion, vehicular delays and
hazards and their causes, and the preparation of plans to improve traffic
facility and safety, such plans dealing with physical improvements and
control and regulation in existing streets and even dealing with enforce-
ment and education. Includes also the curb regulation of standing or
loading vehicles according to their effect on traffic movement or the
conduct of business.
One could conclude, from the above descriptions of three professional
activities, that traffic planning belonged to city planning without any
question, and that traffic engineering might well be pursued indepen-
dently or, in the case of an official planning agency, might be a distinct
activity of that agency, since plans for new street facilities might be
thought to depend somewhat on whether much or little could be done
in facilitating movement through existing transportation channels by
the application of traffic engineering.
Such a conclusion is doubtless correct, yet it has not been universally
accepted by those professional men whose fields of activity lie in plan-
ning or in traffic. The reasons for such confusion as exists are: (1) Traffic
engineers have occasionally carelessly adopted the term "traffic plan-
ning" to describe their activities, even though such activities are entirely
within the field of traffic engineering as defined in this report, and (2)
planners are in many ways unaware of the many details of traffic engineer-
ing that are only remotely, if at all, connected with planning endeavor.
TRAFFIC ENGINEERING AND CITY PLANNING
It will help at this point to review briefly the beginnings of traffic
engineering and to list the more important studies quite commonly made
by traffic engineers and the use to which these studies are put.
PLANNING 201
Beginnings of Traffic Engineering: When city street traffic congestion
became acute in the middle twenties, and local police, engineering and
planning officials were unable to devise or apply remedies, the profes-
sional traffic engineer came into being. He at first operated in a very
narrow field; for instance, he restricted himself in the beginning pri-
marily to the following activities :
1. Devising automatic control for vehicles at intersections and studying
and recommending the method of operation of such control.
2. Controlling central district curb parking by time-limit parking zones, no
parking zones, loading zones, etc.
3. Counting vehicular volumes and recommending the installation of stop
signs on the more heavily traveled streets.
4. Revising traflfic ordinances to bring regulations up to date.
Planners Were the First Traffic Engineers: Before traffic engineering
began to be practiced as a profession separate from planning, and during
the period of its infancy, the city planner was preparing major street
and transit plans, he was preaching the gospel of the simple right-angled
intersection of two streets, he was designing traffic circles and traffic
channelization schemes for odd-shaped or hazardous intersections, he
was, even in a few cases, laying out surface or elevated or depressed
express ways for automobiles.
Your Chairman, who came to the Minneapolis City Planning Com-
mission in 1922, can recall such details of work as the following:
1. Traffic re-design for streets and intersections, including the famous bottle-
neck on Hennepin and Lyndale Avenues.
2. Major street planning in relation to present and possible future location of
transit lines, obtaining and plotting transit passenger volumes.
8. Intersection traffic counting and the analyses of individual movements to
determine the feasibility of traffic signal installation.
4. Studies of necessary street improvements and intersection treatments in
connection with numerous plans for the location of a civic auditorium.
5. Rearranging proposed subdivision layouts to obtain conformity with
widths and locations of proposed major streets and to obtain simple
traffic crossings of such streets.
6. Planning express ways and parkways.
At that time also other planning offices throughout the coimtry,
either because they were fairly adequately manned or because they were
under the direction of engineers who took their planning with a practical
turn of mind, were making traffic studies and preparing traffic plans.
About the only other traffic engineering that existed in the early twenties
was being done by engineers of companies who manufactured and sold
traffic signals and devices.
Partly because of this historical background and partly because of
lack of knowledge of the many details of traffic engineering practice
in its broadest sense today, some planners still feel that traffic engineer-
ing is simply one small detail of city planning.
202 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
For a complete understanding of how highly specialized traffic en-
gineering has become, some of its various ramifications will be discussed.
Traffic Engineering Now Highly Specialized: It is assumed that
traffic engineering is concerned primarily with the investigation of traffic
problems and application of remedies to solve these problems. These
remedies have been classified as falling under the three E's — engineering,
enforcement, education. As a matter of fact, engineering, or, rather, an
engineering approach, is the basis of all three, when we are discussing
traffic engineering.
Following are some of the engineering observations and records that
may be required by the traffic engineer for a complete understanding of
traffic behavior and the causes of congestion or hazard in a particular
locality :
1. Relative traflSc volumes on city streets.
2. Division of total street traffic by type: private vehicles, taxis, light and
heavy trucks, transit vehicles and pedestrians.
3. Hourly, daily and seasonal fluctuations in volumes. Determination of
peak hour and its relative severity.
4. Average vehicular speeds of each type of vehicle on specific routes and
duration and causes of delays.
5. Degree of violation of driving rules and traffic regulations under various
weather conditions and various physical conditions, such as illumination,
type and visibility of regulation, street gradient, pavement, parking, etc.
6. Accident totals and classification by type, severity, reported cause and
condition under which occurring.
7. Accumulation of accidents in specific locations and determination of
repetitions from the same cause or under same conditions.
8. Street inventory to show widths, type and condition of pavement,
gradients, corner sight obstructions, existing traffic regulations (signs,
signals and markings), etc.
9. Results of tests of vehicles and drivers.
These are not necessarily all the records required, but they are typi-
cal. From them the traffic engineer determines such things as :
1. The benefit or detriment from existing stop-and-go traffic control under
certain volumes and characteristics of traffic.
2. The need for other devices and markings — stop signs, slow signs, lane
marks, speed signs, pedestrian islands, night illumination, etc. ; the design of
device as to effectiveness and cost; the exact location of each installed
device and of lane marks and other paint marks.
3. Physical revisions needed: corner curb roimding, change of grade, removal
of corner sight obstructions, illumination, etc.
4. Test and enforcement of vehicular repair: light adjustment and replace-
ment, brake adjustment and replacement.
5. Items of enforcement and education necessary to concentrate upon:
speeding, cutting in, driving out of lane, turning from the wrong lane,
signal and sign violations, hand signalling, parking violations, jay walking.
6. Traffic ordinance revisions.
7. The desirable method of operation of continuous signal systems according
to the necessities of the various types of traffic: transit, private vehicular,
commercial, pedestrian.
PLANNING 203
8. The location and design of street ear safety zones and pedestrian islands.
9. The regulation of curb facilities for parking and loading and the reserva-
tion of no parking areas for corner clearances.
10. The regulation of the times of delivery of goods in congested business
areas.
11. The regulation of curb cuts for driveways to oil stations, parking lots, etc.
In his search for means of obtaining easier and safer traflSc flow, the
traffic engineer is also interested in the kind of people who drive auto-
mobiles, in the safety and ease with which these automobiles may be
driven and in the safety and convenience of roadways to be used by
these automobiles. He can use his traffic facts to good advantage in
encouraging adequate examining and licensing of drivers, in suggesting
improved automobile construction, and in recommending built-in safety
and traffic facility when new streets are planned.
Modem Traffic Engineering Is Not Simply a Detail of City Planning:
From our brief glance at the traffic engineer and his typical activities
we can conclude that his profession is highly specialized along different
lines from that of city planning. It would not seem desirable, therefore,
to expect the city planner to include traffic engineering in his already
broad field of activity. The traffic engineer is primarily an engineer;
the city planner may not be, and therefore cannot be expected to be
other than remotely interested in the minute details of traffic behavior
and traffic regulatory equipment.
In the early portion of this report it was stated that "traffic engineer-
ing might well be pursued independently (with regard to city planning)
or, in the case of an official planning agency, might be a distinct activity
of that agency, since plans for new street facilities might be thought to
depend somewhat on whether much or little could be done in facilitating
movement along existing transportation channels by the application of
traffic engineering." Following our description of traffic engineering
activities, it is necessary to enlarge upon this statement. It should be
obvious that the true demand for new or improved transportation facil-
ities cannot be known until there is a determination of the maximum
use that can be made of existing facilities. Traffic control improvements,
parking abolition, lane marks, channelized intersections, the removal
of unnecessary stop-and-go signals, a comprehensive system of boulevard
"stop" streets, combined with intelligent and intensive education and
enforcement, would improve traffic condition from 10 per cent to 25
per cent in most cities. By "improvement" we mean that accidents
would be decreased and average speeds would be increased by these
percentages, and that the general condition of congestion or intolerable
street traffic delay would be relieved or even eliminated in some cases.
From our general discussion of traffic engineering studies and their
uses it seems fairly obvious that such studies bear a definite and vital
relationship to city planning, or, more specifically, to traffic planning.
204 AMERICAN PLANNmO AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In the absence of a regularly employed city traffic engineer many such
studies have been and are being made by planning technicians, for the
very reason that we have been stressing; namely, for determining the
maximum use that can be made of existing facilities.
On the other hand, so many of the traffic engineering studies deemed
necessary are so remotely connected to planning that we cannot conclude
that traffic engineering should be included in the field of planning. One
of the most valuable things any American city can do is to establish
official traffic engineering under a competent city traffic engineer. The
traffic engineer need not be assigned to the planning department, if
such exists; in fact, it is an advantage to have him independent of such
office, as such independence will attach more "importance" to his work
and will give him a "free hand" in studying and advising on street traffic
problems.
TRAFFIC PLANNING AND CITY PLANNING
For the present purpose, traffic planning deals with new or improved
facilities for city circulation of persons and goods.
Transportation and City Development: Not until planners of cities and
transportation facilities take into account the broad social and economic
aspects of city development can it be hoped that a reasonable solution
to the problem of adequate circulation of persons and goods will be
reached.
The typical American city and its immediate environs consist of more
or less definitely defined districts, as follows : industrial districts, central
business district or districts, commercial districts, multi-family residen-
tial districts, single-family residential districts, large-lot estate or residen-
tial agricultural districts.
The character of the city is determined largely by the amounts of
property within these districts and their composite pattern; also by
the distribution or density of population by district, the kind of people
found in this population and by the amounts and adequacy of facilities
to service this population : streets, transit lines, utility and health facil-
ities, schools, churches, recreation areas.
The process of city development has been marked by the progressive
building up and the subsequent deterioration of land values. This is so
largely because the various districts and their services were not planned
during the period of development. City planners are agreed that this
process not only is excessively costly but actually is destructive of
wealth. They are likewise agreed that the chief problem now confronting
cities is replanning to obtain desirable development without the attend-
ing consuming costs. In the area of "blight" contained within almost
any city, there are large elements of cost in the development of the city.
A principal replanning problem is the restoring of land and human
values in such areas and the prevention of the creation of additional
areas of similar character.
PLANNING 205
There is no doubt that the technological advance of transportation
has been one of the chief contributors both to the good and the bad side
of city development. Reciting the story of progress in city transportation
would be repeating the story of the development of cities. The applica-
tion of present or future transportation technology can, by the degree
to which it is based on social and economic planning, carry this destruc-
tive and deteriorating process still farther, or it can correct partially the
damage now done and contribute vitally to the rebuilding job that
faces our typical American city.
The City of the Future: Most planners agree that it is inevitable that
the face of nearly every American city will have to be remade in the
future. They have a great deal of sympathy with advanced thought on
ways of living in cities and of doing business and moving about, but
doubt that the "city of tomorrow" is just around the corner. In the 1937
Oakland Traffic Survey the following statement appears in the introduc-
tion to "conclusions and recommendations":
The city of the future will not be the city of today replanned and recon-
structed overnight, but it should and will be the city of today readjusted gradu-
ally to meet new and changing requirements of the location and conduct of busi-
ness and industry, living facilities, and the transportation of persons and goods.
The most beneficial city and traffic planning will be that which makes the best
of conditions as they exist, but which also recognizes the needs of future city
and regional development and stands ready with projects designed to fill these
needs as opportunities are presented.
Planners themselves have for many years in their own minds and in
their professional deliberations summed up the evils of the city of today,
or the city of the past which is still with us today, and visualized the city
they would plan for tomorrow. But planning effort must be directed
along the lines discussed in the above excerpt from the Oakland Survey,
because we are dealing with an existing city. Furthermore, the planning
of that city, in so far as it affects the developed territory, is not planning
something new, but planning to readjust something that exists. In this
respect the city planner looks somewhat askance on traffic plans whose
scale is determined by the city of tomorrow, and he naturally asks:
"What of the transition period? How long may this period be — 1 year,
10 years, or 50 years.'' And in the interim, what of the city — ^shall it
adopt the traffic plan of the city of tomorrow and hope to grow up to it,
or shall it continue to be planned or readjusted to meet gradually chang-
ing needs and conditions in 'the location and conduct of business and
industry, living facilities, and the transportation of persons and goods'.?"
Tr affix; Planning Is One Phase of City Planning: If traffic plans are
predicated on conditions such as those existing on Manhattan Island,
where the "piling-up" process, first of concentration, then of transporta-
tion facilities to meet such concentration, is repeated again and again
in a vicious circle, there is no telling where we may end. It is equally
likely that either one of the following two conclusions could be drawn on
£06 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
such a premise : The first is that we should revolutionize transportation
to meet new and greater needs of concentration; the second is that we
should plan to avoid the repetition of this situation elsewhere.
We of this committee assume that practical city and traffic planning
dictates the second conclusion, and our report follows that premise:
namely, that we are considering the planning of a large- or medium-sized
city that should not develop as Manhattan Island has, and we are con-
sidering traffic studies or traffic activities as they relate to the planning
of traffic and transportation facilities for that city.
In the first place it is apparent to everyone that persons or goods are
transported in a city for the following reasons: (1) That there is a city
and that persons must travel between points within the city, such as from
residence to place of employment, or to shopping point, from residence
to residence, and from business district to other business or industrial
district for business reasons; that goods must also be transported from
one district to another. (2) That the city lies on or adjacent to through
travel routes and consequently travel on these routes must go through
the city or must originate within the city and terminate outside of it.
The majority of all travel is that of the first class, intra-city, from
one point to another point within the city. These districts or points
within the city are served by sewage lines, by telephone and power lines,
by gas mains and by transportation arteries and facilities. Future needs,
in so far as all these facilities are concerned, must be based on a reasonable
diagnosis of city growth and development along lines that are desirable,
socially and economically.
Traffic Planning Must Not Ignore Transit: As long as we have the
city of today with us, traffic planning, to be justified, must take serious
account of all modes of transportation. For instance, surface transit by
rail or free wheel cannot be ignored in planning facilities for carrying
masses of persons relatively short distances, such as between the central
business district and residential districts of the city. The criterion in
this instance is relative munbers of persons transported by various modes
of transportation, not the number of vehicles for which facilities are
provided. In a recent Oakland survey it was found that from 7:00 a. m.
to 9 :00 p. M. of the typical week day, 342,000 persons were transported
into and out of the central business district; 91,000 of these were in
street cars and buses and 251,000 were in automobiles. The automobile
passengers occupied 168,806 automobiles, but the transit passengers
occupied only 7,410 transit units. Stated in a different way, for more
direct comparison, the 7,410 transit units carried 91,000 passengers
that would require 63,680 automobiles at a prevailing average car
occupancy rate. In Chicago, in 1931, over a 12-hour period 10,203 sur-
face transit vehicles carried 327,812 passengers into the central district,
while only 203,916 passengers were carried by 119,951 private automo-
biles. In this case the transit passengers would require 192,500 cars.
PLANNING 207
The American Transit Association's records show that transit riding
increases with the size of a city. In all American cities between 250,000
and 500,000 in population, transit riders were 48 per cent of the com-
bined population, compared to 72 per cent for all cities between 500,000
and 1,000,000 in population and 98 per cent for all cities over 1,000,000.
It is of course well known to planners and traffic engineers that
automobiles are inefficient users of street space in comparison with
transit vehicles on the basis of persons carried per unit of space. This
inequality becomes most acute in the central business district, particu-
larly when masses of persons move to and from places of employment at
about the same time each morning and evening of the business day. If
all travel into the central districts of Chicago and Oakland were via
private automobile and spread fairly evenly in time over the entire
business day, the problem of congestion and delay would be bad enough;
but the rush-hour movements of persons are usually two or three times
the non-rush hour volumes, and under this condition the central districts'
internal street systems and the avenues of approach to the districts would
have less than the required vehicular capacities.
Transit travel in and out of central business districts has another
distinct advantage over private automobiles, temporarily lost sight of
during the boom in major street construction of a decade ago in many
American cities, and completely ignored by some in their present-day
advocacy of construction of facilities for individual transportation via
private automobile. This advantage is that no central district parking
facilities are required by transit" units. In the central districts of all
important cities at the present time, curb parking spaces are at a pre-
mium. After the adoption of all the regulations that can be thought of to
increase daily turnover of curb-parked cars, there will remain no excess of
short -time parking space at the curb.
It is probably not realized that the cubage of structure required to
garage the cars of the occupants of the typical office building, if all such
occupants should use private automobile transportation, would be as
great as that of the office building itself. This amount of space would
not even accommodate the patrons of buildings who originate outside
the district during the business day.
Summary of Major Considerations in Traffic Planning: We have
started with the major single terminal of transportation, the central busi-
ness district, and have offered a few reasons why it is important to con-
sider the type of transportation serving this district. Time does not
permit of a thorough discussion of all considerations in traffic planning,
but some major considerations will be listed to show the city planning
nature of this subject.
1. Railroad locations and locations of freight terminals and passenger
terminals, present and future, fix the point of origin of local transportation
of persons and goods carried by railroad.
208 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
2. The same is true for freight and persons carried in by water and carried in
on trucks and buses via through highways.
S. Location of residential districts, present and future, determines points of
origin of the population moving about daily from these districts. Points of
destination are central business district, industrial districts, local com-
mercial districts and other residential districts.
FRED C. TAYLOR
In addition to the regular report which was submitted by the com-
mittee, Mr. Fred C. Taylor submitted a report which amplified some of
the points in the original paper and added some new ones.
The report of the Committee on Traffic Studies in Relation to City
Planning emphasizes the distinction between traffic engineering and
traffic planning. Traffic engineering is primarily concerned with the
facilitation of traffic movement along existing channels, while traffic
planning relates to the broader field of city planning, and includes the
design of new routes. The report stresses the idea that the demand for
new transportation facilities cannot be known until the maximum use of
existing facilities is determined by engineering methods and urges the
establishment of a traffic engineer in the various city governments.
Divergent views were expressed on the relation of the traffic engineer
and the city planning commission. The report states that it is not de-
sirable to include traffic engineering in the field of the city planner, and
that such work should be pursued independent of, or as a district activity
of the city planning commission. Opinion was expressed that the city
planning commission would be a definite hindrance to the free operation
of a traffic engineer. Another view held that there was a danger that the
traffic engineer would work independently against the interest of the
commission. It was also suggested that in a medium -sized city the city
planner and the traffic engineer should be the same person to assure the
proper layout of subdivisions and street plans in accordance with traffic
engineering principles. Mr. Ernest P. Goodrich, of New York, states
that the planner would make a more perfect plan if he were also an
accomplished traffic engineer; but since this is exceedingly rare it may
be said that the best planners are those who know and make use of
generalizations reached by traffic engineers, have a knowledge of such
factors as traffic capacities of streets of various widths and uses, desirable
curb radii, and similar items. The planner who includes zoning in his
professional work should also appreciate and make use of knowledge of
desirable corner clearance for accident prevention, and draft his zoning
ordinance accordingly.
Traffic planning, consequently, must integrate its solutions with the
inevitable provisions that are to be made for re-housing segments of the
city's population, it must be geared appropriately to the migrating
industrial and commercial areas, it must recognize the potentialities for
change that lie in the region beyond the city's border, and it must recog-
PLANNING 209
nize the relationship the city bears to other cities and the rural areas of
the State and adjoining States.
Only city planning can determine the social and economic necessity
for these changes and can, if comprehensively undertaken and adequately
applied, control those changes that are detrimental. Without city plan-
ning, traffic planning could not be directed to those improvements in
transportation that would tend to correct past mistakes and avoid their
repetition in the future.
The cleanest field for traffic and city planning lies in the outlying
territories of the city and beyond. Ultimate street capacities here can
be planned to bear a definite relationship to population expectancy;
right-of-way widths can be determined by necessary ultimate capacities
and the planned use of abutting property. There is every reason to
believe that these territories can be economically served by strategically
located modern automobile highways of the freeway type, flanked by
parked strips, in residential territory, for protection of residential prop-
erty against the disadvantages of motor traffic such as exist on the
ordinary heavily traveled city street. There is equal reason to believe
that, after sufficient growth, they should be serviced with transit lines,
either rail or bus. In determining right-of-way requirements of widths
and cross-section design, therefore, all of the following must be con-
sidered: (1) Population expectancy and ultimate necessary roadway
capacity, (2) type of abutting property, and (3) present or future transit
service.
If properly located and designed in advance for ultimate transporta-
tion demands, an all-purpose highway such as we are discussing can be
developed in stages as demand for initial facilities and additional facil-
ities arises. The initial treatment may be only a divided automobile
roadway with, say, four lanes of total capacity, and with grade crossings
at intersecting highways and "stop" sign protection at these points.
Additional developments will be all or some of the following:
1. Inauguration of bus service.
2. Traffic signalization for high-speed progressive movement; still with grade
intersections.
3. Widening of roadway by the addition of a lane in each direction, and the
provision of pull-outs for bus stops.
4. Traffic re-design at the heaviest intersections for obtaining less turning
interference with direct line traffic.
5. Improvement of the center strip for express rail transit. When this is done
the bus line may be discontinued, or may be retaiaed to give slower local
service.
6. Grade crossing elimination, using property originally acquired for the
ultimate right-of-way.
Transportation Requirements May Change: Your committee is not
oblivious of the fact that our city of today has a street system that is
not designed to give us the travel many would like to have; high auto-
210 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
mobile and transit speeds with safety from all parts of the city to all
other parts. It may be that a growing demand for facilities that would
oflPer travel approaching this ideal, accompanied by a willingness of
the public to foot the bill, will revolutionize our transportation almost
overnight. It seems much more probable, however, that traffic planning
will take a different course; that there will be a de-emphasis on trans-
portation facilities for the individual, and a concentration of attention
on public transit which will carry masses of persons short distances
cheaply, and on combined automobile and rapid transit ways which
will enable a fast mass travel and individual travel between the center
of development and outlying districts and eventually between other
districts. Central district parking difficulties and the huge cost of cor-
recting them should hint that the construction of super motorways pri-
marily for individual transportation vehicles is certainly not the com-
plete answer to any city's transportation problem.
Desired Objective of Traffic Engineering, Traffic Planning and City
Planning: Our city must first justify itself on an economic basis; other-
wise it fails to achieve the end for which persons have congregated. To
be efficient, it must first have an effective system of communication, but
it must also be healthy, be sufficiently attractive to be a pleasant place
to live in and to do business in, and offer educational and recreational
facilities and necessities and comforts such as water, electricity and gas.
The need and cost of transportation must be balanced against the need
and cost of these other facilities, and expenditm-es made accordingly;
otherwise, economic justification of any one type of facility improvement
is not present.
Persons cannot live in cities and have the same individual travel
freedom of the open highway. They must submit to something less be-
cause the ideal cannot be economically justified. The objective of all three
activities we are discussing is common: namely, to provide the safest,
most convenient and most attractive transportation that a city can
afford. To do this we need the efforts of the traffic engineer to plan the
maximum and best use of existing facilities, and the combined efforts of
the traffic planner and the city planner to plan an improved and lasting
city, with improved and lasting transportation of persons and commodi-
ties.
The traffic engineer is the least dependent on either of the others;
the traffic planner must be primarily a city planner, and traffic planning
and city planning must go hand in hand if our objective of an improved
and lasting city with improved and lasting transportation is to be
achieved.
PLANNING 211
County, Metropolitan, and Regional Planning
COMMITTEE
Eakle S. Draper, Chairman, Director of Department of Regional Planning
Studies, Tennessee Valley Authority.
Roy F. Bessey, Counselor, National Resources Committee.
Hugh R. Pomeroy, Chief of Field Service, American Society of Planning
Officials and National Association of Housing Officials.
Flavel Shurtleff, Counsel, American Planning and Civic Association.
REPORTER
Tracy B. Augur, Chief of Regional Planning Staff, Department of Regional
Planning Studies, Tennessee Valley Authority.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Albert S. Bard, National Roadside Council.
Philip H. Elwood, Counselor, National Resources Committee.
M. W. ToRKELSON, Secretary and Executive Officer, Wisconsin State Plan-
ning Board.
Joshua H. Vogel, Executive Director, King County (JVaahington) Planning
Commission.
NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PLANNING FIELD
BEARING ON PROBLEMS OF MUNICIPAL PLANNING
EARLE S. DRAPER
CHANGES in the life and activities of the city during the past gen-
eration, intensified during the past decade, of necessity mean ad-
justments in the approach to city planning. Tremendously increased
mobility resulting from rapid transport geared to personal use, instant
intercommunication between far distant points, former luxuries of life
become commonplace; these and many other manifestations of change
force periodic re-examination of planning technique.
Our compact city of the gay nineties is gone — gone with the bustle,
the hoopskirt and the horse car of an earlier period. It has burst its
bounds and sprawled over the countryside, its outskirts, in large part
esthetically ugly, uneconomic and of doubtful social value in their
present form. Following the city beautification movement at the turn
of the century, for several decades city planning was largely concerned
with traffic in the city, provision for close-in recreation, zoning of critical
areas, and other municipal problems. Except for a few cases and notable
exceptions, city planning wore blinders and let the private developer
creep up on the blind side and capitalize on the beauty, the accessibility
and lack of restrictions as to land use in outlying areas. This has not been
entirely or even largely the fault of planners. It is mostly due to the fact
that corrective planning to overcome demonstrated evils awakens more
212 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
public interest and support than that more positive type of planning
which seeks allocations of land use and services in advance of unhealthy
development.
City and country life within the trade area of the city has seen such an
increasing exchange of goods, services and land uses as to develop an
integration of activity of which even minor disruptions cause concern.
Major upsets are headline disasters. Such relationships are so well
known to planners that no detailed comment is necessary. The results,
however, are productive of functional changes. The city is now but a part
of a social and economic organism, an important part — a nucleus — but
merely a part. Administrative changes are taking place in recognition of
the fact. Planning responsibility must accompany this organic readjust-
ment of political units. Many city problems formerly capable of solution
within the city limits by city authority are now so enmeshed in problems
of larger political subdivisions as to require integrated solution. As an
example, in a city that I visited recently, there were a good many traffic
difficulties at an important bridgehead. Traffic and local readjustments
have been only partially successful in helping the situation. The solution
lies some twenty miles away in a planned relocation of through high-
ways; the responsible agency with power to solve these local municipal
problems is in this instance the state highway commission.
All this clearly points to the necessary integration of city planning
with county, trade area and state planning. An attack on city planning
problems must consider all elements, and many of these elements lie in
the suburbs and some in the larger zone which I much prefer to call the
area rather than the region.
Another important development bearing on problems of municipal
planning is the effect of this integration of activities, federal, state and
local, on administration. It must of necessity make an administrator
more of a planner. The city official has many more relationships to con-
sider now than in the past. In the matter of recreation, housing, health,
and sanitation, and particularly all forms of public works, he must con-
sider the part to be played by the state and federal governments. In
instances of which relief and public works are the best known, direct
federal grants to municipalities make Uncle Sam play an increasingly
important role in the municipal government. And where our beneficent
Uncle opens his money bags for the handling of city problems, he brings
with him a system of checks and balances of involved contractual, long-
time relationships that place the burden on the city to find out where
the city is headed. Where the solution of local problems is of national
significance, the Federal Government may give financial assistance, but
in so doing the national government usually presupposes or requires a
plan in the working out of the problem.
In suggesting that administrators become plan-minded, I do not mean
that administration should swallow planning or vice versa. I do mean
PLANNING 213
that there must be a better understanding on the part of administration
of planning technique and objectives, and, may I say, also on the part of
planners of the ways in which plans may be effected. City planning
boards need independent powers in their field, but much more effective
planning will result if city councils, agency and department heads con-
sider themselves as having planning as well as administrative respon-
sibility. You are probably saying: Hasn't this always been true and
desirable? Yes, but never so essential as today when every planning
activity must consider the channels of three levels of government,
federal, state and local, through which effectuation may come; and
every move by an administrator must consider the future implications
and relationships of the activity in his charge.
Nor does anything in this picture lessen the city's need for an inde-
pendent regional planning consultant, familiar with all the regional impli-
cations of a municipal planning problem, serving perhaps more as a
guide and critic than as the developer of detail plans. The role of such
a consultant might well be to bring to bear on each problem the planning
viewpoint of the trade area or of an even larger region. Surely municipal
planning in this present day and time must be a function of government,
and the city planner equally important as the city engineer. Adminis-
trators and planners have common problems to solve. Distance between
them "may lend enchantment" but hardly understanding!
ORGANIZATION FOR COUNTY PLANNING
HUGH R. POMEROY
WE HAVE heard much about the "levels of planning." In fact,
this term is the title of a paper by Mr. Draper in an issue of the
Planners' Journal last year, and it is likewise used in Major Bessey's
paper for the present session on the "Need for Regional Planning
Legislation."
I am not sure that I like the term "levels" as applied to planning. We
are inclined to take some word, give it a special application, squeeze it
dry of any vitality of meaning, and use it as a preempted "lingo." The
term "levels" indicates either one of two things, both bad. One is a com-
partmentalizing of planning, whereby functions, jurisdictions or proce-
dures, with the organizations appropriate to each, are tucked away in
respective pigeonholes of activity. The other is the conception of the
"higher levels" of government as constituting superstructures of control.
Planning which is national in scope, beginning with the Nation itself
and extending through sub-national regions, States, intrastate regions,
metropolitan areas and counties, down to cities and villages, can be
accomplished neither from the "top down" nor from the "bottom up"
(and those are two more toy expressions). Planning from the top down
is a centralization, which might be considered a mild form of central
214 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
governmental dictatorship. In that form I would not greatly fear it as a
danger to that ever-changing thing, "our form of government." But it
does pre-suppose an intelligence at the top capable of comprehending all
the complexities of urban and rural life throughout the Nation. This
might be possible if we were willing to impose a standardized pattern,
but not if we are to maintain all the richness of variety of local habits of
living and of community design and organization. On the other hand,
nation-wide planning from the bottom up would be simply a compound-
ing of provincial viewpoints (whether the provincial viewpoint of Sioux
City or that of Boston) which by their very provinciality and their
sometimes inherently competitive nature, could not produce a balanced
national plan.
No, nation-wide planning can proceed neither from the top down nor
from the bottom up, but must come from both directions. And since a
current of influence or control cannot flow in opposite directions at the
same time, the process becomes one of coordination and, to some extent,
of integration, as is well indicated in Major Bessey's thoughtful paper.
This introductory discussion is not so much a trespass on the re-
spective territories of Mr. Draper and Major Bessey as it is a setting for a
discussion of the place of the county in the organization structure of
planning.
Counties, territorially, are far from ideal, or even adequate, units of
governmental administration. There are over 3,000 counties in the United
States, practically all of them having been formed during a time when
the distance to the courthouse was measured in terms of horse-and-
buggy travel. Many counties are historical accidents, others are largely
the result of local pride. Very few are logicaUy laid out and some are
largely vestigial, as in New England. The total number of counties in the
United States probably could be reduced desirably to less than one-
third their present number, and adequate intrastate regional planning,
together with increasingly insistent evidence of the inadequacies of
present county government, may break up the situation in time and
result in a general re-alignment of counties. But the counties now exist
as they are, deeply rooted in local habit, and even more so in local politics
and patronage, and in the absence of any reasonable possibility of gen-
eral reorganization, will have to be taken as they are for planning pur-
poses. The good that counties can now accomplish in the field of planning
will in no wise be impaired by subsequent county reorganization. In
fact, the process of planning may actually facilitate the latter. Certainly,
competent planning should lead to searching criticism of the effective-
ness of current tools of operation.
Counties exist in a dual capacity which is most useful for planning:
(1) they are administrative divisions of the state government and (2)
they are themselves (in varying degree throughout the country) units of
local government.
PLANNING 215
As administrative units of the state government, counties can serve as
means of local expression and application of state planning, which in
turn will bear the influence of national and interstate regional planning.
Also in this capacity a county can serve as a coordinating agency for
local planning units within its boundaries. Again, a county is not always
an ideal local regional unit, but it is ordinarily the best practical and
available one. In turn, counties may be grouped into intrastate regions
for planning in fields of activity which transcend county boundaries.
As units of local government, counties either have the right to exer-
cise the police power or are functionally capable of being given that right.
And, of course, the police power is one of the three major instrumental-
ities for effectuating plans, for making them actually patterns for new
development and for re-designing existing community forms. The three
instrumentalities are: (1) the police power, (2) coordination of normal
current activities affecting the physical form of the community and its
physical services and (3) the long-term capital budget. The exercise of
the police power by counties for planning purposes has varying applica-
tions, from its broad territorial application in rural zoning, to its inter-
stitial application to unincorporate or similar territories around and be-
tween cities in metropolitan areas.
If a county as a unit of local government does not possess the right to
exercise the police power, it must seek and obtain this right as a neces-
sary instrument of planning. Where local town or township governments
occupy all the territory of a county outside the boundaries of municipal
corporations, the county is usually the best practical planning agency
for such territory, but with police power controls exercised by the town
or township governments. It becomes somewhat a question of ex-
pediency as to whether in such cases the function of the county shall be a
somewhat impotent advisory one or a more active coordinating one, or
whether the county shall be given the power to superimpose its controls
over the towns within its borders. It can be said in general that the
smaller the local planning unit, the less comprehensive will be the plan-
ning and the less effective its application.
The function of the coimty in planning may be summed up by saying
that the county is ordinarily the smallest unit of government performing
a coordinating function in planning, that is, among the units of govern-
ment within its boundaries (on behalf of the State or on its own behalf),
and is at the same time the largest unit directly exercising the police
power in a comprehensive manner for the effectuation of planning.
The type of organization which is used for county planning should be
that which is best suited, under the circumstances of the particular
State or area, to the performance of the dual planning fimction of the
county. There should be a planning board, or commission, of the familiar
structure of non-oflBcial appointed members and ex-oflBcio members, the
latter being preferably the engineer, the attorney, and a member of the
216 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
governing body of the county. For reaching out beyond the county
boundaries in its planning activities, the commission will participate in
intra-county regional activities. For reaching in, in its coordinating
function, the commission will assign special committees and staflF mem-
bers to specific tasks in this field and will conduct conferences of rep-
resentatives of the agencies within the county boundaries; such con-
ferences may be either functional or jurisdictional in scope.
A county planning commission should recognize several guiding prin-
ciples in its work:
1. There must be a clear-cut definition of the county planning function.
2. There must be a defined program of work, covering the three successive
steps of (a) surveys and research, (b) preparation of actual plans, and (c) design-
ing and use of effectuating instrumentalities and procedures.
3. The commission must have a staff and budget which is adequate for the
accomplishment of its program in an orderly and efficient manner. A planning
commission cannot operate on demand services or "mooched" funds.
4. The planning commission must establish effective official relations (a) with
the other officials of the county government with whom the commission must
work cooperatively; (b) with the other agencies of government within the
boundaries of the county, the planning activities of which are to be coordinated
by the county planning commission; (c) with the county governing body, upon
which the commission depends for its funds and only through which the recom-
mendations of the commission can be made fully effective, and (d) with the
planning agencies of the State and of adjacent counties, with which the com-
mission should coordinate its activities.
The result should be, first, a broad county plan, taking a cast, or
direction, from the state plan, coordinated within the intercounty region,
and itself coordinating local plans within the county; and second, the
effective application of the plan to the territory under the jurisdiction of
the county, either directly, or in cases where there are intervening town
and township governments, through the medium of these intervening
governments by whatever process is determined to be best.
PARKWAYS, HIGHWAYS AND ROADSIDE CONTROL
FLAVEL SHURTLEFF
THE latest formula for parkways is also the last word in government
cooperation. The land for these "elongated parks" will be acquired
by the States and turned over to the national government. Design and
landscaping will be by the National Park Service and construction by
the United States Bureau of Public Roads.
Up to 1935 counties and metropolitan regions were the parkway
builders. Their achievements, though few, have been notable, but the
latest thing in parkways promises to be magnificent. The Blue Ridge
Parkway, five hundred miles from the Shenandoah Mountains in north-
western Virginia to the Great Smokies in North Carolina and Tennessee,
the Natchez Trace, five hundred miles from Nashville, Tennessee, to
PLANNING 217
Natchez, Mississippi, Andrew Jackson's route to New Orleans, were just
a few years ago rather dazzling visions of the National Park Service.
Now Congress has approved, much of the land has been acquired under
the authorization of the legislatures of Virginia, North Carolina, Tenn-
essee and Mississippi, and the Skyline Drive along the crest of the
Shenandoahs has become the most popular scenic drive in America.
The design of the National Park Service requires a right-of-way of 100
acres a mile or an average width of 800 feet, plus 50 acres a mile for
rights in land which will guarantee the full enjoyment of the rural scene.
Entrances and exits will be limited in number and their location and
design controlled by the national government. Access by private roads
will be practically eliminated. There will be no frontage on private land
for commercial purposes. Filling stations, inns, restaurants, all the
business which caters to the traveling public will be on park land, the
buildings designed and their operation controlled by the National Park
Service. All outdoor advertising will be banished and such signs as are
allowed will fit into the design of the structures. This is the ultimate in
roadside control.
Parkways will be the preferred tourist routes. The experience with
county parkways and the unquestioned success of the Skyline Drive
make this a safe prediction. The National Park Service has already
planned for an extension northward of the Blue Ridge Parkway to tap
Pennsylvania, New York and tourist New England. Parkways through
the scenic areas of America are sound economic ventures for the partner-
ship of State and Nation.
The effect of these recreational routes will be far-reaching on the
other highways of the Nation. They will revolutionize state highway
policies. The precedents established in the new parkway legislation in
the southern States will pave the way for new legislative concepts in
highway building and highway protection. Freeways or limited access
highways will be built through undeveloped land, and highway com-
missions will be given the authority to designate portions of existing
highways as limited access ways. If wider rights-of-way and the limited-
access principle are insufficient to control the nuisance of outdoor ad-
vertising, additional protection will be provided by a simple but com-
prehensive regulation: "There shall be no outdoor advertising device
within five hundred feet of any parkway, freeway or limited access
highway." The preferred use of parkways and limited access highways
by the tourist travel will greatly lessen the value of other highways as
locations for outdoor advertising, for the signs follow travel volume.
The protection of human lives, the conservation of the investment of
public money in the roads, and the preservation of rural America dictate
a fundamental change in highway policies. This change may be a slow
and painful evolution, but it may come more suddenly than any of us
expect. Rural zoning, whether by town or county ordinance, will play an
218 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
important role by regulating the use of land before the highway is built.
Where counties and towns are slow in the performance of their duty, a
roadside protective area will be established under state law.
Roadside control of the main travel routes of the country may well be
perfectly realized in the next fifty years by parkways for scenic areas and
by limited -access roads which will concentrate roadside business and
banish outdoor advertising from the rural scene.
NEED FOR REGIONAL PLANNING LEGISLATION
ROY F. BESSEY
THE subject "Need for Regional Planning Legislation" is a very
broad one. Its consideration requires some review of the nature of
regions, regional problems, and regional planning.
There can be no general prescription for legislative needs for estab-
lishment, practice and consummation of regional planning — each case
requires individual analysis. Study should cover such matters as the
reasons and objectives for regional planning, the desirability of planning
effort, its probable effectiveness, the scope of the planning project (the
areas and subjects to be included in planning organization and activities),
what organizational arrangements are necessary and feasible, what rela-
tionships should exist between planning and other agencies concerned,
and, finally, what legislation is available and what is needed to do the
work and make it productive.
The following statement is, therefore, designed to invoke broad con-
sideration— of a subject worthy of serious attention on the part of per-
sons of varied interest, experience and viewpoint — through a review of
definitions, reasons for and objectives of regional planning, the nature of
regional planning problems, the range of possible solutions of these prob-
lems, and some tentative conclusions.
DEFINITIONS
The term "regional planning" is used in connection with areas of
widely different character. Undoubtedly the term "regional" is often
used inadvisedly.
A general definition of a region would be a division of the earth's sur-
face more or less delimited by common physical, economic or cultural
conditions. While an area of considerable extent or importance is usually
implied, regionality is not a matter of size, but one of possession by the
area of qualities of geographic, economic and cultural distinctiveness,
unity, completeness and balance, and a broad homogeneity that trans-
cends local dissimilarities.
Regions will vary in type and extent from areas in which the limits
are primarily geographic (as a drainage basin, or peninsula, for example)
to those in which the stronger ties are derived from economic resources
PLANNING 219
and trade channels, or racial and political culture and tradition. They
may range from small metropolitan or agricultural regions to a major
subdivision or province of the nation. Some will be recognized as of
rather definite limits, but generally boundaries will be nebulous. As a
further complication, there are regions within regions — such as metro-
politan regions within larger economic regions.
For purposes of this study, it seems desirable to classify regions
somewhat as follows :
1. Metropolitan regions or areas: (a) Intrastate, (b) interstate.
2. Intermediate regions, districts, or areas — ^areas generally smaller than a
state: (a) Intrastate, (b) interstate.
3. Sub-national regions — generally interstate.
In the general classification "metropolitan," would be included not
only the larger or more important metropolitan areas, such as those of
Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, and so on (Seattle and
Portland in the Northwest), but smaller cities and their environs (such
as Spokane, Butte, Boise, in the Northwest) — all truly metropolitan in
that they are centers of urban influence which penetrates out over a large
area. For practical planning purposes, however, the metropolitan area
covered should be considered as the immediate sphere of influence of the
city and not the whole region with which it is associated. Areas including
more than one center would also be included in this classification. For
example, adequate area planning arrangements should not only provide
for the city of Seattle and its immediate environs, but should provide
also for the larger enveloping area including the whole Puget Sound
district and its several smaller cities. The latter district would more
nearly approach a region in character.
Intermediate regional planning units are of many kinds. There are,
for example, the predominantly interurban Baltimore-Washington-
Annapolis district in Maryland, and the urban-physiographic Puget
Sound area in Washington, the physiographic-urban -agricultural
Willamette Valley in Oregon; numerous areas delineated by type of soil
and agriculture, such as the Palouse district in Washington and Idaho;
and the physiographic Columbia Basin district in Washington (which
is a particularly logical planning unit because it is affected by a single
development project). Some of the districts of this class may be true
regions; more generally perhaps they might be considered as sub-regions.
Some authorities prefer to call planning for areas smaller than a State
"area planning"^ or "district planning" to distinguish it from regional
planning in the larger sub-national sense.
As yet, no fully adequate set of specifications has been developed to
describe the elements essential in a true sub-national region. Certain
large areas do, however, have sharply defined characteristics which have
caused them to be recognized as regions. New England and the Pacific
*Earle S. Draper, "Levels of Planning," Planners' Journal, March-April, 1937.
220 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Northwest are two prominent examples of the well-integrated and well-
defined region suitable for a composite of functions. Elsewhere, the
territory may not be so closely knit by geographic, economic and cul-
tural ties. For some problems and functions the regional area may not
entirely coincide with the area that must be considered in connection
with other problems. It is, therefore, believed that the principle of
flexibility should prevail in delineating these sub-national regions. In-
stead of trying to mark ofiF rigidly bounded regions which inevitably
break down, it will be better to establish sub-national regional planning
centers with more or less general jurisdiction over the tributary areas^
GENERAL REASONS FOR AND OBJECTIVES OF
REGIONAL PLANNING
The reasons why planning should be provided for and carried out in
many various kinds of regions are numerous. Fundamentally, the defini-
tion of a region connotes community of interest and of problems. Almost
invariably the important problems require for solution the collaboration
of a number of governments.
The problems which should be considered on a regional or areal basis
include such vital matters as urban and industrial patterns, drainage
basin development and utilization, land use, agriculture, forests, trans-
portation, water supply, sanitation, recreational facilities, power,
utilities, public works, and so on. The best practicable solutions of
problems in these fields in major areas, obtainable only through regional
approach, are important not only to the area itself, but to the larger
areas — state and national.
The broad objectives of regional planning might be summarized as the
social and economic security and advancement of the region and, of
course, the Nation. Among the means of attaining the main objectives
are: (1) Knowledge of the region, its conditions and trends, and its
position in relation to neighboring and larger regions, the States and the
Nation. (2) Increased awareness of regionality — what it is, what it
means to its people and what it means to the Nation. In other words,
recognition of enlightened regionalism, including regional planning, as
essential to progress. (3) Cooperative organization for planning with
representation of the political and functional elements involved.
THE NATURE OF THE PROBLEM
As has already been indicated, problems will vary greatly with type
of area and also with individual areas. Essentially, however, solution of
each problem involves painstaking analysis of an area, of a pattern of
physical, economic and social problems, governmental jurisdictions
concerned, of means for collaboration of the various governmental units
iSee Regional Factors in National Planning, National Resources Committee, December,
1936.
PLANNING 221
and divisions, of desirable cooperation with the various civic, technical,
industrial and general public interests involved, and of the need, ad-
visability, practicability, and form of a central planning organization.
In general, the legislative problem, which must be considered in the
light of this fundamental study of the general regional problem, is one
of constituting and implementing an organizational set-up for continuous
regional planning.
These problems naturally vary greatly with the kind of region under
consideration.
The Metropolitan Area Problem: For metropolitan areas, the problem
is one of determining the extent and nature of planning arrangements
rather than whether regional planning is required. The importance of
this field of planning is evidenced by the fact that nearly one-half of our
people live in metropolitan districts.
The urbanism report^ of the National Resom-ces Committee cites as
objectives of such planning :
1. The checking of overconcentration of population, industry and urban
activity in limited areas, and the ills attendant upon such over-concentration;
2. The judicious reshaping of the urban community and its region by system-
atic development and redevelopment; taking advantage of natural shifts to
loosen up the central areas of congestion and to create a more decentralized
metropolitan pattern; and
3. The extension of material and cultural advantages of urban life to a
larger number of the population, and offering to the lower-income groups the
somewhat less tenuous existence afforded by village and small-town living.
Lewis Mumford, in his recent analysis of urbanism and regionalism,^
has, in effect, stressed the proposition that the city cannot be considered
separately from the area of which it is an integral part, and has empha-
sized the great need of coordinate regional planning, if the city is to
develop along rational lines and not move further, through an absurd
overgrowth, toward decay and dissolution.
Although it may be safely stated that regional planning is required
for almost any metropolitan area, it is more diflScult to generalize as to
the scope of such planning. The scope of functional consideration should
include the people, their security, safety, health, conditions and stan-
dards of living, and communities; land and water and their resources;
and the various facilities and services of transportation, water, power,
sanitation, education, recreation, and so on.
Decision as to the geographic extent of such planning must be based
on analysis of rather complex conditions. The influences of metropolitan
centers extend over very wide areas. While there can be no formula for
determining the extent of such an area, it is suggested that it be based
upon analysis of the extent of the metropolitan pattern of transportation
^Our Cities, Their Role in the National Economy, National Resources Committee,
June, 1937.
^The Culture of Cities. 1938.
222 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
and transit facilities; the limits to which people and goods move in the
business, industrial, distributional and recreational daily life of the met-
ropolitan center; the extent to which rural areas and the city are mutually
interdependent; the extent to which land-use patterns are affected by the
metropolis; the nature and relationships of outlying communities; and
the lines at which the various influences of the center will meet those of
other metropolitan centers of a self-suflBcient and not satellite character.
Focusing consideration of the problem toward that of organizational
arrangements and required legislation, there must be considered the
present units of government involved and the extent of their interests.
These will include the cities, counties, the State, or States, and the
extent of federal interests. It is also essential to consider existing plan-
ning agencies and the planning agencies which should exist within the
metropolitan area to make over-all metropolitan area plans reasonably
complete and effective.
The Intermediate Area Problem: The general reasons for planning for
a district or region smaller in extent than a State correspond roughly to
those for planning at the metropolitan, and all other, levels. They have
to do with the best use of the area's resources for human progress.
Specifically, however, it might be well to stress the importance of plan-
ning for such areas as a foundation for comprehensive planning for the
State or other larger area.
Solution of the problem of organization of such planning districts in-
volves careful study of political units and departments. One or more
States will be very directly concerned. Various administrative districts
of the State may have important relations to the problem as will the
activities of various state departments (such as highway, health, land,
and so on). A number of counties, or other legal subdivisions of the
States, will be encompassed. The federal government may be involved
to a greater or lesser extent through land ownership, or its various in-
terests in highways, waters, waterways, commerce, agriculture, forests,
and other resoiu'ces and activities.
The Columbia Basin area, in Washington, is cited as an example in
this class of planning area, not so much as a typical case as one including
a wide range of conditions and problems, and one illustrating the need
and potential benefits of broad and imified plans.
The Problem in Sub-national Regions: The subject of planning for
large sub-national regions is somewhat too broad, and the types and
conditions too diverse, for review herein. The regional planning series of
reports of the National Resources Committee^ indicates the scope and
variety of the problems.
Broad multiple-purpose planning should be undertaken for sub-
national regions wherever such regions are suflSciently well defined to
^Regional Factors in National Planning Development; Regional Planning, Parts I, III,
V. VI, VII .
PLANNING 223
permit continuing consideration of this kind. It is believed that for all
areas of the country there should be study on a regional basis of the more
critical problems, such as those of population, drainage basins, land use.
The problem of regional planning organization is one of effectively
associating a nimaber of interests in such planning. These may be
grouped as follows:
1 . The States, particularly their planning boards, together with the national
planning agency.
2. The federal departments principally concerned with resource planning and
development — particularly Interior, Agriculture, and War.
3. Other state interests — such as departments concerned with resources and
their conservation, development and utilization.
4. Civic, business, industrial, educational, and general public organizations,
institutions and individuals.
THE RANGE IN SOLUTIONS OF THE PROBLEM
The need and features of regional planning legislation depend on basic
objectives, on the work to be done, the sphere in which it is to be done,
and the kind of organization necessary to do it. Hence, each problem of
planning organization and legislative requirement must have individual
analysis. Reviews of actual procedures and experience in similar areas
should be a part of the study, although it may be diflficult as yet to find
close parallels in past and current operations. Review of recent and cur-
rent proposals for action in areal or regional planning should also be
enlightening.
Metropolitan Areas: In the case of metropolitan areas, it is suggested
that review of the procedures and experience of such metropolitan dis-
tricts as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Cin-
cinnati, Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco,
and others, would be in order. Of these, Boston, Baltimore, Denver, Los
Angeles, and San Francisco might be considered of particular interest
as metropolitan areas lying within a single State ; and New York, Phila-
delphia, Washington, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City,
as interstate areas. Buffalo and Detroit illustrate metropolitan areas
with international aspects.
The Massachusetts Division of Metropolitan Planning is loosely
attached to the Boston Metropolitan District Commission, an agency
of long standing charged with the administration of water, parks, and
sewer facilities of the Greater Boston district. The division's functions
are at present limited to development of coordinated transportation
within the district. In fulfilling its duties, it is instructed to confer with
the local planning agencies in the district. Recommendations and plans
are submitted to the Commonwealth.
.The Niagara Frontier Planning Board, another oflBcial board, estab-
lished in 1925, has been engaged in area planning in two New York
coimties in the Buffalo metropolitan district. This board operates under
224 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
state legislation providing for the establishment and maintenance of
regional planning boards by and with representation of a county or
counties and the cities, towns and villages in the counties. Official re-
ports are made to the State.
In several instances, it has been found practicable to provide for
official metropolitan planning within the county governmental structure.
The organizations and accomplishments of the Los Angeles County
Regional Planning Commission, Milwaukee County Regional Planning
Department, Allegheny County Planning Commission (Pittsburgh),
Monroe County Division of Regional Planning (Rochester), and others
would throw light on the advisability of this approach. It will be ob-
vious, however, that the county boundary will rarely coincide with more
logical metropolitan planning limits.
In general, past arrangements for over-all planning for interstate
metropolitan areas have been based upon unofficial and cooperative
"regional planning associations." For example. New York has had, since
1921, the Committee on a Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs,
and its successor the Regional Plan Association, Inc. (established 1929).
Planning in some important fields in the New York metropolitan dis-
trict has been undertaken by the official Port of New York Authority.
This organization, created by interstate compact, is responsible for both
planning, construction and operations, and has, most notably, carried
on planning work in the fields of port development, interstate transit
facilities, bridges and tunnels.
The older unofficial metropolitan planning bodies in the United
States include those for the Chicago and Philadelphia areas — the
Chicago Regional Planning Association and the Regional Planning
Federation of the Philadelphia Tri-state District. Each of these areas
encompasses parts of three States, and a considerable number of counties
and municipalities.
Review of the nature of cooperative agreements and legislative
arrangements made by public bodies with the unofficial planning
associations would be a logical part of a broad study of legislative re-
quirements for metropolitan planning.
The National Capital Park and Planning Commission, responsible
for planning in the District of Columbia, is authorized by act of Congress
to collaborate with planning authorities in the near-by States of Mary-
land and Virginia.
In considering the possibilities of organization and enabling legislation
for metropolitan district planning, it would be well to review, briefly,
current proposals in the light of the fundamental needs. Basically, what
is required for such planning is an association of city, county and state
planning boards recognized and implemented by action of the state
legislature and ordinances of the municipal bodies concerned. In the
case of the larger and more important metropolitan areas, particularly
PLANNING 225
those of interstate character, some form of representation of the federal
government would be desirable, for reasons already reviewed.
The urbanism report of the National Resources Committee and its
Urbanism Committee recommends measures pertinent to better plan-
ning for metropolitan districts, and the report of the St. Louis Regional
Planning Commission and the National Resources Committee gives
constructive suggestions.
Intermediate Areas: In the case of planning for intrastate and inter-
state regions, or districts of extent less than state-wide or sub-national,
the range of solutions is somewhat similar to those of metropolitan
districts, although in some cases the organization problem may be some-
what less complex. The substantial elements of solution are, again, an
association of planning agencies of counties, the more important com-
munities, and the State. In an association of subdivisions of the State,
the coordinating and catalyzing services of the State will be essential.
In most cases, provision for some form of assistance on the part of
Federal officers will be desirable.
Current illustration of regional planning of this kind may be found
in many parts of the country. Planning work for a large intrastate area
has been initiated by the Maryland State Planning Commission with
reference to the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolis area. Recommenda-
tions of this study are referred to hereafter. Among sub-state district
planning boards are such organizations as the official Niagara Frontier
Planning Board (previously mentioned) in New York, and the Chariton
River Basin Planning Board, an unofficial, cooperative, six-county
grouping, in Iowa.
The state and local planning enabling acts of various States provide
for the participation of local planning bodies in district planning. New
York law provides that any county or counties and the cities, towns and
villages therein may establish a regional planning board to consist of
representatives of such county or counties, cities, towns and villages.
The municipal corporations concerned are authorized to appropriate
and raise, by taxation, money for expenses of such regional planning
boards. These boards are empowered and directed to study regional and
community planning needs, to prepare plans to meet them, to promote
community or intercommunity planning, to collect and distribute re-
lated information, and to report annually to the governor. Idaho law
empowers planning commissions of two or more adjoining counties to
cooperate in formation of a regional planning commission for the making
of plans for a region defined as may be agreed upon by the commission.
Expenses are to be borne by the various counties in the region as may be
agreed among the counties and the commission. Provisions of Wash-
ington law relating to regional or district planning commissions are
similar to those described for Idaho. The California Planning Act of
1935 directs the state planning board to divide the State into inter-
226 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
county regions, with a regional planning commission for each, consisting
of representatives of the constituent county planning commissions.
Other existing legislative provisions for district planning may be
found in broad conservancy acts, such as the Ohio Conservancy Act and
those patterned after it. Such legislation, designed for conservation,
water control and related purposes in large areas, would carry authority
for district planning work of considerable scope.
In consideration of possible solutions of problems of this kind, atten-
tion is invited to the current suggestions for action reviewed in connec-
tion with metropolitan regional planning; these are quite generally ap-
plicable to the larger areas. The recommendations of other reports on
planning will be of interest. The Baltimore- Washington-Annapolis re-
port^ recommends: "State legislation creating or extending jurisdiction
of local planning agencies in the area surrounding the three cities; state
enabling legislation giving cities, counties and communities more ade-
quate authority to implement planning agency recommendations by
local laws; state enabling legislation to extend powers of state and local
administrative departments; state and federal legislation to permit
necessary state and federal developmental and financial assistance to
projects in the area; establishment of the Baltimore Metropolitan
Commission to cover the whole B-W-A area in connection with existing
planning agencies; establishment of a coordinating committee sponsored
by the State Planning Commission to assume responsibility for co-
ordinating area- wide planning proposals; preparation of a fiscal program
with priorities for various projects and provision for apportionment of
funds among local, state and federal agencies."
A Pacific Northwest report* on the problem of conservation and
development of scenic and recreational resources of the Columbia Gorge
in Washington and Oregon recommends: "Coordination of planning and
design affecting scenic and recreational values, development of outdoor
recreational facilities, etc., through an advisory, joint, interstate-
federal Columbia Gorge conservation committee." Parallel legislation
would be required in the two States to make such a committee effective.
Sub-national Regions: In the field of sub-national and interstate plan-
ning, there is an especially wide range of possible solutions. Current
activities and trends have been discussed at considerable length in re-
ports of the past few years, notably the series published by the National
Resources Committee. The subject was also discussed at some length at
the last National Planning Conference.
Current activities in comprehensive regional planning for interstate-
sub-national regions are carried on by three types of organizations — the
corporate regional authority, the voluntary association of the planning
^Regional Planning — Part IV — Baltimore-Washington- Annapolis Area, Maryland
State Planning Commission, November, 1937.
^Columbia Gorge Conservation and Development, Pacific Northwest Regional Planning
Commission, Columbia Gorge Committee, 1937.
PLANNING 227
agencies of the States and the Nation, and by interstate cooperation
commissions.
Broad planning for the Tennessee Valley, in several of the south-
eastern States, is a responsibility of the Tennessee Valley Authority, a
Federal corporate agency, which is also responsible for the construction,
maintenance and operation of dams. While a specific place for state
representatives is not provided in the organic structure of the Authority,
it has endeavored to fit its work into the existing pattern of local, state
and federal government, seeking the participation of other agencies
aflFected by a problem.
The Pacific Northwest Regional Planning Commission, of the second
type, is composed of the chairmen of the state planning boards of Wash-
ington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, and the regional chairman of the
National Resources Committee. The state planning enabling acts author-
ize, in general terms, such cooperative relationships. Other federal and
state agencies concerned, and various technical, civic and industrial
interests, are represented through advisory technical committees. The
New England organization is quite similar.
In some other regions of the United States, regional planning organi-
zation has been formed through the device of interstate cooperation
commissions such as the Interstate Commission on the Delaware Basin,
the Interstate Commission on the Ohio Basin, and the Interstate Com-
mission on the Red River of the North.
Although various organizational methods and arrangements are pos-
sible and desirable, there are certain elements considered essential in any
organization for this level of regional planning: The planning organi-
zation should be some kind of an association of the federal government
and the States; a joint body or, if a federal agency, one with definite
provision for state representation. The national planning agency and the
state planning agency should be represented. There should be provision
for suitable technical and advisory committees in the regional planning
agency to cover various functional fields and to provide for representa-
tion of agencies and interests concerned. There should be provision for
an integral or cooperative relationship to the board on the part of the
federal departments concerned with conservation and development.
There should be legislative and administrative recognition of the need of
participation in regional planning activities by the federal agencies re-
ferred to. There should be a permanent national resources planning
board, with authority to foster, assist and participate in regional plan-
ning activities and to coordinate regional planning between regions and
the federal government and between federal agencies.
Review of recent and current proposals for such planning would be
essential to a thorough consideration of the possible measures. Most
fundamental are the suggestions of the National Resources Committee
in its report on Regional Factors in National Planning.
228 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
The regionalism study emphasizes the fact that a single type of
regional organization is not recommended and that each solution should
be based upon the comprehensive view of the policies of all of the
governments in the area, the constitutional powers required, the inci-
dence of benefits and costs, the area in which the organization will
operate, and the functions to be performed.
The study of organization for regional planning and development by
the Pacific Northwest Regional Planning Commission recommends:
"Continuing regional planning activity and organization, through the
cooperation of state planning boards and federal officials in the area; a
separate federal corporate agency for the distribution of power from the
federal projects on the Columbia River." In addition, the Regional
Planning Commission recommended in this report the continuation of
construction or development activities under the agencies at present
responsible therefor, with a joint coordinating committee.
The report of the New England Regional Planning Commission^
stresses the importance of the establishment of a permanent advisory
national planning board.
The study of regional planning with respect to Alaska^ recommends
that any regional planning legislation adopted for the United States
should provide for individual consideration of an Alaska Region.
A comprehensive study of regional planning arrangements and legis-
lation would also require careful review of the proposals of various re-
gional planning and conservation bills of the present Congress and re-
ports of hearings on this proposed legislation.
CONCLUSIONS
Some tentative conclusions as to regional, district, or other areal
planning, and legislative needs in this connection, briefly summarized as
follows, are proposed for wider consideration and discussion:
1. Enlightened regionalism, with fundamental understanding of the nature
and position of the region, and with the application of scientific survey and
analysis, foresight, and cooperation to the solution of its problems, is essential
to regional, national and general human progress.
2. Regions, sub-regions, districts, and other land areas with a considerable
degree of geographic-economic-cultural cohesion and unity are logical units for
comprehensive and effective planning and development.
3. When the most suitable regional or district centers and general tributary
fields are discovered, continuous, over-all planning should be provided to guide
the public effort with respect to public works, conservation and development
of human and physical resources, and the solution of other common problems
which are important from the standpoint of locality. State or Nation.
4. There is no universal solution for the problem of de-limiting planning
areas or choosing the kind of legal machinery; individual analysis is required,
and organizational arrangements and legislation must vary somewhat with the
area, objectives, functions, and other conditions.
^Regional Planning, Part III, New England, National Resources Committee, July, 1936.
'Regional Planning, Part VII, Alaska, Its Resources and Development, National Re-
sources Committee, Alaska Resources Committee, December, 1937.
PLANNING 229
5. Some further general studies of conditions and needs with respect to
regional and district planning are desirable, for example :
a. It is suggested that consideration be given to a study, based upon or
amplifying the recent urbanism survey, covering specifically the nature
and problems of metropolitan districts, and, if practicable, developing a
series of suggestive organization principles and plans, and suggestive
model enabling acts for common or typical conditions.
b. It is also suggested that consideration be given to a re-opening of the
1935 study of regionalism, with the view of inclusion, in a supplemental
study and report, of a review and appraisal of activities in this field during
the past three years, and of existing and proposed organizational, ad-
ministrative and legislative arrangements.
6. Generally, existing organizational and legislative arrangements, including
appropriations, for district and regional planning are inadequate in relation
to the potential benefits to be derived.
7. There is a present indicated general need of legislative authorizations of
various kinds:
a. Municipal: Establishment of municipal planning commissions, with pro-
vision for their cooperative association with the planning bodies of other
municipalities, and of county, metropolitan, district. State, region and
Nation.
b. State:
(1) Blanket permission for establishment of regional planning bodies
composed of groups of county and other municipal planning boards and
the state planning agency;
(2) Special authority or appropriation for planning in vital regions;
(3) Provision for maximum practicable integration of various state
administrative districts;
(4) Provision for county and municipal consolidations;
(5) Blanket provision for association and cooperation of state, district
and municipal planning boards with planning boards of other States,
region and Nation;
(6) Provision for association of state and mimicipal planning boards
in interstate planning regions or districts;
(7) Provision for interstate compacts to cover planning and develop-
mental measures in important interstate regions or districts.
c. National:
(1) Establishment of continuous national and regional planning, and
a permanent national resources planning agency, with (among other
duties) authority to establish and manage, and participate and cooperate
in sub-national regional planning; promote and serve in interdepartmental
coordination in national and regional planning; aid, participate, and
cooperate in state, district and municipal planning as may be mutually
agreed; serve as central clearing house of planning interests, concerns,
and information.
(2) Provide for national and regional coordination, as may be desirable,
in design, construction and operation of related public works, improve-
ments and programs for conservation, development, rehabilitation and
secvu-ity.
(3) Provide for approval of arrangements for the negotiation and
consummation of interstate compacts for regional planning and develop-
ment purposes, and for federal participation in operations under such
agreements.
230 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Rural and Agricultural Zoning
COMMITTEE*
O. B. Jesness, Chairman, Chief of Division of Agricultural Economics,
Department of Agriculture, University of Minnesota.
J. M. Albers, Areal Planning Engineer, Wisconsin State Planning Board.
Ernest H. Wiecking, Assistant Coordinator of Land Use Planning, United
States Department of Agriculture.
REPORTER
Raymond F. Leonard, Planning Technician, National Resources Committee.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Earle S. Draper, Director, Department of Regiorud Planning Studies,
Tennessee Valley Authority.
M. M. Kelso, Chief, Land Economics Division, Bureau of Agricultural
Economics, United States Department of Agriculture.
W. A. Rowlands, District Extension Leader, University of Wisconsin.
RURAL zoning is an outgrowth of the employment of zoning to
regulate land use within incorporated municipalities. The move-
ment at first was an extension of municipal zoning into suburban areas
and to strip zoning along important highways. Later the zoning prin-
ciple was extended to purely rural areas and rural conditions. A brief
sketch of the development follows :
URBAN TYPE OF RURAL ZONING
San Francisco County in 1921 and Los Angeles County in 1925 and
1927 adopted "districting" plans.^ A comprehensive planning act
enabling all California counties to adopt zoning regulations was enacted
in 1927 and 1929. Wisconsin passed an urban county enabling act in
1923. In 1925 the legislature of Georgia, clear across the continent, pro-
posed a constitutional amendment — duly adopted the following year —
to permit the authorization of zoning in urban Fulton County. The year
1927 saw further county enabling acts designed to apply to suburban
conditions. In that year, enabling acts for Glynn, Chatham and Fulton
counties were added to the statute books of Georgia; an act applying to
counties with a population density of over 500 per square mile, in
Virginia; and an act laying the basis for zoning in the Washington
metropolitan area, in Maryland. In 1928, a statute authorizing zoning
*The committee acknowledges the helpful assistance of Herman Walker of the Bureau
of Agricultural Economics in the assembly of material for this report.
*See L. Deming Tilton, "The Districting Plan of Orange County, California," in
Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics, November, 1936; and H. R. Pomeroy,
"County Zoning under the California Planning Act," in Annals of the American Academy,
May, 1931.
PLANNING 231
adjacent to second-class cities was passed in Kentucky. Since then other
urban county enabling acts include: Illinois (1935), Maryland (ten
counties, 1935), Tennessee (Shelby County, 1935), Florida (Dade County
1937), and Georgia (Cobb, Richmond and DeKalb counties, 1937-38).
Parallel to this development has been the growth of zoning enabling
legislation for "towns" in the northeastern States (combined urban-rural
units of government) and for townships in a few of the middle States.
The beginning was made in 1925, when three States (Rhode Island, Con-
necticut, and New Hampshire) passed acts enabling "towns" to zone.
The development was rapid in this region; and by 1933 town enabling
acts were in force in all the New England States and New York. In
addition, a 1928 New Jersey statute had empowered townships to zone,
and Pennsylvania in 1931 authorized zoning in first-class townships. A
1937 law has extended the power in Pennsylvania to second-class town-
ships (thus completing the authorization for all townships in that State).
In 1929, moreover, the Michigan legislature enacted a township enabling
act. This authority was later withdrawn, in 1933, only to be restored
again in 1937 to certain townships (those with a population of 5,000
or over and those adjacent to cities having a population of 40,000 or
over).
RURAL TYPE OF ZONING
Wisconsin took the lead in passing legislation to apply zoning to
strictly rural conditions in the form of an amendment to the 1923 act
passed in 1929, under which counties are permitted to "regulate, restrict
and determine the areas within which agriculture, forestry and recreation
. . . may be conducted." Other States have followed suit. In 1933,
Michigan, by way of a revision to the pre-existing township act; in 1935,
Indiana and Washington, in their respective county planning acts; in
1937, Pennsylvania, Tennessee (the latter covering only the counties of
Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, Washington and Carter), and California
(amendment to the 1929 planning act) ; in 1937-38, Georgia authorized
zoning along highways (Glynn, Liberty, Chatham and Bryan counties
only); and, most recently — on April 1, 1938 — Virginia.^
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS OF THE LAWS
There is less uniformity in rural zoning acts than in the city acts.
A fairly complete enabling act will include the following main features :
(a) statement of purposes; (b) grant of power to local authorities; (c)
provision for a commission to make the investigations and formulations
prerequisite to rational zoning and to recommend the main lines of the
ordinance to be adopted by the governing authority; (d) provisions for
hearings; (e) board of appeals or adjustment; (f) enforcement; (g)
amendments.
iThese acts have typically been comprehensive in character, covering suburban as
well as distinctly rural situations.
232 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Grant of Power: The acts which are exclusively zoning in scope ordi-
narily set forth the grant of power in pointed and enumerative terms.
The Wisconsin act may be cited as an example. More frequently, the
acts do not limit the types of rural zones to agriculture, forestry and
recreation, as does the Wisconsin act; but allow also the establishment
of districts for "conservation," "grazing" and others. The Dade County
(Florida) act gives authority to regulate the uses of both "land and
water." What types of zones it is needed to permit, of course, depend
entirely on the situations with which the particular localities have to
deal; and probably in the States now having zoning laws, agricultural,
forestry and recreation zones may usually fill the bill, at least for the
time being.
A single statement is usually deemed to be sufficient to cover the
needed power; and the Michigan law is unique in containing three
separate grants, in as many sections, each one of which is phrased in
different terms. The first speaks of the "areas within which given forms
of land utilization shall be prohibited or encouraged," of the "use of land
for trade, industry, residence, recreation, agriculture, forestry, water
supply conservation," etc., etc., and of the "location of trades and in-
dustries and of buildings designed for specified uses"; the second, of the
height, etc., of buildings, the size of yards, and the "areas to be used for
agriculture, forestry and recreation"; and the third of the number of
families permitted to occupy dwellings.
Washington, California and Indiana provide for zoning in the course
of planning statutes. Here zoning is expressly conceived to be a device
for implementing particular portions of a master plan. In the Indiana
act, for example, the county board is authorized to adopt ordinances
recommended to it by the planning commission "for the purpose of carry-
ing out the master plan or any part thereof, including zoning and land
use regulations." As stated elsewhere in the act, the master plan in-
cludes, among other matters, recommendations concerning "the general
location and extent of existing and proposed forests, agricultiu-al areas
and other development areas for purposes of conservation, food and
water supply, sanitary and drainage facilities, or the protection of urban
and rural development; also a land utilization program, including the
general classification and allocation of land within the county amongst
mineral, agricultural, soil conservation, water conservation, forestry,
recreational, industrial, urbanization, housing and other uses and
purposes."
Purposes: The Pennsylvania act includes a particularly careful and
comprehensive statement of purposes which may be quoted as an illus-
tration: ". . . promoting the health, safety, morals, convenience,
order, prosperity or welfare of the present and future inhabitants of
the State of Pennsylvania, including, amongst other things, the lessening
of congestion in the streets or roads or reducing the waste of excessive
PLANNING 233
amounts of roads, securing safety from fire and other dangers, providing
adequate light and air, preventing on the one hand excessive concentra-
tion of population and on the other hand excessive and wasteful scatter-
ing of population or settlement, promoting such distribution of popula-
tion and such classification of land uses and distribution of land develop-
ment and utilization as will tend to facilitate and conserve adequate
provisions for transportation, water flowage, water supply, drainage,
sanitation, educational opportunities, recreation, soil, fertility, food
supply, protection of the tax base, securing economy in governmental
expenditures, fostering the State's agricultural and other industries, and
the protection of both urban and non-urban development."
Zoning commission: Provision ordinarily is made for a commission to
advise the governing authority as to the zoning ordinance to be adopted.
Where county planning commissions have been set up (as in Washington,
California and Indiana) they may serve this purpose. The membership
of zoning commissions frequently is partly ex officio, including the chair-
man of the county board, the county engineer or surveyor, or other
official. Zoning commissions usually are appointed by the local govern-
ing body In Tennessee, however, the governor designates a regional
planning commission; and the Michigan township act vests the appoin-
tive function in the local judges
Coordination: Provisions to bring about coordination of county pro-
grams may include permissive authority for setting up cooperative rela-
tionships among coimties. Some acts go further. Thus, Michigan re-
quires approval of the county ordinance by the state planning commis-
sion, while in Pennsylvania the recommendations of the county zoning
commission must be presented to the state planning board for comment
before going to the county board for final action.
Boards of adjustment: The acts commonly, though not always, provide
for boards of adjustment or appeal. Of the States now having county
zoning enabling acts, Wisconsin and California do not provide for such
boards. Urban zoning experience strongly suggests the advisability of
such boards to assure compliance with constitutional requirements.
Non-conforming uses: Some of the older rural county acts are silent
on the subject of non-conforming uses, contrary to the usual practice in
city enabling acts. The Wisconsin act provides that the lawful use of
buildings existing at the time of adoption of the ordinance may be con-
tinued, but "the alteration of, or addition to, any existing building or
structure for the purpose of carrying on any prohibited trade or new
industry within the district where such building or structure is located
may be prohibited." The Pennsylvania statute, however, makes the in-
teresting provision that the "board of county commissioners may in any
zoning ordinance provide for the termination of non-conforming uses,
either by specifying the period or periods in which non-conforming uses
shall be required to cease, or by providing a formula or formulae whereby
234 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CHflC ANNUAL
the compulsory termination of a non-conforming use may be so fixed as
to allow for the recovery or amortization of the investment in the non-
conformance." This provision has been followed also in the legislation
applying to the coastal counties of Georgia. The problem is taken care
of in the Virginia act by a provision that the discontinuance of a non-
conforming use entails the immediate loss of the right to non-conformance.
Enforcement: Typically, though not always, violation of the zoning
ordinance is made punishable as a misdemeanor, and, further, the author-
ities are empowered to bring court action to enjoin or abate violating
uses. The Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Georgia coastal county acts,
moreover, also permit real estate owners within the zone (and the Ten-
nessee act, adjacent landowners) to bring similar action. Where the law
does not specifically lay down sanctions for enforcement, of course,
zoning is likely to be nugatory.
Two States, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (the latter by a 1935 amend-
ment to its existent enabling act), provide for the drawing up of lists of
non-conforming users — as a very material aid to enforcement processes.
The Virginia act authorizes the appointment of an "administrative
oflBcer" to enforce enacted regulations; and under the Tennessee acts, a
"building commissioner" may be designated, with authority over the
issuance of building permits.
Referenda: A few of the acts provide for referenda of one kind or
other. That of the Michigan county act is of the familiar local option
type: that is, the vote is upon the question whether the enabling act
itself shall become operative within the county — whether the county
authorities shall be privileged to utilize the zoning powers therein
specified. In the township act of the same State, the referendum comes
at another stage in the procedure : upon the question whether a particular
ordinance shall become effective. And there the question is determined
by the vote of the people within the area proposed to be constituted a
restricted district, rather than by the electors of the entire township.
Similarly, the DeKalb-Richmond County (Georgia) urban-type act
requires the consent of a majority of the landowners within the district
affected. Finally, the Pennsylvania second-class township act stipulates
that zoning powers may not be exercised if persons owning a majority
of the total property valuation within the township file written protest.
A different type of provision, but somewhat similar in principle, is
that of the Wisconsin act, limiting the application of any county or-
dinance to the towns (townships) whose governing boards shall have
given approval.
SOIL CONSERVATION LAWS
During the past year and a half, 25 States have enacted statutes
modeled upon the "Standard State Soil Conservation District Law."
The soil conservation district is another promising social instrument
PLANNING
235
directed at democratic control of destructive soil erosion by wind or
water. The powers of the district include the formulation and enforce-
ment of conservational land-use regulations on a differential areal basis,
and thus in some degree embody the rural zoning principle. The extent
to which the full objective of rural zoning — direction of occupancy and
major uses of land — can be achieved through the soil conservation dis-
trict remains to be determined by experience. In areas where soil erosion
is a minor problem, as in the forest areas of the northern lake States, for
example, rural zoning appears to occupy a position which the soil con-
servation district can hardly fill. In other situations, a combination of
the principles of rural zoning and of the soil conservation district appears
highly desirable. In any case, a thorough analysis is needed of the place,
possibilities and hmitations of the soil conservation district in relation
to the purposes and objectives of rural zoning.
RURAL ZONING IN WISCONSIN
Wisconsin has engaged in rural zoning much more extensively than
any other State and a summary of progress in that State therefore is
included. Milwaukee County adopted a county zoning ordinance in
1927, under the law then in force. Later the law was broadened to pro-
vide for county zoning generally. Oneida County adopted an ordinance
in May, 1933. A total of 24 counties in northern Wisconsin have now
adopted such ordinances. These are counties in which there is consider-
able undeveloped cut-over land, and zoning was adopted largely to
eliminate the excessive costs of roads and schools resulting from addi-
tional isolated settlement.
The zoned counties are, in the order in which the ordinances were
adopted, as follows:
County
Milwaukee .
Date of Adoption
. Oct. 25, 1927
Oneida May 16, 1933
Vilas Nov. 16, 1933
Langlade .... Jan. 24, 1934
Iron Mar. 8, 1934
Marinette .... Mar. 21, 1934
Eau Claire .... May 12, 1934
Sawyer June 18, 1934
Douglas June 21, 1934
Oconto Sept. 13, 1934
Ashland Nov. 14, 1934
Bayfield Nov. 14, 1934
Clark Nov. 14, 1934
Forest Nov. 14, 1934
Lincoln Dec. 5, 1934
Washburn .... Dec. 20, 1934
Wood Dec. 22, 1934
Districts
"A" & "B" Residence; Local Business;
Agric. ; Commercial & Light manuf . ;
Heavy industrial; Unrestricted
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Forestry & Recreation
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
Unrestricted
236
AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
County
Date of Adoption
Price Jan. 24, 1935 .
Rusk May 4, 1935 .
Florence June 28, 1935 .
Monroe Nov. 12, 1935 .
Chippewa .... Jan. 18, 1936 .
Jackson Jan. 29, 1936 .
Burnett Feb. 6, 1936 .
Taylor Sept. 16, 1937 .
Districts
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
. Forestry & Recreation; Unrestricted
It will be noted that two types of ordinances exist in these northern
counties, some having a combined "Forestry and Recreational" district
and an "Unrestricted" district, and others having separate districts for
"Forestry," "Recreation" and an "Unrestricted" district.
In the first case, the "Forestry and Recreational" district permits
the following uses:
1. Production of forest products.
2. Forest industries.
3. Public and private parks, playgrounds, camp grounds, golf grounds.
4. Recreational camps and resorts.
5. Private summer cottages and service buildings.
6. Hunting and fishing cabins.
7. Trapper's cabins.
8. Boat liveries.
9. Mines, quarries and gravel pits.
10. Hydro-electric dams, power plants, flowage areas, transmission lines and
substations.
11. Telephone and telegraph line rights-of-way.
12. Harvesting of any wild crop such as marsh hay, ferns, moss, berries or
tree fruits and seeds.
(This district excludes the use of land for "family dwellings.")
The unrestricted district in this type of ordinance permits any use
not in conflict with the law.
The second type of ordinance provides for separate districts for for-
estry and recreation. The "Forestry" district in this type of ordinance
is substantially the same as the forestry and recreational district in the
first type mentioned, but the second district, that is, the "Recreational"
district, permits the use of land for any purposes allowed in the forestry
district and further permits "family dwellings," that is year-round
residence.
It will be noted that the county zoning now in force includes extremes
from the highly urbanized to the strictly rural. Milwaukee County is
densely occupied and decidedly urban in character. The 24 northern
counties are substantially all cut-over land and might be considered as
being at the bottom of the scale of the rural type of county. Between
these extremes in Wisconsin there are some 40 counties whose develop-
ment is generally of a high type of agriculture and in some cases is
highly urbanized. There is at present considerable zoning activity in
PLANNING 237
southeastern Wisconsin in this middle type of county. This illustrates
that rural zoning may be useful rather generally.
Studies made by the Wisconsin State Planning Board in the unzoned
agricultural counties, particularly those with a degree of urbanization,
show that the most pressing problems are as follows:
1. To plan and regulate the areas immediately adjacent to cities.
2. To make adequate provision for future streets and highways through a
comprehensive system of setback lines. This includes the control of abutting
land uses.
3. To eliminate unsightly and dangerous roadside development and to
reduce as far as practicable the exits and entrances to the highways.
4. The segregation of the commercial and industrial uses and their future
location in areas selected and planned for that purpose.
5. To establish standard of safety, sanitation and the location of tourist
camps.
6. To set up and enforce minimum standards of land subdivision.
7. To protect the investment in residential and summer home developments
in the rural areas.
8. To provide for, protect and develop adequate recreational areas.
9. To conserve and protect the water resources.
10. To control soil erosion.
11. To reforest denuded areas not suitable for agricultm-e, including the pro-
tection of headwaters of streams and of inland lakes.
Zoning ordinances have been approved by the county boards of
Jeflferson and Walworth for submission to the town boards for their ap-
proval. Tentative zoning ordinances have been submitted to the county
park commissions of Kenosha, Rock, and Dane counties and there has
been some preliminary discussion in Racine. Recently preliminary steps
have been taken to begin work in Waukesha County.
The ordinance approved by the Walworth Coimty Board illustrates
how an ordinance may be drafted to fit a particular situation. Here is a
large summer resort development, in fact the summer population is
greater than the permanent rural population of the county. The ordi-
nance, therefore, contains two residence districts completely surrounding
those inland lakes which are at present most highly developed or in
line for development. The district around Lake Geneva restricts the land
to strictly single-family use at a density of 2 families per acre. Around
the remaining lakes, the use again is strictly single family at a density of
5 families per acre. In addition to this, the regulations propose the
establishment of some 21 rural business districts and the remainder of
the county is in an agricultural district. The proposal is that all future
business will be located in the commercial districts. This will mean the
gradual elimination of promiscuous business locations up and down
the highways.
The land subdivision regulations in the Agricultural and Commercial
districts are the same as the "B" residence district, that is, five families
per acre.
238 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In addition to the land-use regulations, there is set up a comprehen-
sive system of highway setback lines in two classes. Class A, which
embraces the principal highways, has a setback line established 100 feet
from the center line of the highway and all others are established at
75 feet from the. center line.
Outdoor advertising structures are prohibited in all districts except
the commercial districts. Due to the temporary character of these struc-
tures, they are not subject to the setback line regulations.
The Jefferson County ordinance is somewhat different from that of
Walworth County in that no local business districts are established. The
agricultural district is substantially the same as Walworth County.
Along the Rock River and its branches and around the summer resort
lakes, there have been set up "Conservancy" districts which are strictly
single-family residences such as the "B" residence district in Walworth
County. Here again a comprehensive system of setback lines is estab-
lished which is coordinated with that of Walworth County. The Jefferson
County ordinance also contains a "Forestry" district which is designed
to encourage the reforestation of such land as is contained in the so-called
"Kettle Moraine" in the southwestern part of the county. This is an
area of steep, gravelly hills of practically no agricultural value but of a
high recreational and forestry value.
Public hearings in the towns have just been begun in Jefferson County
and to date, that is May 6, seven towns have approved the ordinance
and two have not yet definitely acted. The remaining towns are still to
be heard from.
The earliest ordinance in the group of northern counties was adopted
in May, 1933, and during the course of five years the other 23 followed
in fairly rapid progression. The effect has been exactly what was in-
tended when their adoption was originally promoted, that is, high-cost
schools are being closed, removal of isolated settlers facilitated and sub-
marginal land is being closed to agricultural use and legal residence.
This has been effective to the extent that substantially five million acres
of such land have been so retired.
Progress in zoning of the southern counties has not been as rapid as it
was in the North, for the simple reason that the existing problem is less
acute as well as more complex. There are more individuals to deal with
and zoning, as such, is confronted with many more factors than existed
in the planning of cut-over lands. Experience in the southern counties
indicates that the most successful procedure appears to be. along the lines
of a rather simple instrimaent drafted for the purpose of accomplishing
certain obvious objectives. It is proposed to put such ordinances in
effect, to encourage and aid in their careful and accurate administration,
to keep the best possible record of the results obtained and, by so doing,
to educate the citizenry, through demonstration, so that they themselves
wiU demand the full measure of comprehensive planning. That such a
PLANNING 239
program as this is desirable is borne out by the experience in the town
hearings in Jefferson County. The Wisconsin State Planning Board finds
that people are in a receptive mood when regulations are proposed to
control undesirable conditions which they themselves readily recognize.
There are some who are quite skeptical of any activity whose newness is
as great as is this one and while these are perfectly willing to support
the principle, they are decidedly hesitant to accept the fact. However,
this hesitancy is not, by any means, of a degree which might be called
resistant. We find the people in a receptive mood but cautious in their
action. It may be that the Wisconsin statute which places the accep-
tance or rejection of planning proposals directly in the hands of the
people is having some effect.
PROBLEMS IN A ZONING PROGRAM
Rural zoning has met with much favor in Wisconsin. While, as indi-
cated earlier, a start has been made on zoning programs in several other
States, the progress has not been very rapid. A brief review of some
factors which may account for this may be in order.
The extension of rural zoning is dependent upon the more general
enactment of suitable enabling acts to provide authority for such a pro-
gram. One reason why relatively few States have taken this step is that
of a lack of understanding of the problem. Present-day legislatures are
confronted with a host of matters clamoring for attention with limited
time available for their consideration. Under such circumstances, the
prospects of enactment of any given proposal tend to be in direct rela-
tionship to pressure brought to bear for its favorable consideration.
Until the place of rural zoning is understood to the point where the de-
mand for needed enabling acts is recognized more generally, progress
may be expected to be rather slow.
A program such as zoning which appears as an interference with
private affairs tends to be looked upon with suspicion unless its purpose
and methods are understood. Zoning is designed to direct land into the
most suitable uses, not to set up unnecessary or unwarranted restrictions.
The progress in Wisconsin undoubtedly has been made possible in large
measure by the educational work carried on by the College of Agriculture
and other agencies which has developed a wide-spread understanding of
the purposes and possibilities of zoning. Extension of the idea into other
areas depends in no small degree upon the amount and quality of educa-
tional effort which is devoted to the subject. Such education in order
to be effective must be carried on by persons who are conversant with
the problems and know how to present the subject to rural people. Zon-
ing will not progress merely as an abstruse desideratum for national wel-
fare. Its material benefits to the people of a particular county or locality
must be made clear. At the same time, education must avoid overselling
the idea.
240 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Along with the necessity of education is the desirability of providing
technical assistance to local people in developing plans for zoning and
in drawing up an ordinance for their consideration.
Possibilities of effecting specific savings in public outlays for roads,
schools and other services when understood supply an incentive for the
adoption of zoning. In Wisconsin, the fact that the counties take title to
the tax-reverted land and that the forest-crop law encourages the de-
velopment of county forests probably is of no little significance in the
zoning movement in that State,
The longer-run success of rural zoning will depend in no small measure
on enforcement. Unless the restrictions provided by ordinances are
enforced, zoning will lose much of its effectiveness. Here again education
and understanding are of paramount importance.
SUPPLEMENTARY AND COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES
Zoning in and of itself does not constitute a complete land-use pro-
gram. It needs to be supported by other programs and policies. For
instance, state aids for local services such as schools and roads should be
applied in such a way as to foster and support good land use. Zoning
after all is designed to prevent future mistakes in land use. As it is not
retroactive, it cannot by itself correct mistakes of the past. Suitable
purchase programs to retire unsuited land from agricultural use have a
place. The same applies to aid in the relocation of settlers now on non-
agricultural land or in isolated locations. Exchange of land may be
employed to this end in some cases. The cooperative grazing association
appears to offer real advantage in some situations, especially if supple-
mented by rural zoning. Laws relating to tax delinquency often need
revision in order to supply clear title to such land. Policies of disposition
of reverting land should be designed to retain in public ownership land
which is not suited for successful private development. Competent
classification of reverted land is basic to a satisfactory program of its
disposal. Adjustments in taxation may have a place in improved land
use. Credit policies which are more discriminating with respect to the
suitability of the land for different uses also may be made helpful.
Administration of relief also should bear in mind the requirements of
good land use. If returns are to be obtained from the land which under
zoning is restricted to forestry, recreation, grazing or similar uses,
adequate plans for the utilization of land for such purposes both publicly
and privately are essential.
It is now nearly a decade since Wisconsin adopted the first distinctly
rural zoning enabling act. Including Wisconsin, nine States have now
adopted similar measures. In a number of other States, rural zoning is
being given active consideration.
Rural zoning has demonstrated its effectiveness as a thoroughly
democratic tool of great value. It is a promising social instrument.
PLANNING 241
Urban Land Policies
COMMITTEE
Hahold S, Buttenheim, Chairman, Editor of The American City Magazine.
Philip H. Cornick, Consultant on Suburban Development, Institute of Public
Administration.
S. R. DeBoer, Planning ConsuUarU.
REPORTER
John Nolen, Jr., Director of Planning, National Capital Park and Plan-
ning Commission.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Russell V. Black, Director, New Jersey State Planning Board.
Myron D. Downs, Engineer-Secretary, City Planning Commission, Cincin-
nati, Ohio.
Wayne D. Heydecker, Director of State Planning, Division of State Plan-
ning, New York.
Albert W. Noonan, Director, National Association of Assessing Officers.
C. B. Whitnall, Member, Wisconsin State Planning Board.
LAND RESERVES FOR AMERICAN CITIES
HAROLD S. BUTTENHEIM and PHILIP H. CORNICK
Editor's Note. — The following is an authorized summary of this report, as it appeared
in the American City magazine for July, 1938. Much of this paper is based on the as-yet
unpublished report to the National Resources Committee of its sub-committee on "Land
Policies for Rational Urban Development," and on the report on "Prematiu-e Subdivision
and Its Consequences," recently published by the New York State Planning Council.
A more comprehensive presentation of this subject of Municipal Land Reserves appeared
in the August issue of the Journal of Land and Public Utility Economics.
WHILE American cities have as yet done little to add to their
land-holdings for other than immediate public needs, the expe-
rience of numerous European cities has demonstrated the wisdom of
public land reserves. The acquisition of public land for housing pur-
poses is reported from cities in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France,
Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Spain,
Sweden and Switzerland. Russia is, of course, the outstanding example
of public land ownership, but more years must elapse before the Russian
experiment can be properly evaluated.
Many municipalities in Scandinavian and Germanic countries have
long held considerable amounts of land, some of it handed down from
medieval times. In some countries this has been augmented by large
grants from forests and estates of the national domain. In Finland,
for instance, the State, up until the nineteenth century, gave land for
founding towns, usually on condition that the full property rights should
not be given to private individuals. Although this provision was modified
late in the nineteenth century, towns still own practically all the land
within their boundaries. By 1926, the total area of building sites sold by
242 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
all Finnish municipalities amounted to only 3.5 per cent of the com-
bined areas of all the towns. Helsingfors, with an area of 6,300 acres,
owns 13,000 acres of land, much of it outside city limits.
From the end of the nineteenth century, municipalities in Finland,
Norway, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria
have pursued a systematic policy of steadily increasing their land-
holdings both within and outside the city limits. Since 1904, the land
acquisitions of Stockholm, mainly for housing purposes, have amounted
to over 20,000 acres, or five times the area of the original city. The five
next largest Swedish cities own from 47 per cent to 80 per cent of their
administrative areas. Copenhagen owns over one-third of the total
area within its limits available for building. Oslo owns a suburb that is
twice the area of the city. The Hague possesses 4,408 acres, or 45 per cent
of the city area. Zurich owns 5,621 acres, half of which is within the city.
Vienna owns more than 15,000 acres, exclusive of streets, or more
than one-fourth of its area. Exclusive of streets and railways, Berlin
has a municipal domain of over 75,000 acres within its limits, embracing
more than a third of its area, and owns another 75,000 acres of forest and
agricultural land outside the city proper. Most German cities own
considerable tracts outside their limits, frequently larger than their
holdings in the city proper. In addition to land for public buildings, parks
and other uses common in American cities, German municipalities own
extensive forests and agricultural estates managed either by the city or
leased to private operators. In many cities, particularly since the war,
much housing has been built on land leased or sold from the public
domain.
All German cities over 50,000 in population own, on an average, 23.6
per cent of their municipal territory, excluding streets, railways and land
used for sewage disposal and similar services. The average distribution
by specified uses of this 23.6 per cent of urban land in 1933-34 was:
Use Per Cent
Forests 39.9
Agriculture 39.9
Vacant property 5.6
Parks and gardens 4.8
Buildings . 4.6
Miscellaneous 5.2
100.0
In European cities public land ownership has resulted in considerably
lower land costs for a variety of projects. In the case of Wythenshawe,
the city of Manchester, England, acquired 3,710 out of the 5,567 acres at
agricultural value before any building was started. The estimated saving
of some $5,000,000 will result in considerably lower rents or smaller
public subsidy. In Stockholm the city was able to counteract threatened
inflation of land prices. In Copenhagen, land speculation was effectively
PLANNING 243
controlled during and after the war by the municipality's selling its
own land at low prices and also by extending other government aid to
housing conditional on low land prices.
GREENBELTS AND GREEN WEDGES
The folly of allowing further unrestricted expansion and disorderly
sprawling of cities into rural areas, turning green fields and forests into
dreary city streets and making the countryside inaccessible to the poorer
inhabitants of the interior districts, is gaining increasing recognition
both in America and in Europe. The greenbelt idea rests on the prop-
osition that solidly built-up cities can be too large, that definite limits of
expansion must be assigned, and that further growth in the region must
take place in outer satellite communities separated from the central city
and from each other by wide green spaces. This method of city growth
is to be effected by the acquisition of a wide band of unbuilt land sur-
rounding the city from which close building development is permanently
banned.
A greenbelt not only limits the size of a community to a desirable
maximum, but protects it from inharmonious encroachments. The
greenbelt also provides much-needed breathing space to congested m-ban
areas — a place where the smoke, dirt and grime of the city are dissipated
and the oxygen content of the air renewed. In the greenbelt might be
located playing fields, golf courses, lakes for boating and swimming,
allotment gardens, larger farms, meadows and forests. The beauties and
advantages of the countryside would be preserved on the very doorstep
of the city.
Either in combination with greenbelts or alone, consideration should
be given to the establishment of green wedges that would be gradually
driven in farther and farther toward the heart of the city by acquiring
land at their points. Such wedges would not only provide breathing
space and recreational areas, but would serve as corridors leading out
to the open country and as barriers between different parts of the city.
The municipal forests that reach right into the heart of such German
cities as Hanover, and many of the parkway developments in this
country, such as the Westchester County Parkways in New York or
Rock Creek Park in Washington, are good examples of green wedges.
Greenbelts are an integral part of the English garden cities. Letch-
worth and Welwyn, and of the new "greenbelt towns" of the Resettle-
ment Administration in this country. Partial greenbelts or agricultural
belts are found in many other planned developments in Europe.
MEANS FOR ACQUIRING LAND RESERVES
On the basis of the experience of European cities with extensive land-
holdings available for general purposes, and of a small handful of Ameri-
can cities with lands suitable only for specialized purposes such as docks,
244 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
a strong case can be made for the acquisition by the municipaHties in
this country of land reserves suitable for other than street and park
purposes. One large question is: How can such lands be acquired?
The Federal and state governments have no holdings of urban lands
which could be granted to the cities. That fact at once removes the
possibility of building up future municipal land reserves in this country
from the chief sources of such reserves in the past.
Proposals have been recently made that the Federal Government
should give grants-in-aid to municipalities to purchase land for housing
purposes. Parallel proposals for relaxing the constitutional restrictions
on the powers of state governments, with a view to permitting them to
make loans and grants to municipalities for the purpose of acquiring and
developing lands for low-cost housing are under consideration in several
States. Some students of the financial history of state governments
show a tendency to doubt both the wisdom and the effectiveness of these
proposals. They point out that the existing limitations on the powers of
state governments to incur debts, and on the purposes for which moneys
may be appropriated, grew out of the extravagant exercise by the States
of their previously unlimited powers to borrow and expend money for
purposes which in their day were considered not only "public" in
character, but essential to the development of the local governments.
It is in recognition of these facts that a third proposal has developed
its ardent advocates. Under this plan, the limitations now imposed on
the rights of municipalities to borrow, and on the purposes to which they
may apply the proceeds of their bond sales, are to be modified, in order
to permit them to acquire and develop lands for municipal housing proj-
ects. The fact that, when all local expenditures are taken into account,
very few cities have been able to expand their revenues sufficiently to
obviate the necessity for borrowing in order to meet recurrent annual
expenditures of a non-capital nature, casts doubts on the adequacy of
this plan of financing the acquisition of municipal land reserves.
Municipalities are not, however, wholly and forever debarred from
acquiring lands suitable for general purposes, and from holding them as
a reserve until the need for their use arises. In fact, without intending
it, a large number of municipalities have already bought extensive hold-
ings of lands within and near their borders, and have paid for them in
full out of current revenues during a number of years past. All that re-
mains is for them to take title. Since the holdings were acquired un-
intentionally and therefore planlessly, they are heterogeneous in char-
acter, and dispersed in location. Even after cities take title, some time
must elapse before they can ascertain the uses to which the lands are
adapted, and before they can take the necessary steps to consolidate
their holdings by exchanges with the private holders whose lands now
lie interspersed with the lands which already constitute a public land
reserve in fact if not in name.
PLANNING 245
A NEW YORK STATE STUDY OF PREMATURE
SUBDIVISIONS AND TAX DELINQUENCY
A report by Philip H. Cornick issued in 1938 by the New York State
Planning Council, which presented information on the central cities and
on certain of their suburbs in the four largest metropolitan districts of
the State, corroborated the findings of the pioneers in the field.
The areas subjected to scrutiny included 8 cities, 50 villages, and 62
towns, ranging in population from New York City with almost 7,000,000
inhabitants to the remote town of Poundridge with only 602. Except for
a few compactly built villages, excessive subdivision was evident in all,
but had been carried to greatest extremes in the suburban towns adjacent
or in close proximity, to the central cities of the four regions.
Another section of the study dealt with the arrears of taxes and
special assessments in 5 cities and 47 towns. More than half of the
292,901 vacant lots were found to be in arrears — 162,972, to be exact.
The total unpaid taxes and special assessments, exclusive of penalties,
in the 52 cities and towns, amounted to $34,567,307, of which the vacant
lots were responsible for slightly more than two-thirds.
With respect to duration of arrears, a sample of 100,506 parcels of
vacant land, lying in 3 cities and 25 towns, was distributed by year of
first delinquency. It developed that 62,501 of these vacant lots had
already appeared on the tax lien registers in 1931 ; 18,863, as long ago as
1926. The problem revealed by the analysis of arrears is not a new one,
but had been growing up unobserved for decades. This fact is further
demonstrated by isolated, old subdivisions lying in outlying towns in
which every lot has remained vacant since the year of the subdivision,
and in which every lot has been in arrears for between 30 and 40 years.
In the great majority of the areas studied in New York, the law pro-
vides that the liens for unpaid taxes shall be offered for sale at public
auction. That practice had been followed in all the sections included in
the study, but very few liens on vacant lots and lands proved salable.
They remained in possession of the city, town, or county, depending on
the provisions of the general or special laws in force in the area. The liens
remained unsalable partly because the lands themselves had little value
for urban uses; partly also because of the time and money required for
the foreclosure of the liens. The same obstacle long stood in the way of
foreclosure by the governmental agencies which held the unsalable liens.
None of these local governments has yet realized the advantages of
holding these lands in reserve. Each is trying to sell them, allowing the
purchasers to pick and choose more or less at random among the public
holdings. Evidence is accumulating, however, that the excessive num-
ber of lots involved will be no more readily salable as lots by the local
governments involved than they proved to be in the hands of the former
owners; and that replanning and replatting must precede any successful
246 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
program for putting the lands to use, whether in pubUc or in private
hands. WTien those facts shall have been demonstrated by experience, it
is to be hoped that the planners may succeed in guiding the local govern-
ments to a realization of the wisdom of withholding selected areas not
only from sale, but also from dedication to permanent park and recrea-
tional uses.
Much remains to be done before the local governments can acquire
valid title to all the vacant lands for which they have been paying the
price throughout many years. With all the progress that has been made,
foreclosure costs remain disproportionately high when the values of the
more poorly located lands involved are taken into account. A carefully
drafted bill designed to reduce these costs to a minimum was introduced
in the Legislature of New York at the last session, but failed of passage.
The caliber of the committee which drafted it is such as to commend the
bill to municipalities in other States which are confronted by analogous
problems.
Whenever foreclosure costs can be reduced, municipalities in State
after State will be in position to take title to extensive land-holdings —
holdings which in fact they have already bought and paid for.
THE BEARING OF ZONING AND PLANNING PROCEDURES
Zoning boards and planning commissions had been established in
most of the urban and suburban municipalities of New York for which
the study was made. They had certainly done little to guide or check
the madness which led to the waste of public and private funds in the
premature subdivision of rural lands for urban purposes. There is even
some ground for the belief that the wide-spread tendency to overzone
helped to accentuate the madness.
When all the outlying lands within our city limits and for miles and
miles beyond their boundaries are zoned for uses to which they cannot
possibly be adapted, we are courting disaster. Worse still, we are de-
priving the existing uses of the protection to which they are entitled, and
without which many of them must disappear; and we are providing
bait for suckers to be used by shoestring promoters of so-called home
developments on which no real home can ever exist.
In order to stabilize values in such areas, and to protect existing uses
against incompatible and destructive intrusions, we shall have to learn
that zoning of the conventional urban type is wholly inadequate in many
suburban and rural areas, whether those areas exist inside or outside the
city limits. In order that such areas may have the benefits of zoning, we
shall have to learn how to bridge the existing gap between the most
intensive use for which provision is made in the rural zoning ordinances
of Wisconsin, and the least intensive use characteristic of developed ur-
ban centers. The problem is how to provide for the many, varied, and
indispensable uses which lie between the two extremes.
PLANNING 247
THE PLACE OF TAXATION IN THE PROBLEM
Only philanthropists — and few of them — will undertake operations for
low -rent housing when they know in advance that increased taxes on the
property must be deducted from the rigid gross rents before any alloca-
tions can be made to operation and maintenance, or to the fixed charges
on invested capital. In short, we subsidize those who maintain slum
dwellings and penalize those who would replace them. As long as we
persist in maintaining this absurdity in our existing tax system, we shall
make little progress in clearing our slums beyond the extent to which
the Federal or state government take over the task or provide subsidies
suflBcient to offset the effects of the penalties imposed on the private
builders who might otherwise attack the problem as a business venture.
It is possible to devise a system of local property taxes which would
decrease costs of construction, and of operation and maintenance, and
thereby increase industrial activity, employment and the effective level
of wages. By progressively lowering the rate of taxation on buildings
and increasing the tax rate on land, such a system would decrease the
tax burden on home owners and on tenants of low-rent housing projects
and would advance the public welfare through properly penalizing those
who would hold desirable land out of use in order to speculate on the
chances for sale at a profit when more intensive uses become possible. It
would thus become an effective weapon against the forces which today
make it almost impossible to obtain public acceptance of a zoning or-
dinance which does not set aside for business, for multi-family residen-
tial uses, and for single-family uses, larger areas than can ever be used for
those purposes; and which enable holders to maintain the prices of un-
used or partially used lands in each zone at levels so far above capitalized
earning power that the adequate development of the lands becomes eco-
nomically impossible.
ZONING*
S. R. DEBOER
Nearly twenty-five years have passed since the first American cities
began to regulate their building processes by zoning. It was a great
step forward in the matter of more orderly city building. There was a
great deal of argument in regard to the legality of zoning, and in most
cases the ordinances actually passed were a compromise between the
interests of real estate holders and the city. The efficacy of the work,
however, is apparent today, and perhaps is nowhere more evident than in
the areas outside of the limits of zoned cities. A comparison between
these outer and unzoned districts and the regulated growth inside the
city limits is the most convincing argument for zoning.
*Mr. DeBoer does not disagree with the report of Messrs. Buttenheim and Cornick
but since his approach to the subject has been from the standpoint of correction of present-
day zoning regulations, he is submitting a minority report.
248 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In the light of nearly two decades of experience, it is well to review
the effect of zoning on the various units of the city plan. The principles
underlying the zoning work were a desire for more sunlight and air;
greater protection against smoke, noise, dust, and other city annoyances;
better regulation of traffic and of utility lines; prevention of crowding;
and in general, a more orderly growth. It is reasonable to expect that
after two decades of zoning, new thoughts would occur which would re-
quire a broadening of the regulations and also that the matters which
had to be compromised in the early ordinances would by now show their
effect. We shall take the zoning rules by their usual districts and briefly
review some shortcomings.
Business Districts: The original proposals for zoning were based on
building height studies in New York and Chicago. In these studies the
influence of one tall building on the surrounding property was clearly
indicated. Shadows were measured and calculations made in regard to
the amount of sunlight which would reach offices. In spite of the fact that
the studies indicated that more light and air were badly needed, the influ-
ence of the zoning ordinance in this respect has been largely on the
upper stories where the set-backs amounted to enough to create open
space. In the lower stories the effect of zoning in regard to more light and
air has been very small.
This result might have been expected because the business districts
of our cities were largely established when zoning ordinances were
passed. Land values were such that it became an injustice not to allow
the builder of a new office building to make the use of the land area in a
similar way as the existing buildings. From the standpoint of the lower
six to ten stories of office buildings, the zoning ordinances might have
been non-existent.
It is now generally felt that cities have set aside far too much area
for business purposes. This was bound to happen because the process
of zoning in a democracy requires the approval of the property affected,
or at least a sufficient majority of it. Since in most places the highest
value of real estate is represented by the commercial area, it was logical
that many property owners insisted on that higher financial use rather
than on other uses. The interest of the city as a whole had to be more or
less submerged to meet the interest of individuals. As a result of the
over-zoning of commercial areas we now have a condition where the
amount of business property is so great that it affects the values of all
business property. Downtown districts, especially, are affected by the
great amoxmt of business frontage which has been set aside along major
traffic arteries.
Zoning has had no material influence on the appearance of our busi-
ness districts. It did not intend to promote esthetic values, and none has
occurred with the exception perhaps of the skylines created by the set-
back type of buildings.
PLANNING 249
Apartment House Districts: As we examine the zoning ordinances in
regard to apartment houses, we find that the intention of creating more
sunHght and air has been theoretical rather than actual. Side yards in
apartment house districts run from three feet to one-eighth the height of a
building. The open space between two buildings is hardly ever more
than ten feet. Front yards often are not required, and then often are not
more than eight or ten feet. Lot coverage is frequently as high as 80
per cent.
Housing experts lay down the following requirements for modern
apartments: They must have cross-ventilation, sunlight, quiet, a pleas-
ant outlook, adequate privacy, children's play space adjacent, and all of
this must be available at a price which citizens of average income or be-
low can afford. If we check these ideals against present-day zoning, we
find that very few apartment houses have cross- ventilation. Sunlight is
excluded from most apartments. Street noises reach up to the lower
floors, smoke and soot also invade the lower stories. A pleasant outlook
is rare, as well as expensive, and playground facilities are usually less
available in the densely populated apartment house districts than they
are in the fancy open residential districts.
Density of population in the apartment house zone has been somewhat
regulated, but the maximum densities allowed by zoning ordinances are
far beyond what is considered good housing.
Zoning has definitely emphasized horizontal building. The average
apartment house is only 23^ stories high and occupies most of the site.
This means that a great percentage of apartment house dwellers live in
the lower strata of city atmosphere, where smoke and soot and dust as
well as noise and commotion are the worst and play space impossible.
With present-day facilities there is no reason why apartment houses
should not be built higher and given cheap elevator service. More ground
space which can be used for playground work and beautification would
result, as well as better air and light, and chances for cross-ventilation
for all rooms.
Single Family Districts: The effect of zoning has been felt perhaps
more in the single family district than elsewhere, and our cities may well
be proud of the large number of single family homes they have. Cheap
transportation and cheap real estate have been a factor in this as well
as zoning, but the fact remains that without protection most of our
attractive residential districts would have been despoiled during the last
two decades.
In some cities the restrictions for these districts have been rather too
complicated and not enough emphasis given to open ground space, elim-
ination of non-conforming uses, and proper relation to traffic arteries.
The future will demand that these areas be kept as free as possible from
the annoyance of traffic. New types of subdivision designs are already
based on this demand, and zoning regulations should be made to meet it.
250 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Industrial Districts: The industrial district is very largely an unre-
stricted one in our zoning ordinances. As the result of that it has become
the place where very cheap buildings of a temporary nature are being
erected by many of the transient residents of the city. So far cities have
found no solution for this problem and the influence of the zoning ordi-
nance in regard to these has been non-existent. If a special residential
district could be created for temporary shacks, it would be well to pro-
hibit the use of the industrial area for residential purposes.
Housing Projects: The inadequacy of present zoning ordinances is
perhaps most conspicuous in the matter of slums and proposed housing
projects. The influence on slums as such has been negligible if at all ex-
istent. Perhaps none could be expected because the zoning ordinances
were not retroactive and at no place provided for slum clearance. It is
now clear that zoning cannot be applied in this respect and that only
wholesale acquisition of slum blocks and their replacement by better
structures will be effective. The same thing holds in regard to new
housing projects. Zoning has not promoted a healthy piecemeal rebuild-
ing of obsolete areas, but mostly the control of building in new sub-
divisions and vacant land. For good housing projects we must today not
only acquire the land but demolish large blocks of obsolete buildings.
In regard to housing and slum clearance the conclusion must be that
zoning regulations by themselves are not able to cope with conditions but
that they must be supplemented by acquisition of obsolete blocks.
CONCLUSION
1. Zoning has had a great deal of influence on the orderly building
of cities, but the expectations of greater sunlight, more air, better control
of traffic, etc., have been only partly realized.
2. In business districts zoning has not materially aided office build-
ings to acquire more sunlight and air. The age of skyscrapers seems to
pass. It is very likely that a new trend may occur and that it may be-
come possible to surround office buildings by a considerable amount of
air space beginning at the ground floor. Studies of business districts
should be made in regard to modern trends in building.
3. Elimination of some of the superfluous business area along traffic
arteries and in the outlying districts is essential.
4. A restudy of the basic principles of zoning in regard to apartment
houses is necessary, and perhaps the future may see higher buildings
surrounded by more ground space rather than the many two- and three-
story apartment houses which our cities have today.
5. In industrial districts the problem of allowing residential use
should be analyzed
6. Zoning studies should be accompanied by studies showing proposals
for acquisition and demohshing of obsolete blocks.
PLANNING 251
The Administration of a Planning Office
COMMITTEE
Elisabeth M. Herlihy, Chairman, Chairman of Massachusetts State Plan-
ning Board.
Gerald S. Gimre, Engineer, City Planning and Zoning Commission, Nashville,
Tennessee.
L. Segoe, Planning Consultant.
REPORTER
H. H. Jaqueth, Engineer, City Planning Commission, Sacramento, California.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
H. F. AxjMACK, Engineer, City Planning Commission, Spokane, Washington.
Reeve Conover, Secretary-Engineer, Monterey County {California) Plan-
ning Commission.
Charles S. Newcomb, Division of Social Research, Works Progress Ad-
ministration.
Robert Walker, Research Fellow, Social Science Research Council.
THE ancient recipe for crow soup suggests a good starting point for
a discussion of the administration of a planning ojQSce ; in other words,
first get your office. With this as a sort of springboard, we may plunge
at once into the depths of our subject, fully conscious that upon and
below the surface may be found the rocks and reefs, eddies and whirl-
pools, wherein currents and cross-currents of opinions may be created,
and upon which conclusions may be rent asunder. We welcome this
opportunity to test the validity of our own convictions, however, in the
hope that eventually we may all emerge into clear untroubled waters,
with smooth sailing, a cloudless sky and uninterrupted progress.
Our task has been materially lessened by the work of the program
committee itself in suggesting various subheadings which might be con-
sidered in a discussion of the subject as a whole. These subheadings have
been followed; overlapping has been stopped short of duplication, at
least; and, where necessary, specific subjects have been stretched to cover
any apparent hiatus in the completed structure. With this charge to the
jury, and a plea for clemency, we submit our conclusions.
The planning commission, while not an administrative nor a legisla-
tive body, is an advisory agency to both the legislative and administra-
tive arms of government. Its administrative organization and technique,
therefore, must be geared to those of other branches of government,
whatever their level. Because of our very limited experience with state,
regional and national planning agencies, it has been deemed expedient
to confine this report largely to the administration of a local planning
office. We believe, however, that the same principles are valid in the case
of planning agencies on higher levels of government, although the
252 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
mechanics are likely to be quite different. It is also true, although the
principle remains the same, that interpretations vary, particularly with
regard to methods of procedure, in different parts of the country. County
planning, for instance, is firmly established in certain sections, among
other things combining the functions of initiation with those of co-
ordination. All that is possible in the present instance, therefore, is to
point out some of the more obvious basic features involved, rather than
attempt to lay down any hard and fast rules with regard to detailed
administrative procedure.
Generally speaking, the administrative techniques of a planning com-
mission mean matters of administrative organization, procedures and
processes which the commission applies in the conduct of its work. In
approaching these topics, however, attention might properly be called
to certain other factors, such as legislation, the composition, member-
ship, qualifications and size of the commission itself, and its financial
resources. These considerations are a sort of endless chain which con-
stitutes more or less a condition precedent to matters of actual adminis-
tration. As such it may not be amiss to touch upon them briefly before
consigning them to their proper place in the background of this report.
A proper legal background, in the form of legislative act and local
ordinances, is one of the first essentials. While many of the earlier enact-
ments suggested broad fields of investigation, the powers of planning
commissions were frequently limited to recommendations only. Recent
legislation, however, has shown a tendency to confer upon the planning
agency certain definite authority, in connection with subdivision control,
zoning changes, and other developments affecting the physical plan of
the commimity. This enables the planning commission to be of real
service, and if such legislation does not exist, it might properly be sought
to the end that all matters involving the location and the extent of
public facilities and zoning changes should be automatically referred to
the planning commission for recommendation or approval.
So far as the commission itself is concerned, perhaps it may be as-
sumed that the personnel is adequate from the standpoints of qualifica-
tions and experience. There is needed first and most of all a broad
understanding of the community and its problems and of the contribu-
tion that planning is able to make in the solution thereof. An enthusiastic,
sincere and unselfish interest in the welfare of the community is funda-
mental. Professional training on the part of some of the members at
least is equally important. The success of the commission in obtaining
appropriations and public interest depends in large measure upon the
members themselves, the extent to which they enjoy the confidence of
their fellow citizens and their recognized ability to pass upon matters of
a technical and oftentimes complicated nature.
Appropriations in the past have been generally inadequate and while
causes and cures may vary in different sections of the country, there is
PLANNING 258
little doubt that a commission which enjoys the confidence and esteem of
the public will have considerably less difficulty in translating that feeling
into a budgetary allotment than would otherwise be the case. Bridges
may be seen and admired; streets, in the process of construction at least,
are impressive; and libraries and parks and playgrounds have their ap-
peal during the hours of leisure; but to look beyond all these to a sort of
intangible something, even though it be capable of exercising a wide
influence both from the standpoint of efficiency and of economy upon
the location of these visible marks of community progress, is asking too
much of the vision and of the imagination of the ordinary citizen. If
this is regarded as a criticism, then it must be shared by the planning
agencies themselves, for in many instances they have lacked the inner
conviction and ability on their own part that would enable them to
convince others. When all is said and done, it is farcical for any legisla-
tive body to set up a planning agency, under an act or an ordinance
requiring them to do certain things, and at the same time withhold
from them the wherewithal necessary to carry out their duties.
The size of the commission may be relatively unimportant. Whether
all citizen members, or part citizen and part ex officio, members, are de-
sirable, there is no general consensus. There appears to be agreement
upon the one fact, however, that the citizen members should be in the
majority.
As far as the administrative work of the commission itself is concerned,
the organization of small committees for the handling of such matters
as arise with great frequency, like zoning amendments, thoroughfare
improvements, and passing on subdivision plats, has several obvious
advantages. Through such committees the work of the commission can
be better distributed, action expedited, the time of the whole commission
conserved, and the interest and sense of responsibility of the individual
members developed and sustained.
Relations between planning bodies and other governmental agencies,
no less than with the public at large, are delicate operations requiring
a maximum of tact, diplomacy and honest endeavor. With the governing
body itself this relation should be one of helpful cooperation. No partisan
feeling should ever be permitted to color plans or to distort vision. The
chief executive of a State or of a city, the members of the legislature and
of the city council or the board of selectmen, have a right to expect from
a planning agency the maximmn of assistance in making their adminis-
tration a success. This does not mean that principle should be sacrificed
to expediency, of course.
In its relations with other departments, the planning agency must
again exercise the greatest amount of tact based upon good intentions.
For the most part, the other departments have been in existence for
years. They have experienced their full share of trials and difficulties and
disappointments. For the most part also, they are perfectly willing to
254 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
cooperate once they can be assured that their own particular field will
not be invaded, and that they will be given full credit for assistance
rendered. A little more care on the part of the planning agency will
satisfy this perfectly reasonable demand. After all, they have been
carrying on for years, and planning agencies — particularly state boards,
now coming into the field — would be quite helpless without this assistance.
As far as public relations are concerned, this is a highly important
and oftentimes overlooked opportunity. There are various means by
which relations between the planning agency and the public may be made
productive. One method which has been tried successfully in certain
local communities is an advisory committee on public improvements, or
citizens' plan association, representative of the various civic organiza-
tions in the community, whose function it is to cooperate with the
planning board in any important problem under consideration, bringing
to the board a cross-section of general public opinion. It is much easier
to familiarize a small representative group of this sort with a plan than
it would be to educate the general public. This group, if made up of
representatives of civic organizations, will serve as a nucleus from which
the idea will gradually spread throughout the entire membership.
The introduction of planning education into the public schools offers
such a fruitful field that the only wonder is that it has not been more
generally cultivated. The New England Town Planning Association has
made a commendable start in this direction in suggesting that existing
courses in civics give a new emphasis to community service and that the
project method be used in carrying the civic interest further and giving
it direct practical application. School curricula in many instances are
overcrowded, but there is little doubt that a carefully prepared schedule,
worked out in cooperation with the proper school authorities, and tying
up the loose ends in civics, government, sociology and economics into a
workable planning study program, would be cordially received.
And, finally, the newspapers — last but by no means least. Their pri-
mary function is the dissemination of news. They cannot and should
not be expected to take over promotional work or propaganda. They
must print that for which the people are willing to pay to read. If plan-
ning information can be furnished them on this basis, it will invariably
find a ready reception, both in news columns and on editorial pages.
INTEGRATION OF TECHNICIANS' WORK
WITH ADMINISTRATION
Since few planning commissions have ample financial resources, it
has not been possible for the majority to retain complete technical staffs
capable of advising on the problems which comprise the planning com-
missions' work. It has been customary for the commissions to retain
experts from various professions to assist in formulating planning pro-
grams and to advise with the commissions on technique and policy.
PLANNING 265
Some planning commissions do have technical staffs, and outside advisers
are called in from time to time on special problems, while many com-
missions have had to retain professional planners who have been required
to formulate the entire planning program.
Experience would seem to indicate that the preparation of technical
work for a planning commission is the easiest to accomplish of any
part of a planning program. The integration of a technical plan into
the planning law and administration of any city is by all odds the most
difficult part of the job. While planning technicians have prepared many
excellent plans for our cities, the results in definite and practical accom-
plishment have fallen short of possibilities. The problem confronting
professional planners today is to find the most practical means of making
their plans effective.
Fundamentally, there has to be a social consciousness in any com-
munity which undertakes city planning, directed to the point of view of
the necessity for the replanning of the city and a willingness to join
in the effort to re-orient its physical pattern. The great difliculty in
making any technical plan effective is the apathy of the general public to
governmental problems and the inclination to be uninterested except
where personal affairs are concerned. It is to be expected that under our
system of city government a considerable period of time would be re-
quired for the mass of the citizens to realize the implications of city
planning and its necessity in the well-being of the community. However,
the direction of community life falls upon civic leaders in various fields
and if planning is to become effective in any city, the city planning
commission must assume the leadership in integrating its plan to the
administration of civic affairs.
City planning commissions are often composed of citizens who may
have no desire to mingle in the political affairs of a city. If their work is
to be successful, however, they must make themselves part of municipal
government and they must assume a definite, aggressive stand in the
community with regard to their own programs. While there are many
city planning commissions in existence, too many of them apparently
have gone to sleep on their jobs. The planning history of city after city
is that of comprehensive and careful work prepared by qualified tech-
nicians which the commissions themselves have allowed to be shelved.
There is little the best planning consultant can do to secure the effec-
tiveness of his plans unless the city planning commission itself is alive
and aggressive and is striving to make itself a definite part of the city
government.
Under the best of circumstances, a planning commission will be seri-
ously handicapped in carrying out any of its plans unless it has a capable
executive officer. Even if the commission itself is not outstanding in
capability, there is much more possibility of making technical plans
effective if there is an administrative ofl&cer, devoting his whole time
266 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
to the affairs of the commission. Such an officer should be on a par in
salary, personality and prestige with other department heads in the
municipal government. The functioning of such an officer brings him in
daily contact with other departments of government so they can come to
know and appreciate the purposes of the planning commission, to under-
stand its objectives, and to have confidence in its recommendations.
Some departments of government, such as the building department,
the legal department and the engineering department, are more closely
related to planning work than other departments, but if the various
divisions of the government are kept intimately in touch with the plan-
ning office, there are greater possibilities of securing constructive results.
The need for close cooperation and intimate contact is obvious where the
commission has employed outside consultants to prepare plans which
affect other departments. The older, more established branches of munic-
ipal administrations have become more or less settled in their ways and
in some instances may be jealous of their prerogatives. It requires skill
to deal with the other administrative heads; if by constant contact and
by seeking advice, the other departments can feel they are having a
part in shaping the planning program, there is much greater possibility
of success in later administration.
For this reason it is most important that there shall be continuous
contacts between the planning staff and the staffs of all administrative
departments and independent boards. These technicians should exchange
information and ideas, and should iron out differences, if possible while
the plans are still in preliminary form. Perhaps there is no other phase
of the administrative procedure of the technical staff which is quite so
helpful to the effective functioning of the commission as this continuous,
informal collaboration with the administrative staff of the city govern-
ment. It affords one of the best possible means of intermeshing the
work of the planning commission with that of the administrative depart-
ments.
At the same time, the chief and other members of the technical staff
should be careful not to encroach upon the premise of the planning com-
mission itself. The work of the technical staff should be confined to the
making of investigations and studies, and the preparation and interpreta-
tion of reports for the commission and its committees. At hearings and
meetings, especially on major matters of controversial nature, the head
or other member of the planning staff, when called upon to testify, should
confine himself to the presentation of the technical features of the prob-
lem. The presentation of the general point of view and the non-technical
considerations in explanation of the plan recommended by the planning
commission, or the stand taken by it on a particular question, should be
made by the chairman or other member of the planning commission
itself. The function of the technician is to advise; the final responsibility
rests upon the shoulders of the planning commission itself.
PLANNING 257
Even if the planning commission is a live and thriving body and the
commission has a capable staff through which to focus its activities,
there is always a very real problem in securing the enactment of the
planning objectives into law. The preparation of the technical phases
of a city plan require much research and deliberation and quite often a
technician's work is not easy to explain or to understand. There- should
therefore be some relationship between the legislative branch of city
government and the planning technician while the work is in process of
formation. If the planning consultant is shaping a thoroughfare plan
for the city, the street committee of the legislative body should be con-
stantly advised with, along with other administrative branches of the
government.
Each community has its individual methods of handling the details
of municipal affairs. While planning commissions are established in a
somewhat similar method in most cities and while their fundamental ob-
jectives are similar, the details of their technical plans, the relative
importance of certain phases of the plans and the methods of making
them operative must necessarily differ in each community. In making
planning effective much depends upon the use of practical and sound
common sense. Unless every effort is made to make planning fit the
practical needs of a city and unless there is energy and ability displayed
by the commission and its staff, there is little opportunity in the long
run for securing a thorough integration of any plan to the administration
and planning law of a city.
PLANNING PERSONNEL
It rarely happens that the individual members of a planning board,
even though appointed from a field closely allied to planning, are tech-
nically qualified to make a plan, nor is it intended that they should do so.
This presupposes a permanent planning staff, which in the case of cities
of 100,000 or more should consist, as a minimum, of an experienced city
planner, at least one draftsman and a stenographer. Perhaps even in
cities of from 50,000 to 100,000 the commission should have a full-time
engineer who might also serve as secretary of the zoning board of appeals.
A professional opinion might serve in many instances to counteract
emotions and result in upholding the integrity of the zoning plan. In
smaller communities the city engineer or his assistant might be assigned
to act as part-time engineer for the planning commission and the zoning
board of appeals.
As a matter of fact, many local boards have been able (and frequently
compelled) to supplement inadequate appropriations with work of city
or town engineers. Where full cooperation between departments exists,
this arrangement may be found fairly satisfactory within certain limits.
It is a fact, however, that while the knowledge of existing conditions by
the city or town engineer makes his cooperation essential, his necessary
258 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
preoccupation with the administration of his own day-to-day program is
bound to conflict with a broad study of the future resources, needs and
possibiUties of the community which could be more effectively studied
by an agency, properly equipped, and free from administrative duties.
Communities smaller than a quarter of a million population are rarely
able to maintain a planning staff competent to provide all of the services
the commission may require. Neither would this be justified in the
smaller communities. All such planning commissions should have avail-
able to them the services of a planning consultant, on a per diem or
similar basis, who would be called upon to advise them on matters of
unusual complexity or importance beyond the capability of the regular
planning staff. One suggestion offered is that state planning boards and
state municipal leagues might make arrangements with planning con-
sultants for the rendering of these services to communities, to be financed
by annual contributions of the communities for the maintenance of the
service. Another suggestion is that a group of planning commissions
might pool their resources and employ a professional consultant, each
commission paying a part of the cost of such service, which would be
available not only for advice on local individual problems but also on
common problems of a regional nature in which two or more of the com-
munities were involved. It would seem perfectly possible that joint
action by a number of relatively small communities might in this way
develop eventually a single permanent staff that could function for the
group, no one of which might require, or be able to finance, a permanent
staff for its own services.
In building up a permanent staff, certain local conditions must be
taken into account. In some communities appointments must be made
from the civil service lists. This practice, particularly in recent years as
the concept of planning has gradually broadened out, has its drawbacks.
Under this system it is not always easy for the planning agency to draw
in some specially well-trained person for a particular job if there is a
list awaiting certification.
Where basic data are to be collected for the development of a master
plan or for the preparation of a zoning law, special appropriations
may be sought, permitting the employment of special assistants over and
above what would be adequate for an average year. In any community
of substantial size, however, there are continuing problems needing the
consideration of the planning commission; their consistent study can be
done adequately only if there is a permanent staff available. While
members of the commission itself, if technically trained, may and often
do furnish a large amount of valuable professional service free, such
voluntary assistance, while greatly increasing the value of the work,
cannot take the place of the steady attention and efforts of permanent
employees.
About all that may be said, therefore, without fear of contradiction,
PLANNING 259
so far as the planning personnel is concerned, is that planning agencies
should make their best efforts to get the best material available and then
make the best of it, keeping in mind at all times that planning is a highly
specialized field which merits the very finest type of technical training.
PRODUCTION AND USE OF TECHNICAL REPORTS
A public opinion informed on affairs of government is becoming in-
creasingly recognized as the sine qua non in a democracy. This holds
true of government on all levels — Federal, state and local — but particu-
larly for local urban government. Important media for keeping the
public in touch with the work of the planning commission, and for main-
taining its interest, are carefully prepared and judiciously distributed
reports giving account of the commission's plans and accomplishments.
For the purpose of organized discussion, planning reports may be divided
into three categories: (a) formal reports, (b) periodic reports, and (c)
current reports.
Formal Reports: Before a planning commission is in a position to
function with competence, it must make a thorough study of the com-
munity, trace the trends that produced the city as it is, identify the forces
responsible for these trends, and project general plans for its future
development and redevelopment. The results of these studies should be
published either in one volume as the comprehensive plan of the city,
or, in the case of a large community, in several volumes corresponding
to the major functional divisions of the comprehensive plan.
The report should contain all of the major plans and proposals devel-
oped by the commission, except that summaries, tabular or otherwise,
might be substituted in place of the full text of the zoning ordinance and
subdivision regulations. These are usually more widely distributed than
the general planning report and are of direct and sustained concern to
certain professional and business interests. For these and other reasons
they will have to be reproduced separately.
The general specifications for the report on the city plan are no
different from those for any good report written for wide distribution.
Most important to remember in the writing of the report is that the
audience to which it is addressed is to all intents and purposes the man
in the street, and not members of the technical professions. The text
should be clear, alive and as concise as possible. Only that which per-
tains directly to the commission's activities, plans and proposals has a
place in the report. Detailed technical descriptions of the principles and
techniques used in developing the plans or arriving at solutions are of
interest to the student, but they are worse than useless in a report ad-
dressed to a lay audience, because they are discouraging to the con-
scientious readers. The temptation to write a textbook on city planning
should be resisted. Enough of the substantiating material or data should
be included to make a convincing case; but these are most effective and
260 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
most likely to receive attention if in the form of simple and attractive
charts or other illustrations, instead of complicated statistical tables.
Color greatly adds to the attractiveness of the report and is recom-
mended if adequate funds are available.
The introduction should state the function and duties of the planning
commission, its history and organization, and the purposes to be served
by its eflForts and by the plan. The state law and municipal ordinance
from which the commission derives its authority and which stipulates its
duties and functions should be given in full as one of the appendices.
The introduction should be followed by a summary of the major pro-
posals of the plan and of the program of the most pressing improvements
recommended by the commission. The body of the report should contain
all maps and plans which constitute the program. Photographs, charts
and even cartoons should be generously used whenever these can help
to attract attention or to illmninate, illustrate or dramatize the text.
As regards distribution, a suggestive typical list would include : public
officials, civic organizations, schools, parent-teacher associations, libra-
ries, professional groups, business associations, utilities, neighborhood
associations, garden clubs, welfare associations, and a list of citizens of
manifested interest in civic affairs.
For still wider distribution it is desirable to publish the salient features
of the city plan in the form of a brief, well-illustrated, popular pamphlet
of perhaps not more than twenty-five pages. The use of a format which
can be mailed out in the ordinary business envelope has been found con-
venient. Examples of this type of publication are "A Close-Up of the
Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs" by the Regional Plan
Association, Inc., of New York, and "Dayton and Its City Plan" by the
City Plan Board of Dayton, Ohio. Often the purpose which such a
pamphlet is intended to serve can be accomplished even more effectively
by arranging with the newspapers for a special supplement to a Sunday
issue. The completion of the city plan by the planning commission, its
transmission to the city council, or imminent release of the printed re-
port are the times when the papers are most likely to be ready to give
generous space to its synopsis or review. Intimate cooperation by the
planning commission in preparing this issue would help to guard against
inaccuracies and wrong emphasis. It is desirable and often possible to
arrange for reprints for future distribution.
The planning commission should issue an annual report of its own
even when a brief account of its activities is included in the general
municipal report.
In the annual reports the statement concerning the history, organiza-
tion, duties and functions of the commission should be repeated and a
copy of the state law and municipal ordinance again given in the ap-
pendix. In a brief summary the activities and accomplishments of the
commission during the year and its proposals for the coming year, should
PLANNING 261
be set up in a style which will attract attention. Besides the resiune of
the commission's routine activities, like passing upon subdivision plats
and petitions for zoning changes, the summary should give the more
important projects carried out, mention whether these conform to the
comprehensive plan or not, whether they were initiated by the commis-
sion, and whether they were approved or disapproved by the commission.
In the larger cities a chart should show the organization of the com-
mission and its staff. This chart should be accompanied by a simple table
giving the commission's expenditures broken down into a few significant
items. The table should include figures for two or three years.
In the body of the report the services, activities and accomplishments
of the commission during the year should be described in some detail,
accompanied by such maps, charts and photographs as are necessary for
illustration and clarification. As in the report on the city plan, pictorial
presentation of statistical material should be resorted to whenever
possible.
The account of services should include such unofficial activities as
the number of consultations with subdividers and petitioners for zoning
changes, conferences with groups interested in major projects, and ad-
dresses before organizations. The report on the amount of subdivision
activities and zoning amendments should interpret official activities in
terms of the entire community structure, analyze trends and contrast
them with previous years. The extent to which the carrying out of a
thoroughfare plan was advanced by rights-of-way dedications in new
subdivisions and by the enforcement of set-back lines should be illus-
trated.
There should be a list of all public improvements carried out, and
of those for which plans have been perfected and adopted during the
year and which are subject to the commission's jurisdiction, the relation-
ship of each such project to the comprehensive plan, the commission's
action on the project, and the actual or estimated cost of each. In addi-
tion, the particular defect which has been remedied or is intended to be
remedied by each major project and the benefits to be derived therefrom
should be explained.
The report should contain as one of its major features an inventory
of land use and municipal land ownership. A summary table and illus-
trative chart should show the way the total area of the city is divided
among the major land-use types, and another the amount and use of
land in public ownership. Corresponding figures for two or three previous
years should be shown and attention should be called to the more im-
portant changes. The amount and cost of land acquired by the city and
the amount of land sold and moneys received by the city should be given.
Trends in the cost of land acquired by the city and in the prices received
for lands sold are significant pieces of information from a planning
standpoint which are not likely to escape notice by an observant reader.
262 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Additions, revisions or refinements of the comprehensive plan should
be prominently featured in the report, especially if they are of major
character. Detailed building statistics belong in the report of the build-
ing inspector or building department, but an analytical statement con-
cerning changes in the housing situation, as conditioned by new con-
struction and demolition, is properly a part of the planning commission's
annual report.
Finally, the report should contain both the long-range program of
improvements and activities and the program recommended for the
coming year. The need for and purpose of each recommended project in
next year's program should be explained and approximate estimates of
costs given, if available.
The annual reports of the commission should receive the widest pos-
sible distribution. The mailing list of the general municipal report with
such revision as necessary to reach groups and individuals taking
particular interest in the development of the city, can be adopted. At
least one family in twenty, and preferably one in ten, should receive a copy.
Periodic Reports: These reports may have for their subject important
studies or project plans affecting the whole or a substantial part of the
community, such matters as a comprehensive review of the zoning ordi-
nance, of the thoroughfare plan, or additions to the city plan, like a
comprehensive slum -rehabilitation scheme or flood -defense plan. Every-
thing that has been said about the original city plan report applies to
reports of this kind which, in fact, may be issued as supplements to the
original plan report.
At intervals the commission may desire to issue a special report, sum-
marizing the accomplishments under the city plan. "From Plan to
Reality" by the Regional Plan Association, Inc., of New York, is a good
example of this type of report.
A distinctly different form of planning reports is the bulletins, such
as "Progress" by the Municipal Planning Association of Pittsburgh, and
"Information Bulletin" by the Regional Plan Association, Inc., of New
York. ^Tien published at frequent intervals, these might more properly
be classed among the current reports.
Because the general orientation of these bulletins is educational and
promotional, they are usually published by citizens' associations backing
the city plan, instead of by the planning commission itself. Most of
the material for them is, of course, obtained from the planning commis-
sion. Intended for wider distribution than the reports of the commission
and being of unofficial character, they are generally more personal in
style than the commission's reports — somewhat between the style of
these and the newspapers.
These bulletins describe and comment on the commission's activities
and the progress being made on various major projects and studies, call
attention to certain pressing needs and other matters of current interest.
PLANNING 263
Accounts on what other cities are doing, or comparisons with conditions
elsewhere, are effective to stimulate local interest and activities.
Current Reports: First among the reports in this category should be
mentioned the technical reports of the staff of the planning commission
which are the source of most of the factual material for all of the other
reports herein discussed. The staff should submit to the commission a
separate written report on every proposal to be acted upon by the com-
mission.
There is no need to go into the desiderata of a good staff report. A
technically competent staff can be relied upon to produce it. One or two
general comments may not be amiss, nevertheless. In order to save the
commission inspection in the field, the staff report should describe and
illustrate fully, by maps and photographs when necessary, the existing
conditions pertinent to the problem or proposal. It should discuss the
relationship of the project or proposal to the comprehensive plan, as the
first and most important consideration. The examination and appraisal
of the proposed project should be limited to its planning aspects.
There is no better channel than newspapers for continuously re-
minding the public of the existence of the planning commission and to
inform it about what the commission is doing. The commission's office
should be on the regular beat of the city hall reporters and its meetings
regularly attended by them. The newspaper men at the city hall are
usually eager for news and need little encouragement. Friendly relation-
ships and cooperation between the commission and the reporters can
best be fostered by taking them into confidence. Let them have the
agenda of the meeting in advance and let them glance through the staff
reports if they need the time to prepare the copy, with the understanding
that this will be held until the commission releases it. On important or
controversial issues, it will be well for the commission to furnish the
press with a written statement.
Newspaper men are shifted about. They rarely stay in the city hall
long enough to acquire an insight into governmental affairs. Newspaper
copy usually has to be prepared in haste; it may state the facts inac-
curately, give the wrong emphasis, or otherwise distort the real story.
Any copy prepared by the staff, on the other hand, is likely to miss the
"news" and will be otherwise unsuitable, unless prepared by someone
experienced in newspaper work. Prompt review of the reporter's copy by
the director or secretary of the commission is a good way of solving the
problem.
The place a planning commission occupies in the community can be
fairly judged by the number of column-inches given its affairs by the
newspapers. Regular reporting of the commission's meetings is the
minimum newspaper publicity of a planning commission which functions
vigorously and whose work is recognized by the community.
The planning commission should report itself in municipal journals;
264 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
not only should the official proceedings of the meetings be published in
full, but any obtainable space should be utilized for informative and
interpretative articles on planning, on the city plan, and on specifid
proposals of the commission. New York, Boston, Cincinnati and
Columbus publish such journals or bulletins. In preparing articles
and publications for the journal, the assistance of the official charged
with its editing should be enlisted by the commission. A plan or a
couple of photographs with a few lines of explanation or interpreta-
tion will be welcomed by the reader of "Legal Notes" and "Invitations
for Bids."
For the sake of completeness, the radio, periodic municipal exhibits,
and permanent library and school exhibits are mentioned here as sup-
plementary media for publicizing planning and for reporting the activ-
ities of the planning commission.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
Because of limited experience, the discussion was confined to admin-
istration of local planning offices, rather than of county, regional, state
and Federal agencies. Miss Herlihy, as Chairman of the Committee, ex-
pressed the opinion that the same principles were valid for offices in all
levels although the actual mechanics of administration might be quite
different.
The organization of small sub-committees within the planning com-
mission itself was felt to be of benefit. These committees usually are
ones on : zoning, transportation, thoroughfare improvements, public im-
provements, public relations and, in some instances, traffic.
Educational work through introduction of planning discussions into
public schools was suggested as a fruitful field of effort, as well as con-
tinued dissemination of news through the public press. Recognizing
the apathy of the general public toward governmental problems, the
committee expressed the opinion that a realization of the necessity for
the re-planning of the city and a willingness to join in an effort to re-
orient its physical pattern were to be looked upon as fundamental on
the part of the community. It was the consensus that the planning com-
mission should assume leadership in integrating its plan to the adminis-
tration of civic affairs. In order that this may be accomplished, capable
executive officers should be provided for planning commissions. Through
them constant friendly relationships can be maintained.
A definite line of demarcation between the function of the technical
staff and the commission itself was pointed out. The commission is the
policy-making group and the technical staff provides advice to it.
The suggestion that for cities of 100,000 or over, at least one engineer,
one draftsman and one stenographer be retained as a full-time staff met
with considerable discussion. Those in attendance expressed opinions
that the planning technician need not necessarily be an engineer, but
PLANNING 265
might properly be a landscape architect, architect or even (if properly
qualified) one without any technical experience whatever.
The committee felt that plan commissions should prepare compre-
hensive annual reports, augmented by pamphlet reports and bulletins.
It was pointed out that some commissions publish three- or four-page
reports summarizing their activities at frequent intervals.
Discussion leaders felt that the planning agency might well be estab-
lished as a distinct department, with its own budget, thus becoming a
permanent and integral part of the city administration.
Others were of the opinion that a planning director, working under
the supervision of an unoflficial advisory committee, would be preferable
to the existing practice of official plan commissions advisory to the city
planner and his staflF. It was felt desirable to appoint commissioners for
overlapping terms which often exceed those of the elected city coimcilmen
making the appointments.
266 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Trends in Planning Law, Legislation,
and Litigation
COMMITTEE
Alfred Bettman, Chairman, Chairman, City Planning Commission, Cin-
cinnati, Ohio.
DwiGHT G. McCarty, Chairman, City Planning Commission, Emmetsburg,
Iowa.
Ira S. Robbins, Counsel, New York State Board of Housing.
REPORTER
Charles S. Ascher, Secretary, Committee on Public Administration, Social
Science Research Council.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Wayne D. Heydecker, Director of State Planning, Division of State Plan-
ning, New York.
Arthur J. Rabuck, City Planning and Zoning Consultant.
Flavel Shurtleff, Counsel, American Planning and Civic Association.
IN ORDER to define the scope of the subject of this report, one must
state what the word "planning" is intended to mean when used in con-
nection with law or legislation. The mental processes covered by the
word "planning" are present and are necessary in every human action,
except such exclusively emotional or instinctive actions as a sudden step-
ping out of the way of an automobile coming down upon one. In so
relatively simple and frequent an act as crossing the street, ascertain-
ment of facts and the application of logical reasoning to those facts are
involved. When a policeman arrests a drunken man, he necessarily
seeks facts concerning the condition of the man and the cause thereof
and then goes through a reasoning process as to what to do. All of this is
planning. So if the word "planning" were in this report used in its all-
inclusive sense, we would be discussing all the laws of the land; for all
laws would be planning laws.
Locating and constructing a street or a playground or any other struc-
ture obviously involves planning. When a city engineer defines the
specifications for a bridge, he surely has to plan. A state highway
department's state highway plan by its very terms and necessities is
planning. If, therefore, this report were to include all laws relating to
the determination of the characteristics and location of all structures and
uses on, upon or of the lands and the waters, then about half of all the
codes of all the States would fall within its scope. So we must here be
talking about something different and more limited.
This differentiation and limitation must be based upon certain assump-
tions. These assumptions, expressed in very general form, are that there
is a special science or art, special modes of investigation and analysis
that differ from those required when the task on hand is the determina-
PLANNING 267
tion exclusively of specific structures or uses as an independent problem.
Consequently special types of learning and experience are requisite in
the case of this different and more limited planning with which this
report is concerned.
One of the essential ingredients of this specialized type of planning is
that the unit of search for the facts and the process of reasoning applied
to those facts is territorial, as the nation, state, region, county, city; dis-
tinguished from functional, as the street, playground, river pollution,
forestry. A second essential characteristic is that the purpose of this
search for facts and reasoning thereon is that of discovering and taking
into account interrelationships, producing coordinations, balance and
adjustments amongst all the functional uses of the lands and waters as
distinguished from the concentration upon a single functional use treated
as an independent subject of investigation and thought. A third charac-
teristic is that the process of fact-finding and analysis aims at guiding
development for long periods of time as distinguished from being en-
gaged upon that which is intended to deal with the immediate. And a
fourth essential is that these specialized aims require their own special-
ized ofl&cial organ as distinguished from the legislative and administra-
tive organs which have charge of the various functional structures and
uses constantly dealing with the immediate. For instance, if there be a
statute providing for the construction of freeways containing no pro-
vision for the integration or coordination of the location of the freeways
with the location of the other functional types of structures or uses
within a designated territory, such integrating or coordinating process
to be in charge of a planning organ like a planning commission, then
such a statute is not a planning law within the meaning of planning as
used in this report.
The methods and techniques for this particular type of planning are
those which we call master or comprehensive planning; and a planning
statute necessarily either explicitly or implicitly provides for comprehen-
sive or master planning.
As on every other subject or definition in this complicated world of
ours, there are twilight zones, shifting boundaries, reservations and ex-
ceptions. Into these we will not attempt to go.
NATIONAL PLANNING
As yet there has been no national planning legislation. The National
Resources Committee still exists by virtue of presidential decrees under
relief legislation. Its functions as defined in the executive order include
national planning and, as we all know so well, have been so interpreted
and applied. In the Federal relief measure which has just been enacted,
an appropriation has been made for the National Resources Committee,
thus furnishing a congressional recognition of these national planning
functions. Still it cannot be said that any legislation for national plan-
268 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
ning has as yet been formulated and enacted. Statutes relating to
specific functional subjects, such as flood prevention, pollution and so on,
are full of phrases like "making plans," "cooperating with other federal
and state agencies," "conferring with other agencies" and that sort of
allusions to procedures which are similar to the process of comprehensive
planning; but a national planning organ outside of the constructing and
administrative departments and agencies, has not as yet been created by
national legislation.
INTERSTATE REGIONAL PLANNING
The regional planning sections of the Tennessee Valley Authority act
still remain the only legislation for large interstate regional planning.
The Norris and Mansfield bills in Congress, colloquially referred to
as the "little TVA bills," furnish material upon the problems of legisla-
tion for the planning of large interstate regions, but as yet there has been
no crystallization of them into effective legislation.
STATE PLANNING
The past five years have witnessed a sweeping development of state
planning legislation. Over forty States now have statutory provision for
state planning agencies.
The main subjects for discussion concerning this statutory develop-
ment may be said to be three in mmiber: namely, the personnel of the
planning organ, the description of the scope and the subject matters
which, on the face of the statute, are entrusted to this organ, and the
force and effect given to the work of the planning agency in relation to
the administrative and legislative agencies of the State.
As regards the personnel of the planning boards, the main difference
amongst the state planning laws is the relative strength of ex oflBcio and
citizen representation. Predominantly the statutes provide for both
types. Naturally the designation of particular officials for ex officio
representation varies from State to State. It would be difficult to dis-
cover in these statutes any specific principle regarding the particular
functional classes of administrative officials which it is deemed essential
or important to have upon the planning board. One valuable trend
appears in the growing provision for representation from universities.
As regards the ratio between the ex officio and citizen memberships,
nothing in the nature of an accepted principle can be said to have devel-
oped. In so far as there is any definite tendency, it is probably in the
direction of an increase of the strength of ex officio membership. The
bases of the membership have, of course, very decisive effects upon the
character or type of work undertaken. Probably administrative officials
are more skeptical about the value of the master planning techniques by
means of which the planning body, acting as a body independent of the
administrative organs, develops data, principles and conclusions which
PLANNING
form an instrument for the coordinating and integrating of the depart-
mental projects and problems, as distinguished from special studies or
special subjects made for the administrative departments, or from a
mere group meeting of the administrative oflScials at which they do their
own coordinating and programming. The statutes usually provide for a
director of planning, who, being an official independent of the adminis-
trative departments, may, in the course of time, bring about some
acceptance of the master planning concept and gradually forge the
instruments for the application of that concept.
The state planning statutes do not provide for representation of the
legislative organ of the State on the planning board, and the trend is
distinctly toward treating the planning organ as an arm of the executive.
While practically all state planning statutes contain general phrase-
ology from which the right of the planning board to enter into what is
called economic planning could be extracted, in most of the statutes there
is emphasis upon the planning, as it is usually expressed, "of the physical
development of the State." A large proportion of the statutes contains
express statement that the main function and duty of the planning board
is to develop a master or comprehensive plan, the expression usually
including mention of a number of types of specific functional subjects,
these provisions being couched in language analogous to the typical
master planning sections of municipal planning laws. As we all know,
there is a somewhat growing fear of the word "master" — a fear which
fortunately has not as yet come to include the word "comprehensive."
The fear of the word may be the fear of the thing itself; and if we are to
obtain master or comprehensive planning, we had better obtain words
which mean that. The statutes which avoid "master plan" all contain
so comprehensive a statement of what the planning board may take
an interest in and report about that a very comprehensive master plan
would constitute a modest part of its work indeed.
There is, perhaps, a trend toward avoiding a list of functional subjects
(roads, forestry, recreational areas, etc.); but as powers under general
expressions are larger than under more specific expressions, this tendency
does not mean any lessening of the authoritative scope of the work of
the planning boards, though it does make such statutes less educative.
All the statutes, regardless of how short or long (and perhaps the
tendency is towards brevity) include the power expressed or implied to
make special studies of special subjects, to cooperate with administrative,
legislative and planning agencies, State, national, regional and local, and
to advise upon almost everything. In short, all the statutes contain about
as much power to do real planning of the States as the governors will
permit and the legislatures will pay for; but, as for planning, in so far as
it has a meaning of its own, namely the gathering, organization, analysis
and interpretation of basic data and a formulation of texts, maps and
designs which will be instruments for the stimulating, coordinating and
270 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
integrating of the program of the development of the State, some express
mention of master or comprehensive planning is certainly useful and
may in practice prove to be essential; and any tendency, of which there
is evidence, to disguise or evade this mention should be counteracted.
As regards the right of the planning agency to influence or, more
strictly, its right to an opportunity to influence administrative and legis-
lative action, some of the statutes, though not the predominant number,
require the individual projects of the administrative organs, so far as
their location, character and extent are concerned, to be submitted to the
planning board, and require the administrative oflBcial, in so far as he
departs from the advice of the planning board, to state his reasons pub-
licly. Of course every state planning board has more or less opportunity
to know what is under way in the departments; and a few of the statutes
require the departments to keep the board informed of their pending
and contemplated projects. In the drafting of future legislation, we
must be on our guard against allowing the state planning agency to be
shoved aside or become occupied with miscellaneous matters and be
given too little opportunity to know about, study and advise about and
to receive genuine administrative cogitation about its advice upon the
actual projects under way.
INTRASTATE REGIONAL PLANNING
There is a distinct growth in the quantity of legislation providing for
intrastate regional planning commissions and plans. This growth includes
some special statutes dealing with regions specially defined in the statute
itself. An analysis of experience would probably indicate that more
regional planning actually gets done under these special statutes than
under the general enabling acts. The general enabling acts in this field
are usually a part of the coimty planning statutes, and permit the cre-
ation of regional planning imits composed of a part of a county or county
and a city, or the whole or parts of two or more counties, or combinations
of parts of counties or of municipalities and parts of counties.
Sometimes the statute expresses the factors on the basis of which the
determination of the regional boundaries are to be made, as for instance,
the existence of a large degree of economic unity or social unity or unity
created by a large number of common developmental problems. The
decision upon the creation of a region and the defining of its territory is
in some States reposed in the governor, in others in groups of citizens or
groups of officials of the different subdivisions within the proposed region,
and in still others in the state planning board. Perhaps the grant of
this power to the state planning board indicates a trend. Practice and
experience under regional planning legislation have as yet been so short
that amendatory legislation has not appeared upon them. Definite trends
in this field are hardly as distinguishable by means of such crude instru-
ments as are the annual or biennial session laws of the States.
PLANNING 271
The powers granted to these regional planning commissions in the
general enabling acts are quite analogous to the customary provisions of
municipal planning legislation, and for that reason require no extended
description.
COUNTY PLANNING
Next to state planning legislation, county planning is the field which
in recent years has witnessed the largest legislative growth.
The general county planning enabling acts follow in general the model
of the more typical city planning statutes, of the department of com-
merce standard city planning enabling act or the Bettman county plan-
ning model in the Harvard book on Model Planning Laws. They provide
for a county planning commission composed of ex officio representatives
of the governing body of the county and, in some, also the county
engineer, plus citizen representatives. They specify the master plan as
the major function of the planning commission, usually with mention
or listing of specific functional subjects which belong in a master plan.
One important trend in this phase of coimty planning legislation is
that the enumeration of these functional subjects reflects the recognition
that planning concepts and techniques apply equally to rural and to
m"ban or suburban development. For instance, in addition to the func-
tional subjects appropriate to urban and suburban areas, such as streets,
public buildings, utilities, etc., such subjects as forests, agricidtm-al areas
and land-utilization programs are in the lists of contents of the county
master plan. Similarly, in the statement of purposes or motivations of
the planning, these typical county planning acts include, in addition to
those customarily carried in the better city planning acts, such matters
as conservation, production of food supply and others peculiarly ap-
plicable to the rural counties. The city planning acts mention population
distribution which would tend to reduce congestion; the county planning
statutes add an excessive scattering of the population as a form of waste
to be reduced through master planning.
In short, the county planning enabling statute as it has come to be
developed covers all types and degrees of development, highly urbanized,
suburbanized, to be suburbanized, exclusively rural and mixed. This is a
welcome recognition of the fundamental truth that though the factors
to be taken into account vary from place to place in accordance with the
nature of resources and developmental history, the fundamental plan-
ning concept, the nature of the organ for the application of that concept,
the intellectual processes for the application of that concept and the
technical devices for the application of that concept are identical whether
the territorial unit be city, county or beyond and whether the present or
future development be of an urban, suburban, rurban or rural nature.
There may be tactical or political reasons for dealing with types of
political subdivisions or of governmental areas by separate statutes, but
272 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
there is no fundamental intellectual reason. The general comprehensive
county planning statutes of the above-described model furnish all the
necessary statutory authority for rural as well as for urban planning.
County zoning is of course a part of county planning. The provisions
for the zoning part of the planning and the other parts are sometimes
contained in separate statutes, but as county planning legislation has
come into being after the time when we began to recognize that zoning
is simply a phase of planning, practically all definitions of comprehen-
sive planning in the county planning laws include the zone plan, even
where the zoning enabling provision is contained in a separate zoning
statute.
County zoning legislation is developing at about the same rate as the
other phases of county planning legislation. The trend in the form of
county zoning legislation is in the direction of those forms which adjust
to the county planning legislation of the above-described type and there-
fore follow the later models of municipal zoning laws rather than the
older standard model of the Department of Commerce. As with county
planning legislation, this form of county zoning act covers all those sub-
jects of regulation and all those purposes which are appropriate to purely
rural areas as well as the older expressions which were more appropriate
to urban territory. Consequently these typical recent county zoning
laws contain all provisions adequate for any type of territory, urban, sub-
urban, rurban, mixed, rural, wild.
This form would furnish, for instance, adequate statutory basis for
the famous county zoning of Wisconsin. The statute of Wisconsin does
contain, however, one exceptional feature. We refer to the feature
that the zone plan must be submitted to the governing body of each
township within the zoned area and cannot be put into effect in that part
of the area which consists of a non-assenting township. There is the
power, though not the requirement, that the zoning be put into effect in
the remainder of the area — ^that is, in the assenting townships. Now, as
a zoning plan is supposed to be an integrated determination of the
allotment and distribution of the uses of the land of the whole planned
unit, on its face this provision of the Wisconsin law may seem to be a
contradiction of fundamental principle. Where the territorial unit of
the planning is fairly homogeneous in its existing and prospective devel-
opment, as is the case, for instance, in the northern Wisconsin cutover
country, and where the classes of uses to be provided for in the plan are
few, as, in the same statute, forestry, recreation and agriculture only, the
elimination of pieces of the territory such as a township might not break
down the integrity of the plan. But in territories in which there is a
great variety of classes of development, past, present and future, and
the classes of use districts must therefore be more numerous, the elimina-
tion of specified political subdivisions from the plan may not be so
sound.
PLANNING 273
There are some indications of a tendency to imitate this Wisconsin
provision in other forms by making the effectiveness of the zone plan in
parts of the zoned unit turn upon the consent of parts of the unit. For
instance, a recent Michigan township zoning statute permits "districts"
to eUminate themselves by means of popular referendum. Needless to
add, that sort of thing is apt to produce unfortunate confusions.
Coming to the regulation of subdivisions in the non-municipal por-
tions of counties, we find that the above-mentioned later models of
county planning legislation followed in the present trend of county plan-
ning statutes, contain subdivision regulation provisions similar to
those in the standard city planning act, the basic features of which are :
that subdivision regulation is, theoretically at least, based upon the
master plan or at least the thoroughfare part of the master plan; that
the planning commission is the platting authority which passes upon and
approves the plat and formulates the general subdivision regulations;
that the acceptance by the city of any street, the furnishing of any public
improvements or public services on the street or the like cannot be
granted for any street or way which has not received the planning com-
mission's approval without submitting the same to the planning com-
mission; and sometimes the rule of minimum vote of two-thirds of the
legislative body to overrule the planning commission's report is incor-
porated. The trend of county legislation is toward the acceptance of
these basic features, that is, the acceptance of the planning commission's
prime and central jurisdiction in relation to subdivisions of land. Of
course there are some fairly recent statutes which, while giving the plan-
ning commission a part, place the prime or essential activities in the
legislative body. We will not take time to go into the details of the
variations of the distribution of jiu'isdiction between the planning com-
mission and the legislative body.
As regards mapped streets or highways — that is, the mapping of the
future road lines and the regulation of building development within
them — provisions are contained in the same general models and have
been placed on the statute books of some of the States in connection
with the general county planning enabling act, so that in so far as there
is any distinct trend it is in the direction of the adoption in the unin-
corporated areas of the principles and methods of municipal mapped
street legislation.
CITY PLANNING
So far as the face of the statutes can be treated as indicators of trends,
the trend regarding municipal planning is distinctly one of growth and
enlargement. Within the States which have different classes of munic-
ipalities (cities of the first class, second class, etc.), the growth has been
in the direction of covering more classes. The growth has further been
in the increasing adoption of the type of statute based on the Department
274 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
of Commerce model, and models which have been developed from it. This
means an enlargement of the scope of comprehensive planning by en-
largement of the functional type of improvements which are expressly
recognized as integral features of the municipal plan, and an enlarge-
ment of the expressed motivations or purposes of the planning.
On the first of these types of enlargement, zoning and housing furnish
the most significant illustrations. The development of zoning legislation
prior to general planning legislation had an unfortunate effect which is
still far from being cured : namely, the treatment of zoning as though it
were a subject separate from the process of comprehensive planning.
One symbol of this separation of zoning from the other phases of the
development of the municipal area was the reposing of the making of the
zone plan in an organism known as the zoning commission which did
not have charge of the other phases of the planning of the municipality.
As this aspect was contained in the Department of Commerce standard
zoning act. States are still enacting legislation which provides for this
separate zoning commission; but the trend is distinctly in the right
direction: namely, placing the planning of the zoning in the planning
commission; and even where the recent statutes permit the creation of
zoning commissions, they provide that where there is a planning com-
mission in the municipality, it is to have charge of the zone planning.
Another statutory evidence of this separation of things which prop-
erly belong together was the fact that in the descriptions of the scope of
the master plan, the earlier statutes did not mention the zoning plan as a
part of the definition of the master or comprehensive plan, whereas fol-
lowing the later models, the trend displayed by the later statutes is hap-
pily toward the inclusion of the system of land-use regulation, which we
call zoning, as a part of the process of developing the comprehensive
plan. The scope of the zoning, that is, the types of uses to be regulated
by means of zoning, and the purposes and motivations, has been en-
larged in the direction of the inclusion of all modes of land use which are
part of the life of the contemporary urban community, and of all the
purposes and motivations which increasing knowledge and sociological
research have shown to be needed for healthful and economic urban life.
The earlier planning statutes did not mention housing, for indeed at
that time there was no public housing contemplated or authorized or in
the offing. Since we are now in a period in which housing is recognized
as a governmental province, obviously at least the general location and
extent of public housing projects becomes a proper part of the allocation
of the uses of the land amongst the various public and private activities.
Housing has come to be more and more mentioned in the statutory defini-
tions of the scope of the comprehensive plan; and planning commissions
are being given the statutory basis at least for planning activity in rela-
tion to this important part of the field of municipal development.
So far as personnel of the municipal planning organism is concerned.
PLANNING 276
the principle of representation of both the executive and administrative
organs with a majority of non-official members is being adhered to. The
principle of the non-compensated lay board, with some ex officio rep-
resentation, is therefore being kept in force, and, in so far as doubts have
arisen as to whether that form or organization of the planning function
is going to give satisfying results, those doubts have not yet been re-
flected in legislation. The occasional statute in which the planning organ
is made a division of some administrative department can be accounted
for by reasons of politics or tactics and not principle; and there does not
seem to be any tendency to increase this placing of the planning agency
within some other agency.
There is a notable exception to a part of the observations in the pre-
ceding paragraph, and that is the planning provisions of the new charter
of the city of New York, which in some respects constitute the most
significant development in municipal planning legislation. The charter
recognizes the planning commission as having so much to do and such
important things to do that its chairman is to be a full-time man with,
as public salaries go, a high salary, and the other members are also to
be paid on a basis which evidently contemplates that they will devote
a very considerable part of their working time to the business of the
board. The board itself, as distinguished from its stafiF, is therefore made
a continuously operating body which is not a part of any other depart-
ment but is given a status equal in dignity and importance to the admin-
istrative departments. What the consequence will be either on the side of
the strength of the influence of the commission over the other agencies
and departments of the city government or on the side of the fidelity of
the commission to comprehensive planning as its main task, only future
experience can answer.
So far as the definition of master planning and the legal effect of the
commission's planning activities in relation to the administrative and
legislative departments are concerned, the New York charter is not dif-
ferent in effect from the present models of general city planning enabling
acts. There is one other significant difference which relates to capital
budgeting and which we will discuss later in this report.
Naturally the growth of statutes based upon the later models has
brought upon the state statute books to an increasing degree the provi-
sions contained in those models on the subjects of subdivision control and
mapped streets, and therefore represent a trend in the direction of in-
creasing participation of the planning agency in subdivision regulation
and the regulation of building within future street lines. It is of special
significance that New York State which, while a pioneer in zoning and
in official map legislation, held back on master planning, has in its more
recent statutes increasingly recognized the planning commission as the
agency and the master plan as an instrument in zoning, subdivision
control and mapped streets.
276 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
A recent decision by the Supreme Court of Illinois is a danger signal
that the older forms of subdivision law contain distinct weaknesses as
compared with these newer forms. The effect of that decision amounts
to this : that under those older forms of statute one can evade the regula-
tion of one's subdivision and some parts of the zoning regulations by
the device of calling the streets of one's subdivision "private." The
dangerous possibilities of this form of evasion were well in the minds
of those who drafted the Department of Commerce's standard city plan-
ning law, and the definition of subdivision regulation was quite con-
sciously expressed so as to beat this evasion. Recent significant statutes
of New York guard more expressly against any such types of evasion,
for they declare all streets of subdivisions are private until the subdivider
makes them public and he is placed under considerable pressures to
make them public without undue delay.
TOWN OR TOWNSHIP PLANNING
The New York or New England type of town or township has for
many years been included in planning legislation, including zoning. In
other parts of the country where the township is simply a civil district
of the county, no doubt the provisions of the general county acts which
authorize the planning of counties or parts thereof, would authorize the
treatment of these townships as planning units. There have been, how-
ever, a few statutes dealing specially with township planning, though
nothing which as yet could be called a trend that way. This committee
has no disposition to encourage any such trend. Consolidation of county
units or regional units for planning is probably as desirable a general
direction as such consolidation for purposes of administrative and legis-
lative aspects of local governments. This is an aside.
JUDICIAL RECOGNITION OF MASTER PLANNING
As the strictly planning operations of a planning commission do not
produce any changes in legal rights and relationships, naturally few
litigations have arisen which involve an interpretation of the application
of the master planning provisions of planning statutes. However, wher-
ever the question has arisen, courts have enforced the planning laws
without reservations. For instance, where some action of council requires
submission to the planning commission, courts have upheld this restric-
tion upon councilmanic power or this requirement of councilmanic pro-
cedure. A very eloquent tribute was paid to master planning in a recent
decision of a high court of New Jersey, namely, in the case of Mansfield
& Swett, Inc. et al vs. Town of West Orange (New Jersey Supreme Court,
October Term 1937), 198 Atlantic Reporter 225. In this particular case
the court invalidated the planning commission's disapproval of a sub-
division plat, and rightly so; but like Chief Justice Marshall in Marbury
vs. Madison, the New Jersey judge used the occasion for a larger purpose
PLANNING 277
than that of deciding the particular litigation on hand and spoke elo-
quently about the tremendous importance of master planning and of
basing the subdivision regulations, the zoning and the whole community
development upon the master plan,
SPOT-ZONING
Judging by the cases which come into the courts, we cannot feel any
assurance that the trend of practice is in the direction of less rather than
more spot-zoning. By spot-zoning is meant the determination of the
zoning status of a single lot or other very small area in the light of the
problems of that single lot or small area treated as the whole unit of
consideration, as distinguished from treating the problem as one of the
districting of the whole territorial area of the zoned community and
the determination of district boundaries in the light of the treatment of the
whole municipal or other territory as the unit of consideration. Of course
in this definition of spot-zoning variances under the hardship clause are
excluded; for if the hardship clause be interpreted with the appropriate
strictness, and zoning boards of appeals or adjustment stay within their
appropriate jurisdiction, with few exceptions the variances will be
granted for exceptional topographic and similar physical features peculiar
to the individual lot or small vicinity in question.
There are features in the standard zoning enabling act which tend to
be promotive of spot-zoning rather than retarding, particularly the 20
per cent protest provisions and perhaps vagueness in the hardship clause
which has been modified in some of the recent statutes; and, in so far as
the trend is toward the new types of zoning law models, the trend of
the law of zoning may be said to be toward a lessening of opportunity
for spot-zoning.
Of course none of the statutes on its face permits spot-zoning, for all
of them expressly provide that zoning regulation shall be by districts,
which means that nothing smaller than the district shall be the territorial
basis for the classification in the ordinance. Nevertheless, for one reason
or another, spot-zoning is a very prevalent disease of zoning practice,
and to a somewhat discouraging and certainly an irritating degree, the
courts seem to have a hard time realizing that it is the whole zone plan
for the distribution of land uses by districts, in which the predominant
motivation is the design of future development of the whole territory of
the city in accordance with an integrated plan, which is before the court
in each case. To what extent the planners and the lawyers have con-
tributed to the blinders which produce the over-focusing of judicial eyes
upon small spots is a question upon which no research has as yet sought
the answer. The decisions disclose that the better the board of adjust-
ment or appeals, the better the judge-made law ; and the more thoroughly
honestly and genuinely the zone plan is based upon comprehensive plan-
ning principles, the better the judge-made law.
«78 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
An encouraging and splendid judicial recognition of the true principle
of zoning as a regulation of future development by the method of a com-
prehensive plan is a very recent opinion in a Virginia case. West Bros,
Brick Co. vs. City of Alexandria, 192 Southeastern Reporter, 881; 82
(Law Ed.) Supreme Court Reports 259.
ZONING PUBLIC BUILDINGS
A few of the statutes expressly authorize the inclusion of public build-
ings within the zoning regulations, and there can be little doubt that this
inclusion may be implied from the general provisions of the zoning
enabling acts. City governments are quite apt to violate their own
zoning ordinances, in the sense of putting non-residential public struc-
tures and uses in the midst of residential zones. Special difficulty arises
where the government entity which builds within the city is other than
the city government itself, as, for instance, the county or state buildings,
state highways and other non-municipal public structures. State
statutes can of course expressly require all these buildings to be subject
to local zoning restrictions, and the statutes display some tendency to
include such a requirement. The Federal Government is often rather
high-handed about the subjecting of its buildings to zoning and planning
regulation, and claims constitutional immunity; and the judicial de-
cisions favor this immunity, though we should not accept this immunity
as established beyond contest . Naturally as the Federal activities within
the local communities increase, which means the Federal Government
builds more structures within the local areas, of which housing projects
are today an outstanding illustration, the reasons for requiring Federal
structures to fit into the local zone plan become increasingly impelling.
There is no trend in Federal legislation toward recognizing this.
CAPITAL BUDGET AND IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
That the participation in the formulation of a capital budget or im-
provement program falls within the appropriate activities of a compre-
hensive planning agency, has been accepted for many years. The Depart-
ment of Commerce's standard city planning enabling act provided: "The
Commission shall from time to time recommend to the appropriate
public officials programs for public structures and improvements and for
the financing thereof." A provision of that import or effect has become
or is becoming customary in city and other planning legislation, and
many city planning commissions have for years participated in the de-
velopment of shorter or longer public improvement programs and
capital budgets.
In its new charter New York City has made a leap which in this item
lands its planning legislation far beyond anything contained in any other
measure; for there the planning commission is designated as the capital
budget-making agency, not in the final legislative phase of the adoption
PLANNING «79
of the budget as an effective basis of tax levies and bond issues, but in all
the preceding budget-making steps. It is to the planning commission
that the administrative departments send their bond budget require-
ments and their recommendations as to the public improvements pro-
gram. While this one instance does not indicate that other States and
cities will go so far as New York City has, there can be no doubt that the
existing trend toward including participation of the planning board in
capital budget and public improvements program-making will tend to
be stimulated.
HOUSING
The discussion so far has related to general planning legislation, in-
cluding the typical subjects of master plan, zoning, subdivision regula-
tion and mapped streets ; but express provisions in other types of statutes
to the effect that designated matters shall be referred to the planning
agency or that the planning agency shall be represented should, to the
extent of such express requirements, be considered as a part of the body
of planning legislation We have not attempted, of course, to go through
the haystacks of all the statutes of these States for the discovering of the
few needles of this kind which may be hidden there; but we have ex-
amined the recent housing statutes, enacted by thirty of the States,
which authorize the creation of housing authorities and the construction
of housing by these authorities or by the local governments. The United
States Housing Authority Act contains no provision for submission of
any project to a planning commission; but in practice the Federal
Housing Authority does consult with the planning agencies.
The Ohio and Kentucky statutes require submission to the planning
commission of all streets, parks and other public spaces in the project.
Twenty-four of the statutes state that the housing projects shall be
subject to the planning and zoning laws. The extent to which this will
in any State compel submission of the location of housing projects to the
planning commission will depend on the provisions of the planning laws
of the State, including the municipal charters. Most of these state
housing laws state that the housing authority should cooperate with the
planning boards or should take any city or community plan into account.
Massachusetts tells the housing authority to encoiu-age the creation of
planning boards! In regard to housing, therefore, the trend is to place in
housing statutes sufficient to insure the participation of the planning
agencies in the city or community planning aspect of the projects where
the housing authority is keen for such participation or the planning
board asserts itself.
ROADSIDE CONTROL
The regulation of the uses of highway frontages is a matter of current
interest, though as yet the statutes are few in number. As the roadside is
a part of the city or the county or the region, it is necessarily included
280 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
within the territorial units under general city, county and regional plan-
ning and zoning legislation, and, when so treated — that is, when the
city or the county or the region is made the unit of the planning or the
zoning, with a resulting allocation of land uses in the roadside strip, such
as the regulation of advertising boards in residential districts — this
regulation does not differ in basic concept or technique from the zoning
of any other part of the city, county or region. The typical comprehen-
sive county planning and zoning statutes of the type we have mentioned
furnish ample legislative authority for the planning and regulation of
the highway strip through planning commissioners and local govern-
mental authorities if and when those who desire such planning and
regulation are willing to apply planning concepts and methods to this
subject, as demonstrated by California, which obtains the desired re-
sults along the highways by using the powers and methods set forth in
its county planning laws.
Where, however, a special statute deals with the roadside regulation,
the legislation is planning legislation, with the moral, intellectual and
conceptual justifications of the regulations derived from planning, only
when the planning of those regulations is reposed in a planning agency
and that planning agency operates in accordance with comprehensive
planning principles.
For instance, the Indiana legislature adopted in 1937 a resolution
calling upon the Indiana State Planning Board to make the necessary
surveys and formulate the necessary maps for the laying down of future
lines of the major highways and the regulation of the uses along these
highways, thus recognizing the problem as a problem within the province
of a master planning agency and implying that the work will be done
through planning techniques. There are, however, statutes which repose
this task in highway departments, and though it is conceivable that the
highway department will ask the planning agency to do the planning,
such statutes do not treat the roadside "zoning" as a planning problem
in our sense of the word.
The general state, county, regional and municipal planning statutes
of the type we have cited so often will probably be found suflBciently
comprehensive and elastic to authorize and make possible, so far as
mere statutes can make results possible, the planning, including zoning,
of other types of special districts or areas.
PLANNING 281
National Planning''
COMMITTEE
Frederic A. Delano, Chairman, Vice-Chairman, National Rescmrces
Committee.
Henry Matson Waite, Consultant, National Resources Committee.
Abel Wolman, Chairman, Maryland State Planning Commission.
REPORTER
Charles W. Eliot 2d, Executive Officer, National Resources Committee.
PROPOSITION I
A Planning Agency is Needed: There should be an advisory national
planning agency, appointed by the President and reporting to the Pres-
ident and the Congress, on long-range plans, emerging problems, and, in
general, serving as a "General Staff" to the Government for peace-time
problems in a manner similar to the service of the General Staff of the
War Department in relation to war emergencies.
PROPOSITION n
The Organization of a National Planning Agency: For the effective
work of the proposed national planning agency, it is desirable that it
should be composed of not more than five persons who have a national
reputation and in whom the President has confidence. They should serve
either without salary or on a per diem basis.
A full-time staff is essential to continuity of the work and to carry on
necessary coordinating and clearing house activities with the many
federal agencies concerned in all major problems on which the permanent
planning agency will be expected to act.
In our judgment the permanent organization of the planning agency
should be kept small with limited funds for overhead expenses. For
special studies and cooperative investigations with federal agencies,
state planning boards, and other groups, special additional funds or
grants-in-aid should be available to it from time to time.
PROPOSITION in
Decentralization: Participation by large numbers of citizens in plan-
ning activity is essential to the success of planning under the democratic
organization of our society. It should therefore be the policy of any
national planning agency to decentralize activities to the fullest extent
practicable. Under our Federal system this means that the planning
organization should work through state planning boards and other state
agencies for contacts with state governments and through such boards
to local, town, city and county planning organizations.
*Report of the Committee as amended. See discussion of amendments and deletions
which follows.
282 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
We confirm the recommendations of the National Resources Com-
mittee for the encom-agement of voluntary regional and interstate
planning work through the establishment of centers of cooperation, and
through the organization, on a flexible basis, of regional planning com-
mittees served by appropriate field oflBces of the permanent planning
agency.
We further suggest the early formation of a council or panel of
consultants so as to provide to the central office of the national planning
agency the services of technically qualified advisers and frequent and
easy access to informed public opinion throughout the country.
PROPOSITION IV
National Assets: We welcome the activities of the National Resources
Committee and urge the cooperation of local, state and regional plan-
ning agencies in studies of (a) land planning, (b) water planning, (c)
energy, and (d) public works.
PROPOSITION V
National Production and Income: Growing realization of the need of
producing and thus having more to divide, particularly to care for the
one-third of the population which is "ill-housed, ill-fed and ill-clothed,"
emphasizes the value of nation-wide analysis of how we produce, dis-
tribute and consume. In our opinion, it is the business of the proposed
national planning agency to consider these needs in relation to its other
work.
PROPOSITION VI
National Welfare: The studies by many related groups of national
health, welfare, education, recreation, etc., could in our opinion, well be
coordinated with related studies under III, IV and V above through
planning agencies at all levels of government.
DISCUSSION
Mb. Eliot : I want to refer very briefly to what might be called, per-
haps, a partial endorsement of the third proposition in our committee
report. It comes rather appropriately from someone who is in a position
to speak concerning federal policy on decentralization. I refer to the
President of the United States.
The President has sent a letter to Mr. Frederic A. Delano to be read
at this session of the conference. It is as follows:
Dear Mr. Delano: Will you please convey my greetings to those attending the
National Conference on Planning being held in Minneapolis on June 20 to 22?
It is encouraging to know that more people every year see the need for
looking ahead, for planning the development of towns, cities, coimties, states,
regions and the nation.
The report on the future of state planning submitted to me by the National
PLANNING 283
Resources Committee marks another step forward in the planning movement
for the wise conservation and development of all our resources. Under our
democratic procedures, we can make sure progress through participation in
planning by citizens at all levels of government.
The state planning boards now successfully at work in almost every state
of the Union have a great opportunity to secure the interest and participation
of all American citizens in shaping the future of their states and of these United
States. (Signed) Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Mr. George F. Yantis: I should like to use Proposition VI to makes,
somewhat the same preachment that I have been imposing on all who
would listen throughout the day.
I, personally, and, I am sure, all of us in the Northwest region inter-
ested in planning, accede to the proposition stated. We recognize the
necessity of dealing wisely by virtue of proper planning and consideration
of our assets.
We are convinced that planning should run through all units of
government. We do not believe that planning should be ordered from
the top. We do believe that it should be stimulated, inspired and given
directional point. We are satisfied of this, however, that the strength of
the planning movement will not be developed throughout the nation if
the planning all be done at Washington.
Our people need the education and development that come from par-
ticipation, and Washington needs the help and strength that come from
the men and women throughout the country. However, we have a par-
ticular concern in the Northwest. That is, that planning become effective
as fast as possible. We are not interested in planning solely to provide
reports.
We have attempted in the Pacific Northwest to provide a possible
means to help bring planning into the consciousness of our people, to
make it recognized and utilized by those who have the responsibility for
legislation and for administration. We think effective development can
come only if people are prepared for government and prepared for
planning.
Our problem is to get people to look at things — the use of resources,
conservation of resources, developments of all sorts — ^to look at the prob-
lems which heretofore they have considered only from the personal
rather than from the public standpoint.
Now to do that we have tried, and have succeeded at least partially,
to create the vehicle which we hope may be useful. We have organized
for the Northwest region an organization consisting of representatives
of the groups interested in planning in the far northwestern states and
men and women chosen from the field of education.
We will attempt through this agency to provide a clearing house for
interchange of information and services between those in the four States
engaged in planning, education, and public administration. We feel
that it will be necessary to carry on a long and sustained effort, intelli-
284 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
gently directed, reasonably to accomplish our job. We do not feel that
great progress will be made merely by talking planning as a generality.
We expect to assist, if possible, in training public servants.
To provide an organization is comparatively simple. Our problems
are the problems incident to all important operations; to find the char-
acter and the industry, and the intelligence in men and women, and the
sustained effort necessary to provide the contribution which we believe
may be made through this agency. We wish, if possible, to find a way to
help prepare people for popular government and to make planning be-
come a recognized and important part of the life and thought of the
people of the Northwest.
Mr. a. p. Greensfelder: I would suggest in Proposition IV a little
more brevity by cutting out the particulars. It seems to me a rather
difficult thing to state particulars for a nation. Let each planning agency
determine what the particulars are in their respective areas. If we are
not to cut them out, I think they should be sufficiently modified so that
they will not be controversial in the minds of people who aren't familiar
with the objectives of planning. (Proposition amended.)
Mr. Alfred Bettman: I have a feeling that one of the j oiliest ways
to spend an evening is not upon a non-controversial report and, there-
fore, I am looking for something to controvert. There is a special item
in here that rather struck me. That is, that members of the national
planning body should be in the confidence of the President. It doesn't
say the President shall have their confidence, but that they should be in
his confidence, which has a somewhat questionable connotation to me.
(Proposition amended.)
Mr. Eliot : I might explain one point that the Committee may have
had in mind when it used the phrase "in the confidence of the President."
If the planning board is to be of any use to the President, the President
must have confidence in it and it must have some ready access to him.
Mr. Harold S. Buttenheim : I have been much interested in Propo-
sition VI and its reference to national health, welfare, etc.
It seems to me that the planning movement has not taken as much
advantage as might be desirable of the existence of a very considerable
number of organizations in this country which are not planning organ-
izations, but which have, or ought to have, a very definite interest in
planning, and whose cooperation could be secured with the proposed
permanent national planning body. While I have been sitting here, I
have jotted down a few names of the sort of organization I have in
mind: The American Public Health Association, the National Recrea-
tion Association, the National Safety Council, the National Confer-
ence of Social Work, the National Municipal League, the American
Society of Civil Engineers. There are quite a number of other technical
organizations in the various public works field, such as the American
Water Works Association, the National Fire Protection Association, etc.
PLANNING 285
And there are several national organizations in the public works field
that have their headquarters in Chicago: the American Municipal
Association, the International City Managers' Association, the American
Public Works Association, etc.
I wonder if the Committee has considered the desirability of inviting
these organizations to endorse such a measure. If it could be discussed
at the coming conventions of these organizations, I think some very
desirable support for the proposal would result.
Mr. Russell V. Black: I notice in Proposition II that among the
various purposes for which funds are suggested to be provided, there is
no mention of any possible grants made to the state planning boards.
This has been a principle which seems to apply in other fields of govern-
ment very successfully.
I believe that a great deal of benefit might be derived by some very
well-formulated plan of grants-in-aid to state planning. And I should
like to see that at least mentioned in the possible uses of funds. (Propo-
sition amended.)
Mr. Donald C. Blaisdell: I am rather surprised to find that we all
assume that we know what we are planning. With all of our physical
planning I wonder if we have yet scratched the surface of the data which
we need if we are going to think ahead intelligently, which I assume is
what we mean by planning.
It seems to me that the steps which have been taken in the appoint-
ment of national commissions, one of which resulted in the passage of the
Social Security Act, are certainly a part of the job that we have to do;
that the physical planning which we undertake in the lay-out of cities
rests on such basic ideas as the future of the population.
There will be forthcoming shortly the first results on a national scale
of the survey which was made in 1935 of the way in which we use our
incomes. These data, based on enumerations and interviews with over
300,000 people, will give us another scrap of information with which
we can lay our plans for the future.
However, we come into an even more active field. There are popula-
tion movements which take place relatively slowly, such as the growth
of cities, but there are economic movements which take place even more
quickly. Since a year ago we have witnessed probably the sharpest drop
in economic activity ever known in this country. I wonder if any na-
tional planning organization, or any body of government officials, or
private individuals could plan for that happening. I am one of those
who would dare to think that we can ; that this calls for perhaps a slightly
different idea of planning than some of us have tried to follow in the
past; that we must not have one plan but that we must have two plans,
maybe three or more; that we must have alternate plans with which to
meet different types of situations which may arise,
I suggest also in connection with our physical planning that possibly
286 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
we ought not to draw the regional plan for New York and environs.
Perhaps we ought to draw possible alternative plans. If we interpret
the trend of economic forces correctly, possibly one plan might do. I
doubt it; we need alternatives.
Mr. Eliot : The idea of alternate plans is certainly a novel contribu-
tion to these conferences on planning. I hope the challenge Mr. Blaisdell
has laid down may be taken up by some of those who previously have
advocated a master plan.
Col. H. M. Waite: There is a most decided need in this country for
alternate plans, not only, as so ably said by the previous speaker, on our
welfare and economic side, but in public works planning as well. It is
comparatively easy to build up a federal public works program with
all federal departments thinking in terms of year-to-year budget ex-
penditures. It is exceedingly difficult, however, to plan non-federal
public works programs, keeping people interested in a plan that will be
alternative to meet different conditions.
How can you keep a community, a State, and forty-eight States, with
the counties and the numerous cities in each of those States, interested
in the possibilities of a budget expenditure that will be alternative to
meet the economic condition of the country, which may vary from State
to State and from coast to coast.
The federal government today is figuring on a six-year federal pub-
lic works program. It will be based on two alternatives. One of these
expenditure budgets for six years will be on the theory of prosperity and
a balanced budget; the other will be for possible expenditure in case
of economic necessity, from which one can draw for projects that are
in the balanced budget or low curve.
I think one of the grave problems before planners is the adoption of
a plan that may be interpreted in the light of financial crisis or of
prosperity.
That leads me to this thought about non-federal planning. A plan-
ning board is a board of review. It has no administrative function. It
sets up an ideal plan, we will say, of expenditure. It thinks in terms of
things that must be done to fit the ideal of development of a particular
community, whether it be city, county, or State. At the same time the
execution and expenditure is ordered by the administrative agency.
Therefore, in setting up a plan for non-federal work, it must be con-
sidered from the idealistic-plan view and, at the same time, the prac-
ticable possibility for the execution and construction of the plan or parts
of the plan that will meet the economic conditions of the country or
of the local community.
Aren't the planners overlooking that idea? Are they really tying to-
gether the idea of a plan and the practicability of the execution of that
plan under various economic stresses?
Mb. E. H. Wiecking: A great deal of progress has been made in the
PLANNING 287
field of rural land-use planning. That is just one segment under your
Proposition IV. It is the only one that I have any right to speak on
in any manner. The progress has been in large part due, I think, to
the emphasis which was originally given to it through the National Re-
sources Committee, then the National Resources Board. I think you are
all familiar with the series of rural land-use planning reports that we
issued under the auspices of the National Resources Committee some
years ago. That work served as a basis and gave impetus to a move-
ment in the rural land-use planning field. The temporary organization
which was thus set up through the National Resources Committee is now
a permanent, at least we hope permanent, group of men in the Depart-
ment of Agriculture working closely with the various state agencies.
It seems from a remark made by Mr. Yantis earlier in the evening
that one of the great needs now is to get planning into the thinking
of the citizenry. In the agricultural field that is being attempted with
very interesting results. There are now in operation about twenty -four
hundred voluntary farmer-citizen planning committees, entirely infor-
mal, throughout the United States. Some nine hundred of them have
turned in land-use classifications for their respective counties, which, in
our judgment, is the first technical step in working out a program for
their communities.
I think that is one of the very necessary steps in the planning process,
because not until the interest of these people is enlisted will the proper
headway be made. Not until they feel that plans are their plans will
anything ever be done about them. And not until they themselves
realize the necessity for remedial legislation, will such legislation be
passed.
Mr. Black: I suppose I have what may seem to be a very imprac-
ticable suggestion. I have dared to hope that the National Resources
Committee might sometime broaden its land-planning studies to include
what I would call a future land-use study for the entire United States,
not one limited to the use of rural land, but to all land uses.
I have in mind the delineation of the large land areas of the State as to
their future place in the national economy. That is, the delineation of
those areas which are to serve primarily the industrial areas of the
nation, the areas in which the largest future is agricultural, recreational,
and so forth.
We should do it on a large scale, appropriate to a national under-
taking— a projection of present uses into the futm-e so far as we can
foresee it, using that pattern of future land use as one of the primary
bases for the development of our plans.
Proposition IV (a). Land Planning, starts out with a survey of public
land ownership. That seems to me to be the least part of the kind of
future land-use study I am thinking about. We are concerned with the
future of land used by all agencies, public and private, and it is my
288 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
hope in the States in which I am working, that a first step to what I
call a master plan will be this future land-use study.
But the individual States are helpless in many of these things. What
the future land uses in individual States are will depend upon the broad
national economy and land use, and it seems to me that it is up to the
National Resources Committee to provide the leadership to the States
in future land-use planning.
Mr. Bettman: I am a little puzzled about Proposition V, what its
intention is, what its import is. It seems to me to refer to the thing
we call economic planning. It hints at an agency which has in a purely
advisory capacity the function of doing economic planning. It does not
make it perfectly plain that the agency is to be the same agency as that
which is being talked of in the previous four propositions and, if so,
it puts this economic planning function in a most mild and negative
fashion.
I don't wish to attempt to assert a position upon this question, but I
do believe that it will not do to leave Proposition V in this somewhat
nebulous and negative state. If it be the intention to include economic
planning within the jurisdiction of the planning agency, which has been
talked of in the other propositions, I believe that it ought to say so.
Mr. Eliot: I am not quite sure, but I hope I am interpreting Mr.
Bettman correctly. He moves an amendment to the last sentence to
read something like this: "In our opinion, it is the business of the pro-
posed national planning agency to consider these needs in relation to its
other work."
Mr. Bettman: That is right.
Mr. William Stanley Parker: I second the proposed amendment.
Mr. Eliot : My interpretation, I understand, is adopted by Mr. Bett-
man and seconded by Mr. Parker. It is before you for discussion. Is
there any further discussion of the amendment?
There was no further discussion of the amendment. Question was
called, and the amendment was carried.
PLANNING 289
State Planning
COMMITTEE
Morton L. Wallerstein, Chairman, Chairman of the Virginia State Plan-
ning Board.
Morris B. Lambie, Graduate School of Public Administration, Harvard
University.
Robert H. Randall, Consultant, State and Regional Planning, National
Resources Committee.
REPORTER
Harold F. Gosnell, Department of Political Science, University of Chicago.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Elisabeth M. Herlihy, Chairman, Massachusetts State Planning Board.
V. O. Key, National Resources Committee.
Robert D. Lusk, Vice-Chairman, South Dakota State Planning Board.
Richard E. Scammon, Chairman, Minnesota State Planning Board.
THE Committee, recognizing the magnitude of the subject and simply
with the idea of expressing certain skeleton opinions along the out-
line of the discussion, in order to aid in its stimulation, reports as follows :
Relationship with Other State Departments: The relationship of a state
planning board as to other state departments may roughly be referred
to as the relationship with the governor, with the executive departments
serving under the governor, and with the legislature. It is apparent that
the state planning board must be non-partisan, non-political and non-
propaganda. It should serve as a general stafiF to the governor to place
before him pertinent facts concerning the general welfare of the State and
to furnish to him facts and conclusions upon request. With the state
departments it should likewise serve as a general planning stajff for the
same purposes, care being always exercised, in both cases, to place the
planning board in its proper position as a planning agency and not as an
administrative agency, serving only in an advisory capacity and not
being charged with or endeavoring to execute its suggested plans. With
regard to the legislative department, including a legislative council, if
any, as well as legislative commissions and committees, it should serve
merely as an advisory agency when requested to act and not seek to im-
pose its views on any legislative body, or part thereof, seeking at all
times to present factual material and proper conclusions to be drawn
therefrom, leaving to legislative representatives their own respective
duties as to policy making.
Stimulation of Local Planning: As no state planning board can prop-
erly exercise its planning functions without local planning commissions,
the duty of stimulating both the organization and effectiveness of local
boards, municipal, county and regional, is at once apparent. In this
290 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
stimulation it is believed that far greater use should be made of the state-
wide organization of municipalities and of counties, as these organiza-
tions are probably much more apt to secure attentive hearings from the
local units than is possible with a state planning board. Your Committee
strongly recommends the setting up in each State, if possible, of a well-
informed planning consultant to work with the state planning board, as
well as the municipal and coimty organizations, in the actual promotion
and technique concerning the organizations of the local boards. In this
connection, publicity, both in the newspapers and by the issuance of cir-
culars and magazines through the state planning board, is advisable,
although care should be taken to see that this is not overdone.
Integration of National Planning: That there is serious need in those
problems of nation-wide import, typical examples of which are water
resources and land uses, that a national agency, in cooperation with the
state planning board, is essential, needs not be labored here. In addition
to this, many regional problems arise among the various States in which
a national agency can be helpful. As to what this relationship may
finally be is, in the opinion of your Committee, not possible of decision
at this time. Questions which might be considered in a discussion of this
report are as to whether there should be a financial grant-in-aid, as to
whether consultants should be furnished as has been done, as to what
criterion should be as between the better staffed planning boards and the
weaker ones. These are questions which should be thoroughly considered.
Public Relations and Exposition of the Planning Program: Because
state planning is comparatively new in the governmental set-up, your
Committee recognizes that its future is measured not only by its accom-
plishments but by proper public relations through official and unofficial
contacts, through colleges and schools, through the press, and various
other media of disseminating information to the public. Here, again,
certain principles must be closely adhered to. One is that the publicity
may be overdone to an extent where the general public and those sought
to be reached receive so many publications and press releases concerning
planning that they fail to read them. Another is that the planning stories,
wherever possible, should have real news value. Another is that planning
stories should frequently be released by state departments and others
concerned, rather than through the state planning board itself. As the
futiu-e of state planning will unquestionably be determined by the
younger people, it would seem advisable that increasing attention be
given to the development of the ideas of the state planning board in the
schools and colleges. In the opinion of your Committee, no opportunity
should be neglected before public meetings to give pertinent facts and
conclusions established by your state planning board. Wherever possible,
these should be localized and of particular interest to the group before
whom they are presented.
PLANNING 291
Education for Planning in the United States
COMMITTEE
Carl Feiss, Chairman, Planning and Housing Division, School of Architec-
ture, Columbia University.
Frederick J. Adams, School of Architecture, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology.
Donald C. Blaisdell, Assistant to the Under-Secretary, United States
Department of Agriculture.
Henry V. Hubbard, Chairman, Department of Regional Planning, Harvard
University.
REPORTER
Walter Curt Behrendt, Technical Director, Buffalo City Planning Asso-
ciation, Inc.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Harold W. Lautner, Executive Secretary, American City Planning Institute.
ELarl B. Lohmann, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of
Illinois.
S. B. Zisman, Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas.
STATUS OF PLANNING INSTRUCTION IN INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION
CARL FEISS
THE Committee on Instruction and Research of the National Asso-
ciation of Housing OflBcials assigned to me in the spring of 1937 the
job of determining the status of housing instruction in institutions of
higher education in this country. This survey was conducted only in
fields of higher education, although some preliminary investigation was
conducted in grade and high-school planning education with the assist-
ance of the curricula research laboratory of Teachers' College, Columbia
University. None of the investigations so far was limited to the housing
field because it was known that in many places both planning and hous-
ing were taught either simultaneously or in a sequence of lectures.
Therefore, in all forms, form letters, and other methods of contact,
questions on planning were included, and in the replies the planning
material was separated from the housing by a careful analysis and break-
down into tables.
A total of 365 universities, state colleges, teachers' colleges, state nor-
mal schools and architectural schools were contacted. The replies varied
considerably in character. In some cases they were of little value, but
in a great many instances they revealed the fact stated above, that plan-
ning and housing education are subjects of great interest. There is one
very pertinent fact resulting from the study, and that is that there are
no two institutions teaching planning or housing in the same way.
292 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Replies Teaching
Question- received Planning, or
Special Departments or Schools naires sent to date Housing, or both
Agriculture 36 36 25
Architecture 34 34 33
Arts and Sciences 38 15 9
Education 54 10 2
Engineering 57 21 17
General (Just Head contacted) .... 98 93 73
Graduate Studies 27 5 1
Home Economics 29 17 16
Social Service 26 16 15
Teachers Colleges and Normal Schools . 171 ^ 3
~570 270 194
CHARACTER AND DISTRIBUTION OF REPLIES
It is impossible at the present time to draw any final conclusions as
to curricula based on the material received, because of the great variety
of forms in which it was submitted, and because of our lack of direct con-
tact with individuals. The variety of forms may be due partly to the
generality of the form letter itself, but the evidently rapidly changing
curriculum in the schools is probably also a factor. There is still another
reason for the difficulty, and that is that there are many courses which
are on the border line, which may deal with some factor of planning or
housing, or a subject which has an influence on these fields but which is
not entirely concerned with them. In some cases the teachers themselves
are not aware of the fact that the courses they are teaching are really
planning or housing. Others have confused housing with dormitories and
shelter for poultry and livestock, and city planning with "decorative
horticulture."
Obviously, a sample method can indicate only a general trend, and
many important schools may have been lost or uncontacted. On top of
this it is also obvious that a letter received from an institution cannot be
judged at its face value. Every head of every department is anxious that
his teaching appear to be the best, and all accounts of courses had to be
taken with a pinch of salt. Because no personal contacts were made with
individual teachers, it was impossible to know how well the courses were
being taught, or even the name of the professor, the subjects covered, or
the hours and the requirements of the course. These are some of the
handicaps which we must accept, and our judgment and analysis of the
material received to date must take them into account. Subtracting the
"no's" and subtracting also those elements which have a tendency to
prevent the drafting of final conclusions on questions of this sort, we are
still faced with an impressive array of facts. Housing and planning have
unquestionably become important items in curricula, and the Committee
on Instruction and Research, and planning and housing organizations
interested in education have a big job ahead of them in assisting our
educational institutions in formulating courses of real merit and value
PLANNING 29S
which may guide the consuming public in the improvement of its own
living conditions throughout the country.
In order to facilitate the interpretation of the material, a spot map
was prepared showing the geographical relationships of institutions
teaching planning or housing or both. The results indicated a concentra-
tion along the Atlantic seaboard, a wide-spread distribution in rural sec-
tions of the South and Midwest, and almost no courses being given in
the Southwest. Naturally, the concentration of interest falls in the areas
in which the planning and housing problems are the most serious, such
as the most densely populated areas in New England and the Middle
Atlantic states, in the Great Lakes region, and in the rm-al slum districts
of the deep South, There is a distinct vacuum in the western parts of the
States of Kentucky and Tennessee, and the northern part of the State
of Mississippi, a belt in which extremely bad housing conditions obtain.
The sample did not take in, unfortunately, the smaller educational in-
stitutions in southern Indiana and Illinois, in northern Missouri and
southern Minnesota. However, for the purpose of this preliminary
report, enough institutions were located in such widely varying geograph-
ical and climatic areas that it is safe to assume that there are few sections
in the country in which planning has not become a regular part of the
curriculum of most important educational institutions. It is also evident
that recommendations will be toward the decentralization rather than
the centralization of planning education. Local problems will have to
be met by those trained in special areas, familiar with local climate,
social and economic conditions and local labor and building materials.
Unfortunately, it has not been possible, because of lack of time and
funds, to analyze the planning information in as detailed a way as the
housing. However, certain facts are outstanding. In the first place all
but one of the accredited architectural schools claim to be teaching plan-
ning in some form or another. Only a few of them are giving complete
courses and the rest give occasional design problems and lectures.
The late John Nolen issued in 1927 a list of 29 colleges and technical
schools giving lectures or courses in city planning. (An earlier survey
made by James Sturgis Pray of Harvard in 1921 was not available, so
that it was difficult to establish a trend.) All except three of the institu-
tions contacted by John Nolen were still teaching planning in some form
or another when this last survey was made, and in technical institutions,
including architecture, civil engineering, and agricultural engineering,
some twenty more interested institutions were uncovered.
Several pertinent questions on technical planning education have not
been answered. I pose these problems not because they are controversial,
but simply because sooner or later it must be determined which depart-
ments in universities or technical schools are best fitted to teach planning
to technicians. For instance, Cornell, Harvard, and the University of
Illinois teach planning in departments connected with or supplementary
294 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
to the departments of landscape architecture. At M.I.T. and Columbia
planning courses are taught in departments of the school of architectiu-e,
M.I.T. emphasizing the large-scale planning aspects of the field, and
Columbia urban re-planning and housing. The University of Nebraska
and Kansas State College teach planning in their schools of engineering.
One fact to be noted is that the most impressive results of the survey
were not the uncovering of any significant new material in the better-
known urban schools, but of a vast interest in rural agricultural schools
both in the South and the Middle West. In these institutions, planning
instruction becomes part of the agricultural engineering colleges; these
being influenced by the large-scale conservation policies of Federal and
state governments, are giving new courses in regional planning, including
reclamation and conservation studies, highway design, cooperative pro-
ducing and marketing, and rm-al electrification.
OTHER SURVEYS ON PLANNING EDUCATION
Let us return to aspects of technical education not covered by the re-
ports of the Committee on Education of the American City Planning
Institute: Since planning is being taught in rural areas in schools of
agricultural engineering, it may be well for the Institute to recognize the
possible importance of the development of trained technicians in these
schools. Many teach not only the more obvious planning courses, but
also studies in sociology, home economics, and political science.
There seems to be confusion in all institutions, whether urban or rural,
as to what planning education consists of. Perhaps this confusion exists
because of the different orientation of the technical schools teaching the
subjects. One would not expect a landscape department to give courses
in slum clearance and re-housing problems nor an urban architectural
school to deal with large-scale planning of rural areas. Obviously, spe-
cialization in varying locations is necessary. It is perfectly true that
there is no hard-and-fast dividing line between urban, suburban, rural and
regional planning problems, and the technician interested in any of these
problems should be cognizant of the importance of the others. However,
this is an age of definitions, and planning is a "portmanteau" word of
the worst sort which holds too many ideas. The limits of its meaning are
fuzzy. The ACPI could be of real use in the clarification of the termin-
ology used in various schools, so that ultimately we may know just what
is being taught in them.
Another survey of planning education has been completed by the
National Economic and Social Planning Association. This survey was
discovered after it was too late to prevent a duplication of material, but
the NAHO mailing list was mailed to the NESPA in order that returns
might be checked.
The exact number of planning courses and their character is only of
academic importance. One month from the time of writing the figures
PLANNING 295
may be out of date. The curricula are changing constantly. Sooner or
later it is going to be necessary to set up a committee to analyze schools
in different localities. No two courses seem to be given in the same way,
and the permutations and combinations appear to be infinite.
Planning instruction is spreading like wild fire in educational institu-
tions throughout the country. There is no need to check the spread, but
there is need to direct it if it is to be of any use in clearing the tangled
undergrowth which is our present environment. Education properly
organized and directed can be of great service to the Nation. Planning
education seems to lack both organization and direction and badly needs
the stabilizing influence of one central organization specializing in its
problems.
PLANNING EDUCATION FOR PUPILS IN GRADE AND
HIGH SCHOOLS
FREDERICK J. ADAMS
IN RECENT years an increasing emphasis has been placed on the
education of the average citizen in the importance of physical plan-
ning, whether city, state, or regional in scope. This is a natural develop-
ment from increased recognition of the value of comprehensive planning
by local and state governments; for if the advance planning of man's
physical environment is to be successful in a democracy, the support of
all classes of the people is essential, not only if sufficient funds are to be
provided by legislative bodies at all levels of government, but also if
carefully studied plans are to be acted upon.
In order to ensure intelligent public action in the future it is not suf-
ficient to educate adults. The citizens of the future should be informed of
the social and economic advantages of comprehensive planning for neigh-
borhoods, cities and regions. Such information can form part of the
curriculum in civics. It is worth drawing attention to the fact that the
average high school graduate reaches voting age within three or four
years after he leaves school.
A number of attempts have been made, some of them very successful,
to inform students in elementary and secondary schools of the advan-
tages to their community to be gained by comprehensive planning. The
best-known examples, such as the efforts of Charles H. Wacker in
Chicago, Illinois, and George E. Kessler in Dallas, Texas, generally re-
sulted from attempts to gain public support for specific plans, and in the
case of Chicago such a program proved particularly successful.
The need today is for a satisfactory method of providing the younger
generation with some appreciation of comprehensive planning as an idea
or point of view. At a conference on planning education held in Wash-
ington, D. C, on March 24, 1938, under the sponsorship of the American
Planning and Civic Association, attention was called to this difficulty,
296 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
and one of the methods proposed for overcoming it was to bring to the
attention of the pubhc some concrete examples of good and bad planning
in their locality.
Actual organizations exist for the development of public interest in
planning, notably the American Planning and Civic Association and the
Bureau of Community Planning developed at the University of Illinois
under the chairmanship of Dean Rexford Newcomb of the School of
Architecture. Another organization whose purpose is the same, although
it is confining its attention to the junior and senior high-school pupil,
is the New England Town Planning Association of Boston, Massachusetts,
of which the present writer is secretary. Most of the activity of the Asso-
ciation has been in the development of interest on the part of school prin-
cipals and civics teachers in the use of planning material in their courses
on local government and similar subjects, and the sponsoring of com-
petitions.
The criticism has been made that such contests tend to give to those
who are successful in receiving awards the impression that they are quali-
fied to consider themselves professional planners; and, further, that the
inclusion of projects of this type in the elementary or secondary school
program implies that physical planning does not require a high degree of
technical ability. It does not seem to the present writer that this is any
more valid than that the teaching of painting, sculpture, or music in such
schools reflects on the professional fields of the artist or musician.
If use is made of methods of procedure similar to those followed by
technicians, it is because the "project method" is finding increasing sup-
port among educators, and the preparation of plans or maps is an ideal
medium for interesting young people in planning problems through
active participation in a project which involves a study of the future
possibilities of their community or neighborhood.
If we agree on the desirability of the inclusion of such material in the
subject matter of civics courses in our elementary and secondary schools,
the question arises as to the form in which the material should be pre-
sented. This must vary with the locality of the school — and even with
the individual teacher; but some experience already accumulated by the
New England Town Planning Association indicates the desirability of
utilizing existing courses in civics, government, or art for such instruction
rather than attempting to inject new courses into what are already over-
crowded curricula. The school teachers themselves are in a much better
position than the professional planner to work out ways and means of
treating the subject matter. What they ask is help in the selection and
correlation of the material and apprisal of recent developments.
Teachers in elementary and high schools need a textbook which pre-
sents the responsibility of each citizen in securing the proper future
development of his community, not a detailed procedure for a planning
project, for there might be a tendency to follow it literally without
PLANNING 297
recognizing the extent to which local conditions vary such procedure. At
the same time there would be an obvious advantage in having at the
disposal of such teachers a book which brought out the significant con-
tributions which have been made in the field of community planning and
was well illustrated with photographs and plans of actual examples.
Above all, planning education in the schools should not be simply
informative but should be used to develop an attitude of mind on the
part of the younger generation that "something can be done about it";
that the proper planning and control of our urban and rural areas is not
impossible under a democratic form of government; and not only that as
future citizens they have a responsibility in the matter but that it is to
their personal interest to see that the communities of the future provide
a satisfying environment.
It is obvious that the field being so large and past experience so
limited, the objectives of such a program cannot be reached overnight.
Most encouraging is the increasing recognition of the fact that such a
program is essential if real progress be made in planning. There is every
reason to believe that a new attitude of mind on the part of the public
is already in the making.
TRAINING OF PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS IN
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
CARL FEISS
Specialists in planning^ education have been concentrating their
attention on the training of technicians. While admittedly the training of
technicians is still in an experimental stage and a standard methodology
is still to be worked out, it would be foolish of those most interested in
this form of instruction to ignore the training of professional students in
our universities and colleges. These are students who in all likelihood
will never touch a drawing board, who will never actually make a physi-
cal plan, and who may never understand the jargon of the technicians.
However, in the near future they may be shaping our laws, our economic
policies, our social outlook. Slowly but unquestionably these profes-
sional groups in our universities and colleges are becoming planning con-
scious ; it is up to the technician to contact them as soon as possible that
his point of view may be easily understood, and that ultimately these
groups may be of assistance to him.
PRESENT PRACTICE
At present, in universities having technical schools where planning
instruction is being given, there is very little interdepartmental coopera-
tion. While the professional departments such as sociology, economics,
and law are occasionally drawn on by technical planning departments
^Planning, i.e., physical planning, which may include urban, subiurban, rural and
regional planning, singly or in combination.
298 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
in universities for special lecturers, the technical teachers of planners are
seldom asked to reciprocate.
The training of planning technicians has been carried on in architec-
tural schools and schools of landscape architecture, engineering and
agricultiu*al engineering. There are not many complete courses being
given, and the bias is almost invariably in the direction of the particular
school in which the planning instruction is being given. Where such
instruction occurs in universities there are much greater opportunities
for interdepartmental cooperation, and the technical student has a
chance to broaden his training. However, there is hardly a department
in a university which does not have such high walls of red tape around it
that the student and the instructor are discouraged. While the technical
student may know what he wishes to get from the sociologist or lawyer,
the very nature of the technical school may frighten the sociology or law
student from attempting to enter planning courses even if he could.
Besides, all educational trends seem to be directed toward a greater spe-
cialization, and few courses, whether technical or professional, are so
designed that students from the outside may understand the work car-
ried on within them. In almost all cases where technical students have
been enrolled in sociology or economics they have found it difficult to
keep up with the regular students; consequently, in most institutions
giving courses in planning of a year's time or more, special lectures have
been given in urban sociology, municipal finance, municipal government,
and economics. The attitude of the professional department toward those
lectures or courses seems usually to be that they are too elementary and
too specialized for the regular professional student.
In universities where no technical planning courses are being given,
professional training oddly enough seems simplified. Special lecturers
are often called in for short periods, but research work and these are
completed without benefit of expert. It is not unusual that a student of
education should write a thesis on city planning^ or that innumerable
sociologists should include city planning chapters in all of their writings.
It is extremely interesting to notice the rapid spread of planning
courses in midwestern and southern agricultural schools; in fact, it is
obvious that the work of the Tennessee Valley Authority and that of the
National Resources Committee has excited a growing demand for rural
and regional planning studies. It would seem to be the rare agricultural
school, whether state-financed or not, where some form of planning does
not occur in the curriculum. The extension services of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture and the state departments, as well as the educational
activities of the National Resources Committee and various Federal farm
agencies, have been particularly helpful. Large-scale planning has been
and can be made as available to the rural student as to the urban one.
iFor example, "Relationship of City Planning to School Plant Planning," by Russell
Holey, Teachers' College, Columbia University, 1935.
PLANNING 299
However, despite the encouraging spread of interest in planning, there
are still many institutions and departments in institutions which should
be interested in the subject but are not. Changes in curricula move
slowly in the older self-satisfied schools or in smaller and more timid ones.
The gap is particularly noticeable in teachers' colleges and normal
schools, and one is led to wonder who has been giving the teachers of
professional students the little planning they know.
The teaching of professionals is a complicated problem. For instance,
the law student studying real estate law may get his planning education
from a real estate man so much interested in the sale of property that to
him any form of planning legislation approaches socialism or communism.
Or he may get his bias from a technician who is so much interested in
proper planning that he ignores the rights of the property owner. An-
other factor is that the professional student may consider himself an
expert rather than a specialist unless he is given the kind of course which
enables him to understand and appreciate the work of the technician or
professional in other allied fields. He may come to the point where he
considers his own field the only one properly fitted to handle planning.
The same, of course, is true of the technician who often believes that he
can be a lawyer, sociologist, political scientist, economist, and publicity
expert all in one. It is perfectly true that in small communities and in
isolated areas where assistance in these various fields is difficult to obtain,
the technician has to be a "jack of all trades." However, as the success of
his job is always predicated on cooperation and coordination, he will
have to learn to understand the professional's point of view and how to
use the professional to the best advantage of the community.
FUTURE PRACTICE
While professional planning is complicated, there is no reason why
it cannot be successful. There are five professional departments in whose
curricula planning education should be inserted: sociology, economics
and home economics, law, political science and education.
It is recommended that where technical planning courses are given in
universities or colleges the heads of these courses contact the deans of
these five departments and discuss with them the need for interdepart-
mental cooperation.
Any one of the three organizations participating in this conference is
in a position to sponsor conferences and conventions in academic circles.
Several noteworthy planning meetings have been held in the last few
years under the auspices of both technical and professional schools, and
usually with one of these three agencies in the background. However,
the interest aroused by such conferences is only temporary unless regular
courses are set up.
The planning technician needs the assistance of professionals who
have specialized in particular fields allied to planning. It is up to him
300 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
to attempt to get cooperation from professional schools in order to get
the assistance he is going to need from their graduates. It is up to him to
see that their training is suitable to his needs. No one else can do this
end of the job properly.
ADULT EDUCATION
CARL FEISS
The planning technician is compelled to be a publicity expert. Half of
his time is taken with selling planning' to the public. His training is
expensive and long. The technique of planning is constantly changing,
and part of the technician's natural job is to be on the qui vive for new
developments. Because planning is a relatively new field, because the lay
pubhc confuses ordered procedure with regimentation, many of the plan-
ner's precious crowded moments are wasted in explaining the simplest
and most obvious ideas to the public.
To add to the troubles of the planner, not only the public but officials
have to be sold on the idea of planning. Since public officials do not
always have a professional or technical training, planning education for
adults must become a significant part of any large-scale educational pro-
gram. As Mr. Blaisdell brings out in his report on "Planning Education
of Public Officials," it may be necessary to give special education to offi-
cials either to broaden or narrow their outlook. However, a basic pro-
gram of adult education throughout the country, with emphasis on spe-
cial regional problems, would simplify this training.
Obviously, the more support the technician gets from an intelligent
pubUc, the simpler will be his problems, and the faster the local plan-
ning program will proceed. Technical and professional planning organi-
zations such as the three participating in this conference, while devoting
their activities to adult education, have a very specialized public and a
limited range of activity. This is not meant as a criticism, but it is sug-
gested that some of the activities of at least one of them (perhaps the
American Planning and Civic Association would be the most logical), be
directed toward a nation-wide planning educational program.
Adult planning education falls into three divisions: (1) Prepared
courses voluntarily attended (university extension courses, night schools,
special lecture programs, radio, etc.) ; (2) voluntary purchase of literature
from, or membership contact with, professional, technical, or govern-
ment planning agencies; (3) unconscious absorption of planning knowl-
edge from newspapers, periodicals, radio, motion pictures, etc.
Since these types of education are widespread and involve all kinds of
localities, a national planning education committee made up of the three
participating agencies may be necessary to insure a coordinated program.
^Planning, i.e., physical planning, which may include urban, suburban, rural and
regional planning, singly or in combination.
PLANNING 301
Prepared Courses Voluntarily Attended: This type of adult education,
while of value, is the most limited in its contacts with the public, and
probably has least influence. In small communities in parts of the coun-
try where large-scale planning or reclamation projects are under way and
local interest is high, special lectures, open fora and meetings of all kinds
are usually well attended. In urban centers where special controversial
problems exist, a series of night courses given in a local university or
high school auditorium may receive much publicity and be successful in
reaching large groups. However, in general, it is not to be expected that
the average adult, man or woman, will attend a course on planning or
housing problems. The audience usually attending such courses is made
up predominantly of professional and technical workers interested in
increasing their own ability.
There have been all types of agencies sponsoring such courses, not
only technical planning departments in universities, but also professional
departments such as those of sociology and political science. Women's
organizations have been particularly active, such as the League of
Women Voters working with parent-teacher associations. However, too
little use has been made of parent-teacher associations by professional
planning agencies in furthering this kind of activity. In some towns
the local planning board has not only sponsored planning educational
programs for children, but also illustrated lectures for adults.
Radio education is being tried, but whether successfully or not can-
not yet be ascertained.
Most planners are anxious to have as part of their organization, pub-
lic representation in the form of a citizens' advisory body, varying in
size according to the needs of the technician and the community. This
type of educational activity is ideally suited to the work of this ad-
visory body.
Voluntary Purchase of Literature or Membership Contact with Planning
Agencies. Special Books: There are three types of planning organiza-
tions distributing propaganda to the adult public: (1) governmental
(Federal, state and local); (2) technical; (3) professional.
The Federal Government has been publishing a vast amount of im-
portant planning literature, a good deal of which may be obtained free
of charge or at a nominal sum. Perhaps the best example of such pub-
lication is that of the National Resources Committee, which not only
publishes its reports in full for the use of the technician, but from time to
time digests these and publishes them in a simplified form for the use of
the public. Such publications have a wide distribution in schools and
colleges and among technicians. How much contact the public has with
them is not known. In all likelihood, government -sponsored motion pic-
tures on planning subjects have had wider influence.
The Department of Agriculture, the rural resettlement and conserva-
tion departments, the National Park Service, and other organizations in
302 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
the Department of the Interior and the Department of Commerce have
been pubUshing a vast quantity of material. While these agencies have
large mailing lists they must depend a great deal upon voluntary de-
mands for the distribution of their publications.
State and local planning agencies are also constantly publishing re-
ports, bulletins, and brochures. These are distributed usually to various
departments in the state and municipal governments, and reach some of
the schools and universities upon demand. However, the editions are
limited in number and reach a relatively small audience. In the small
town the local planning agency can help itself materially if it sees that
its reports get to important citizens through a special mailing list.
Another form of planning literature which is obtainable through pur-
chase or in libraries is books dealing with planning subjects written by
private individuals, technicians, or professional workers, published by
private printing houses. An example of the first which comes to mind
immediately is Lewis Mumford's The Culture of Cities. The digest of this
book in the magazine Time advertised the planning field to the lay public
on a larger scale than has all the publicity and propaganda emanating
from governmental, technical or professional planning agencies.
Unconscious Absorption of Planning Knowledge: The vast majority
of people does not like to be told that it is being educated, preferring to
think that it is picking up its knowledge under its own power. Planning
covers such a wide variety of fields that information on it is constantly
appearing in all kinds of publications and in various amusement fields,
thus inadvertently reaching the public. Agencies which are often uncon-
sciously assisting in adult planning education are the newspapers,
periodicals, motion pictures and the radio.
Newspapers have been and can be the most potent influence on the
public knowledge of planning. Not only have such syndicated writers
as Mrs. Roosevelt and Westbrook Pegler devoted space, time and again,
to various aspects of the subject, but the controversial planning problems
are being constantly referred to in feature articles and editorials. The
newspapers are articulate and usually interested. There is no better way
to reach the public at large than through them.
Periodicals have recently come into prominence in wide-spread plan-
ning educational activities. The more expensive Atlantic Monthly, For-
tune, etc., reach a limited public, and while they have published much
interesting material on the subject, they are relatively unimportant in
the larger educational field. However, the less expensive and more
widely distributed magazines such as Time and the Saturday Evening Post
often publish special articles on planning subjects. The new picture
magazines. Life and Look, have been giving to planning considerable
visual publicity of a most important kind. While this is often sensational,
it reaches a pubHc which otherwise would not be contacted, and these
publications are worth watching as possible vehicles of assistance to
PLANNING 303
large-scale planning programs. They certainly cannot be ignored by
planning organizations interested in public education, and strong pres-
sure should be brought to bear upon them when necessary in fm'thering
the proper kind of propaganda.
The radio in its present form is limited in its use to planners. Not
many people will sit down and listen to a lecture on the subject unless
the lecturer is particularly well known and the subject is extremely con-
troversial. Television is already in limited use by planners in England,
according to Sir Raymond Unwin, and with its development new oppor-
tunities of direct presentation of important planning material may be-
come possible to a large public.
The motion-picture field appears to have unlimited possibilities in
public education. Two of the most important and successful ventures in
planning propaganda through the movie have been "The Plow That
Broke the Plains," and "The River," done under the able direction of
Pare Lorenz, and sponsored by the Resettlement Administration. From
the planner's point of view, as well as the purely artistic one, they were
an unqualified success and stand by themselves as masterpieces of pre-
sentation and planning propaganda. It is to be hoped that further ex-
perimentation on the part of planning agencies in the motion-picture
field will develop more methods for the use of this popular form of
public passive recreation.
SUMMARY
Certainly the training of the public to understand the need for the
planning technician is as important as the training of the technician. It
will take the combined efforts of all people interested in planning to pre-
pare a program for public education and to see that it is carried out by
being properly disseminated through some of, or all of, the many media
mentioned.
PLANNING EDUCATION FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
DONALD C. BLAISDELL
In the first place, which public officials have we in mind? By the
phrase do we refer to all public officials. Federal, state and local.''
Second, is different educational treatment required for different cate-
gories of public officers.' Superficially, this would seem to be the case.
Even on closer examination it may be concluded that education for plan-
ning in the case of local and municipal officers requires one kind of mate-
rials and one outlook, whereas state and federal officials could be better
inducted to planning by the use of other materials and another outlook.
Although as a general rule local problems can be said to require local
treatment, the integral nature of local and regional problems on the one
hand and regional and national problems on the other suggests that the
304 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
line of distinction is shadowy. Hence, different treatment for various
groups of officials may not be the wisest procedure.
In the third place there is this question : Is the type of planning edu-
cation which is required for public officials different from the type re-
quired for others? Obviously, this question cannot be answered ade-
quately in a sentence. As a general statement, most public officials are
technically trained even though many of them occupy administrative
positions. Does this mean that technical rather than non-technical mate-
rial should bulk large in the educational program?
This raises the fourth question, the scope of the educational program.
Do public officials, all of whom have finished their formal education,
stand in need of planning education of a broad sort, of a narrow sort, or
what? That is to say, should planning education for public officials aim
at creating a narrow outlook and be confined to the related problems in
an immediate area or should it be broad enough to include an area as
large as a geographic or cultural region? Underlying the whole matter
of planning education not only for public officials but also for others is
the basic question: Is there a general problem of maladjustment between
resources and population in urban areas comparable to the problem in
non-urban areas? Recently, studies have pointed out in a very conclu-
sive way the relationship between population, natural resources and the
standard of living in such regions as the Great Plains, the lake states
cut-over region, the Ozarks, and the southern Appalachians. This should
make us very cautious in defining a narrow scope for planning education.
FURTHER BASIC CONSIDERATIONS
In addition, it should be recognized that the population as a whole has
fairly well-defined notions about the potentialities of our national future.
The future, it is thought, will be written in terms of the expanding
economy and growing population of the past. This idea is held by the
inhabitants of urban areas just as tenaciously as by the people who live
in rural regions. In the urban areas it can be stated with confidence that
people, as a rule, still think that our natural resources are inexhaustible,
that habitual economic practices are the best and that what is good for
the individual is good for everybody. Furthermore, it is generally be-
lieved that an owner may do with his property as he likes, that expand-
ing markets will continue indefinitely, that free competition coordinates
industry and agricultm-e, and that values will increase indefinitely.
In the rural areas people generally think pretty much along the same
lines, and in addition have the idea that tenancy is a stepping-stone to
ownership and that the factory farm is generally desirable.
For public officials of all kinds the existence of these popular notions
should be clearly recognized and planning education is the most logical
way for such recognition to be gained. In the general field of planning
it is a commonplace that a program can move no faster than the public
PLANNING 305
opinion of the area will permit. This being the case, the oflScials charged
with the responsibility of assisting in the making and carrying out of a
plan should regard these attitudes as fundamental conditioning factors.
Furthermore, planning education should include a critical examination
and analysis of these attitudes in the light of our experience in the cities,
in the rural areas (for example, in the Great Plains), and in the light of
a national population which is approaching stability.
SUGGESTED PROCEDURES
There are many ways by which planning education for public officials
can be organized and furthered. Only three are suggested here.
Unofficial planning groups could find an opportunity to advance plan-
ning education for public officials by preparing and distributing semi-
formal presentations in pamphlet form of the consequences of the accept-
ance of the mental attitudes referred to above. These presentations
would supplement and elaborate more basic research materials prepared
by federal, state and local bodies. Unofficial groups could also see that
professional publications carry semi-popular articles that are similar in
outlook to the semi-formal presentations. Occasional monographs on
outstanding cases could also be issued from time to time. Taken together,
the preparation of such materials by unofficial planning groups would
constitute a body of educational material on the adult level which would
have value in calling attention to the attitudes referred to above and to
the potentialities and dangers which they hold for the future.
In-service training of an informal sort is also suggested. This training,
which might take the form of lectures and informal staff conferences,
should be designed not to improve technical competency but to relate
routine practices to general policies and to needed attitude revisions.
Competent "generalists" as well as "professional planners" should be
drawn in to accomplish this purpose.
The third suggestion is to continue and expand the conferences be-
tween public officials and unofficial planning agencies, particularly on
different levels of government. This practice is already in general use but
might be adapted and extended to include more regular contacts between
planning organization officials and public officials, particularly on the
federal and state levels. The educational value of such conferences may
be as great as the immediate results from meeting a technical problem.
SUMMARY OF DISCUSSION
Your committee thoroughly believes that at an early stage of educa-
tion, say in the secondary school, the pupils should be familiar with the
subject of planning and community improvement, and that it would be
highly desirable in undergraduate colleges to offer at least one full
semester course in city planning, regional planning, and housing.
In the training of planning technicians the question arises where in the
806 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
campus framework should the technical course appear, if there is no
special technical department which could take it over. As to this ques-
tion, however, personalities and local conditions play such a large part
that sometimes it would not seem to matter very much whether or not
the planning work was conducted under the auspices of one department
or another. However, there is a great deal to be said for having the work
separated so that it would not be thought of as the child of any particular
department or any particular field of work. In such a position it would
be like the city planning commission in the city government — fimction-
ing as a separate entity but related to and of interest to the various
departments of the city government. Coordination and reciprocal co-
operation might thus be more easily furthered and achieved.
Your committee wishes to put special emphasis on the necessity of
closer interdepartmental cooperation. Experience has shown that pro-
fessional departments, such as sociology, economics, and law, have been
drawn on by technical departments in universities for special lecturers.
The technical teachers of planning are seldom asked to reciprocate.
As to adult education, your committee feels very strongly that the
more the public is familiar with the idea of planning, the stronger the
support for the technician in carrying through plans. The committee
therefore recommends that the organizations working in the fields of
planning should make every effort to supply information to the press, to
stimulate articles in periodicals and popular magazines, to prepare lec-
ture courses, radio speeches — in short, to use all means and methods to
reach the public and to spread knowledge on planning.
As to the planning education of public officials, it was brought out in
the report that unofficial planning groups have a great opportunity to
assist by preparing and distributing research pamphlets by which the
official can be made familiar with present trends in planning thought.
Furthermore, there has been suggested an in-service training of an in-
formal kind. This training might take the form of lectures and informal
staff conferences; it is designed to relate routine practices to general
policies rather than to improve technical competency. Here again the
help and the assistance of the professional planner is needed.
In summarizing, let it be pointed out that the great variety of plan-
ning education must not necessarily be interpreted as a sign of confusion.
We may take it as a sign of youth and growth, demonstrating the fact
that here is a new field of education for which definite methods and
traditions of teaching have not yet been developed.
Therefore, the unanimous opinion expressed as a result of a recom-
mendation by Mr. S. B. Zisman urged the National Conference on
Planning to set up a small planning educational committee, its members
drawn from the membership of the three organizations sponsoring the
conference, with the intention of developing definite policies on the
particular problems of education which require immediate solution.
PLANNING 307
Migration and Economic Opportunity
COMMITTEE
Carl C. Tatlor, Chairman, in charge of the Division of Farm Population
and Rural Life, Bureau of Agricultural Economics, U. S. Department of
Agriculture.
Ben H. Kjzer, Chairman of the Washington State Planning Council.
Rupert B. Vance, Institute for Research in Social Science, University of
North Carolina.
George F. Yantis, Chairman of Region IX, National Resources Committee.
REPORTER
N. A. Tolles, Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Department of Labor.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Roy F. Bessey, Counselor, National Resources Committee.
Ellery A. Foster, Director, Land Planning, Department of Conservation,
Minnesota.
James C. Rettie, Associate Consultant, National Resources Committee.
W, R. Sassaman, Executive Secretary, Minnesota State Planning Board.
THE round table on Migration and Economic Opportunity was con-
ducted altogether on a discussion basis. The chairman of the round
table mailed a rather large volume of excerpts from literature on migra-
tion to members of the committee, to those assigned to lead a formal
discussion, and to a number of other persons. Synoptic statements with
citations of these excerpts are given in Part I. A discussion was started
without any formal statement and no speeches were made. The chairman
drew from the sixty persons present statements of the main issues in-
volved in the topic and then guided the free discussion which came from
all parts of the floor. The discussion is summarized in Part XL
PART I
The chief reason behind all types of migration is the desire on the
part of individuals, or groups of individuals, to better the economic
situation in thich they find themselves. At present the trend of migration
is toward large commercial and industrial centers, chiefly in the North
and East. The two most important problems presented by this migration
are : discovery of the volume of it and of the relation between migration
and the natural increase of the population.
See Warren S. Thompson, Research Memorandum on Internal Migration in the Depres-
sion, Bull. 30, S.S.R.C, 230 Park Ave., New York City.
Numerous factors in the development of this country which have
kept our population a very mobile one are: the settlement of the West,
the rise of urban industrialism, development of easy and rapid means of
308 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
transportation, mobilization for the World War, the appearance of wide
diflFerentials in natural increase and economic opportunity in different
geographic areas, and the recent economic depression. This mobility has
extended into the rural population and even into the farm population.
One of the most important factors has been the rapid growth of cities,
made possible by large and continuous rural-urban migrations which are
of tremendous social significance.
See Charles E. Lively, The Development of Research in Rural Migration in the United
States, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Mimeo.
The major effect of the business depression upon the farm population
movement was to reduce the total volume of migration, both from and to
farms; chiefly a retardation of migration from farms and a backing up of
young people in rural areas. Farm population in poor land areas in-
creased more than that on the better lands between 1930 and 1935,
chiefly because the poor land areas had proportionately a greater share
of their population staying at home.
See Conrad Taeuber and Charles E. Lively, Migration and Mobility of Rural Popula-
tion in the United States. Forthcoming U. S. D. A. publication.
When there is a long-continued depression, the first criterion of popu-
lation placement becomes not a matter of ideal choices, but the pressing
concern of where people can find support. With the frontier closed and
the outlet to the city at least temporarily gone, many people believe that
in the future a larger proportion of the people will live and be supported
on the land. If decentralization of industry occurs in the future, "urban
occupations" will be carried on in very different sorts of communities, thus
adding another variable to a problem already suflSciently full of unknowns.
See Carter Goodrich, et al. Migration and Economic Opportunity, University of Penn-
sylvania Press, Philadelphia, Pa., 1936.
In times when prosperity reigns in urban centers but there is not com-
pensating prosperity in farm areas, as in 1925 and 1926, the total move-
ment in both directions is increased, and furthermore, a greater per cent
of those who migrate do not return. WTien, however, there is economic
depression in both urban and rural areas there is less migration in either
direction, but a high per cent of those who migrate remain in the local-
ities to which they move. One generalization might be made — in periods
of general prosperity many persons move but few remain at their destina-
tions; in periods of depression few move but most of them remain at
their destination; and in periods when prosperity is evident in one area
but not in another, population tends to flow into the more prosperous
area and the number who remain is also increased.
See Carl C. Taylor, Bushrod W. Allin, and O. E. Baker, "Migration Problems,"
Yearbook of Agriculture, 1938.
Although the assumption is probably valid that people generally move
with the hope or expectation that they will improve their economic and
social conditions, it must be recognized that the shifting about disturbs
PLANNING 809
the stability of family life, and that communities out of which or into
which are moving any great numbers of families are, in the subtler aspects
of community or neighborhood life, in a continual process of adjustment.
For this reason, probably above all others, American community life has
been to a high degree unstable. This was true during the pioneering
period and remains true today.
Migration trends were considerably different in some sections of the
Nation between 1930 and 1935 from those of the previous decade. The
urbanward migration reversed itself during the depression, and in addi-
tion to the fact that the natural increase in farm population ceased to
flow to the cities, there was during the year 1932 an actual net migration
from urban to rural places. Some regions that had heavy out-migration
during the 1920's continued to lose population during the next five years,
but others that had had out-migration during the 1920's actually had in-
migration between 1930 and 1935. A study of these various areas reveals
some interesting facts, especially in relation to the apparent tendency for
populations to pile up in bad-land areas during a severe industrial depression.
See Carl C. Taylor, Helen W. Wheeler, and E. L. Kirkpatrick, "Disadvantaged Classes
in American Agriculture" (Chapter V), Soc. Res. Rep. VIII, U. S. D. A., April, 1938.
The migration from the Great Plains States in recent years is a con-
tinuation of a trend that was apparent in the preceding decade, 1920 to
1930. The contribution of population by these States to others during the
20's was apparently about 500,000. This, however, was not in excess of
their own natural increase plus the in-migration from other States, Mon-
tana being the only State of the ten to have a smaller population in 1930
than in 1920. Thus, while data are relatively scarce, it would appear
that the migration out of these States has been accelerated during recent
years, the amount between 1930 and 1937 being greater than that for the
preceding ten years. Most of this migration has probably occurred since
the beginning of 1933; prior to that time migration from this area had
been slowed down.
See Carl C. Taylor, "Recent Movement from the Great Plains." Typewritten Report.
Approximately 48,000 persons are believed to have migrated to rural
Oregon during the seven years, 1930-36, 22,000 of whom entered during
the single year 1936. The migration of the six-year period, 1930-35, is
estimated at 25,000 excluding persons who settled in towns of 2,500 or
more. Interstate migration to the farming areas of Oregon is thus esti-
mated at nearly double the net increase in the rural farm population
during this period. It is also estimated that rural non-farm population
increased 20,000 during the six years, approximately 13,500 being due to
interstate migration and the remainder a result of the natural increase
and intrastate movement from rural farm to rural non-farm and urban
to rural non-farm.
See Charles S. Hoffman, "Drought and Depression Migration into Oregon, 1930 to
1936." Monthly Labor Review, January, 1938.
810 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
On the frontier the number of farm operators declined more often
than it increased during periods of general economic stress. On the other
hand, the increases occurred in most substantial numbers in the older
counties and especially those containing a town of some size. The sig-
nificance of the shift resulting from depressed economic conditions ap-
pears to be therefore in urban-to-rural rather than old-country-to-fron-
tier readjustment. This urban-to-rural movement was conspicuous while
there still was an open frontier and it was conspicuous in the 1930-1935
period after the frontier was gone-
See James C. Malin, "The Turnover of Farm Population in Kansas," The Kansas
Historical Quarterly, Vol. IV, No. 4, Top>eka, November, 1935.
In the Southern States thousands of children are born and reared and
then turned over to other sections ready to work. In 1930, 35,000,000
persons reported that they had been born in the South, but more than
4,000,000 of them had left the South and were living in other sections of
the country. The South contains slightly more than one-fourth of the
Nation's population (28 per cent). But in 1935 this one-fourth of the
Nation's population contributed one-third (33 per cent ) of all births in
the United States. Moreover, it produced nearly one-half (46 per cent)
of the total natural increase.
See Conrad Taeuber, "The Movement to Southern Farms, 1930-35," Reprint from
Rural Sociology Journal, Vol. 3, No. 1, March, 1938. •
This migration from the farms involves an expense to rural people
that is not generally realized. It appears probable that the cost of raising
a child on southern farms, including education, is not less than $125 a
year. Assuming that this child is self-supporting at 15 years of age, we
have a cost of $1,875 and this multiplied by the 3,600,000 net migration
during the decade 1920-29, provides a rough estimate of $6,750,000,000.
Add the transfer of wealth to heirs in the cities incident to the settlement
of estates, and the resultant payment of interest on mortgage debt, or of
rent, and the total cannot be less than $10,000,000,000 or $1,000,000,000
a year.
See O. E. Baker, "The Population Prospect in the South," Address before National
Catholic Rural Life Conference, Richmond, Va., Nov. 8, 1937.
Migratory labor is a proletarian class, forced to till the soil for others,
living in material poverty, to a large extent indispensable but neverthe-
less commonly exploited and substandard. It migrates reluctantly,
lending itself readily to the development of a form of agriculture which
is not a way of life but an industry.
No estimates of numbers of migrants in California are very reliable.
Few measures are taken and fluctuations from year to year are great. The
California E. R. A. estimated in 1935 that 198,000 laborers were needed
at the harvest peak in 33 agricultural counties, and that 50,000 of these
were non-residents of the county where the crop grows. The number
which actually migrates, of course, is very much larger than the number
PLANNING 811
needed to perform the work, because labor distribution is far from per-
fect. Carleton Parker estimated 150,000 migratory workers on the Coast
in 1915, mostly farm workers. The California Board of Education re-
ported 37,000 migratory children alone in 1927. The number of persons —
men, women, and children — who follow the California crops away from
home at some time during the year may well have reached 150,000 in
recent years, as some estimate.
See Paul S. Taylor, "Migratory Farm Labor in the United States," Monthly Labor
Renew, March, 1937.
The evidence of this report points clearly to the conclusion that the
migratory-casual worker, despite his independent attitude and his pride
in his ability to "get by" on the road, is in fact an under-employed and
poorly paid worker who easily and frequently becomes a charge on
society. Directly or indirectly, state and local governments are forced
to accept some responsibility for individuals in this group. Hospitaliza-
tion, emergency relief, border patrols, and the policing of jungles and
scenes of labor disputes are examples of costs that are borne directly
by the public. There is another cost which cannot be assessed in dollars:
the existence of a group whose low earnings necessitate a standard of
living far below the level of decency and comfort. The presence of such
a group in any community, even though for a short time each year, can-
not fail to affect adversely the wage level of resident workers who are
engaged in the same or similar pursuits.
See John N. Webb, The Migratory-Casual Worker, Res. Mono. VII, Div. of Soc. Res.,
W. P. A.
Simply stated, the problem of the transient unemployed is this: No
community welcomes the needy stranger who comes either as a competi-
tor for what employment still remains, or as an applicant for assistance,
when both employment and relief funds are inadequate to the needs of
the resident population. In effect, a depression puts a premium on length
of residence and stability ; and those who venture to leave their home com-
munities in search of work do so at the risk of being regarded with sus-
picion, if not outright hostility. But to some of the unemployed, stability
and enforced idleness are incompatible states. Migration at least offers
an escape from inactivity, and in addition, there is the possibility that
all communities are not equally affected by unemployment. Since a nar-
rowing of the labor market is one of the first signs of a depression, a
migration of the unemployed might be expected as an immediate conse-
quence. What data are available show this to have been the case in the
most recent depression.
See John N. Webb, The Transient Unemployed, Res. Mono. Ill, Div. of Soc. Res.,
W. P. A., 1935.
One of the most dramatic and far-reaching social changes in a seg-
ment of the American population has been the movement of hundreds of
thousands of Negroes from the cotton fields of the South to the largest
312 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
and most complex industrial centers. Static relationships in the South
were exchanged for the dynamic of northern cities. A new set of living
habits had to be formed. New communities were introduced to problems
of race relations and new adjustments in family and community life
were necessary for the migrants. Although the bulk of the movement
went to the large cities there was some tendency of the Negro population
to scatter into the smaller industrial centers between 1920 and 1930.
See T. J. Woofter, Jr., Races and Ethnic Groups in American Life, McGraw-Hill Book
Co., New York, N. Y., 1933.
PART II
The round table on migration and economic opportunity proceeded
to reverse its title in the course of the discussion. The problem actually
discussed was "Migration and the Lack of Economic Opportunity."
The basic fact presented was the persistence of a large volume of
human migration on this continent in spite of the lack of any adequate
opportunities for the individuals who migrate. "What contribution has
planning to offer for the solution of this dilemma of present-day migra-
tion?" the round table asked itself.
On one negative proposition there was close agreement among all
those present : Unplanned and unguided migration is working very badly.
This proposition was accepted as true as regards each of the four types of
migration which were distinguished:
1. The traditional quest for new lands for settlement continues today,
especially by migrants to the West, even though little new productive
land is available. Reports from the Pacific Northwest indicate that only
a quarter of the recent migrants to that area succeeded in settling on
productive land.
2. Migration from rural to urban areas has been resumed after a brief
interruption in 1932. But while a million persons moved from farms
to cities in 1937, 800,000 moved from cities to farms. The net exodus
from farms thus fell short of draining the surplus rural population. The
rural population increased 90,000 during the year, in the face of curtailed
farming opportunities.
3. Seasonal migration of an increasing number of farm workers and
of some industrial workers continues and this constant stream of un-
guided migration produces unstable communities without furnishing any
satisfactory balance between the demand and the supply of casual labor.
4. Displacement of workers by depletion of natural resources, by loss
of markets and by technological changes is pouring increasing numbers
into the stream of migration, even though no comparable opportunities
are developing in the regions to which these displaced workers go.
The numerous and varied positive suggestions for meeting the prob-
lems of migration revealed some interesting differences of opinion both
as to the rdle of migration and as to the r6le of planning.
PLANNING 313
As to the rdle of migration, the issue was joined between those who
would prevent migration as far as possible and those who would accept
it as inevitable if not desirable. All members of the round table were
agreed that much of the present migration is wasteful and futile. But the
preventionists dared to hope that planning might neutralize the forces
giving rise to migration, while the friends of labor mobility hoped that
planning might eliminate the futility while preventing some contribution
of migration to a balanced location of population.
As to the role of planning, the question was how large a homestead the
planners should stake out for themselves. You who have attended these
sessions regularly will recognize the issues: Should planners emphasize
research, the master plan, or persuasion? Should planners confine
themselves to natural resources or tackle the problems of human re-
sources? Should the planners confine themselves to the fringes of our
business economy or tackle the reform of the capitalist system itself?
The proposal of the researchers was to study the forces behind mi-
gration so that we might predict the extent and direction of future human
movements.
The proposal of what might be called the master planners was to blue-
print the movements of peoples which should take place in the national
interest, especially for the purpose of draining the areas of least produc-
tive opportunity. Such a blue print might be a useful weapon against
special local interests.
The proposal of the advocates of persuasion was to concentrate on
wise guidance of those who intended to move. Such guidance might
apply both to the temporary move in search of immediate work and to
permanent resettlement. Here the need seemed to be not so much the
establishment of new agencies as the application of a more vigorous and
sustained eflFort to make reliable information available to the workers
who must decide whether to move or where to move. A greatly increased
field of work was seen for public employment offices, for example, in
checking the over-stimulation of migration as well as discovering the
possible opportunities which may exist at a distance.
The questions as to the scope of planning, as distinguished from the
emphasis of planning methods, were revealed when the round table dis-
cussed the means of removing the present lack of economic opportunity.
Here the proposals ran all the way from extending relief to migrants to
wholesale reform of the capitalist system.
One proposal of those who interpreted the scope of planning most
narrowly was that adequate preparation be made to provide relief for
those who do exercise their initiative in moving. The need for the re-
moval of discriminations now arbitrarily imposed on non-residents was
noted, as was the need of relieving those communities which are faced
with the most acute relief problems because of the concentration in their
areas of migrants in need of reUef . While some of those present doubted
314 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
whether as short a step as a reform of the rehef system should be digni-
fied with the name of planning, others pointed out that the planning of
more rational relief for non-residents was necessary if we are to avoid
slipping back to the interference with labor mobility as a result of our
reversion to Elizabethan concepts of enforced settlement.
Advancing from the planning of relief, the round table gave rather
wide support to the planning of a new type of subsistence homesteads
for the utterly homeless. These would be small garden plots, reasonably
close to centers of demand for casual labor. Such garden plots to furnish
a home base for those accustomed to move in search of work was be-
lieved to be a logical extension of the farm labor camps already estab-
lished on the Pacific Coast by the Farm Security Administration. Loca-
tion of these homesteads reasonably close to existing demands for seasonal
labor would avoid some of the difficulties of the subsistence homesteads
as previously planned. This specific remedy was urged as more fundamen-
tal and less costly than the extension of general relief to migrant workers.
Positive planning for increased economic opportunity was widely ad-
vocated. Long-range planning for economic expansion was advocated
both for the "minus areas" of exodus and the "plus areas" of migration
intake. In the various "minus areas," the restoration of forests, the
conservation of water and soil, the extension of public power and the
encouragement of industry would serve to employ some of the surplus
labor, to increase the markets for the products of other areas, to expand
the long-run employment possibilities in these devastated regions and
to build up the health and morale of any remainder who must migrate
eventually. Very similar measures were advocated for the areas now
receiving migrants without being able to find economic opportunities for
them. Delegates from the Pacific Northwest brought the most specific
plans for land survey, extension of irrigation and power and the en-
couragement of new industry.
At this point, the largest differences of opinion developed. How far
should planners attempt to go in advocating positive measures for an
expanding economy.'* Some would stop with plans for the public lands.
Others would give planners no less a task than the devising of a long-run
program of capital investment by government to fill the gap caused by
the contraction of private investment. On the left wing were those who
would tackle the problem of insuring that workers were paid enough to
enable them to buy back the products of industry. Planning a diversified
farming was advocated even to the extent of providing for a self-sufficient
culture, somewhat insulated from the risks of the market.
Migration presents the Nation with vital problems, worthy of much
more extended discussion at future conferences. The insistence of this
general conference that any national planning agency must consider
human resources indicates that planners today are determined to give
the subject of human migration a prominent position on their agenda.
PLANNING 315
Capital Budgets and Improvement Programs
COMMITTEE
Mybon D. Downs, Chairman, Engineer-Secretary, City Planning Commis-
sion, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Robert Kingeby, General Manager, Chicago Regional Planning Association.
Harold M. Lewis, Chief Engineer and Secretary, Regional Plan Association,
Inc., New York.
Harold A. Merrill, Assistant Executive Officer, National Resources Committee.
REPORTER
Lawrence M. Orton, Member, City Planning Commission, New York.
DISCUSSION LEADERS
Harland Bartholomew, Harland Bartholomew and Associates.
Frank W. Herring, Executive Director, American Public Works Association.
William S. Parker, Member, City Planning Board, Boston.
L. Deming Tilton, Executive Officer, California State Planning Board.
Henry Matson Waite, Consultant, National Resources Committee.
PART I
MYRON D. DOWNS
WHEN will the city plan be completed? This question is frequently
asked of planning commission members or staff.
"Oh, the planning of the city is never finished," may be your reply,
and such may be the truth.
However, within this oflBcial and professional gathering, may I ask
if there is amongst us one planning commission member or executive
who is in a position to state when he has planned to complete even the
recommended proposals contained in his community's oflBcial city plan?
If there be such a well-informed citizen or planner present, he should,
by all means, be recognized first by our chairman, to lead discussion.
The average citizen has two important questions about city govern-
ment in mind: when will more improvements be made, and why aren't
tax bills reduced? In almost every case, he hasn't a good idea of all the
physical needs of the community, and if he has, he feels that his section
of the city should receive a preferential position in the allocation of
funds. Then, when his neighborhood has been provided with adequate
paving and lighting, and ample school, playground and park facilities
have been installed, he immediately inquires why his taxes are not
lowered.
Part of the answer to his question is to be found in the method of
financing practiced in most municipalities; i. e., the issuance of ten- to
forty-year bonds; and part lies in the inescapable fact that each new
generation does have new ideas and in one way or another, does carry
316 AMERICAN PLANNmO AND CIVIC ANNUAL
them out. Despite the protests of the preceding generation, each gener-
ation has added some contribution, or burden, to the program of pubUc
works. Although many people do not desire larger and better-equipped
schools, recreation grounds, or airports, public housing and hospitaliza-
tion, or divided highways with park-like surroundings, nevertheless,
practically all are in favor of one or more of these public facilities.
City planning agencies have only just commenced the tremendous
task of planning the distribution or location and extent of these many
public works. This condition is the conclusion of the writer as the result
of communicating with the chairman of the planning commission of each
city listed in Circular Ten, National Resources Committee, as possessing
a "long-range financial plan." The fifty-one cities listed happen to be
divided into groups of seventeen in each of the following population
classes: cities of less than 25,000 population, 25,000 to 100,000 popula-
tion, and cities having more than 100,000 persons in 1930. A copy of
the "long-range financial plan" previously reported to the National
Resources Committee was requested and permission was asked to exhibit
the program at this meeting. The chairman or representative of fourteen
commissions made reply, five stating that they had no such program, five
that they had prepared one bond program at some time within the past
twelve years, and St. Paul, El Paso, Richmond and Cincinnati submit in
display at this conference copies of their programs for your scrutiny.
The District of Columbia reported that its six-year programs "are
merely a compilation of the respective estimates submitted by each
department and agency of the Federal and District Governments for
work in the District and its immediate environs. In no sense are these
estimates reviewed by the planning agency."
The method of preparing a "long-range financial plan" is described
in considerable detail by Mr. Merrill, and Mr. Lewis' paper describes
in some detail the method of planning and budgeting capital improve-
ments as specifically required under the provision of New York City's
charter. Therefore, it would seem unnecessary for me to say anything
further about method and procedure, except to record that the planning
commission of Cincinnati, together with the city manager and council
finance committee chairman, have met at least twice yearly since 1927
with the representatives of the other two principal taxing bodies of
Hamilton County — ^the Cincinnati board of education and the county
commissioners — to determine the total bond-issuing program and what-
ever program of referendum issues seemed desirable.
Two definite weaknesses appear to dominate the whole idea thus far.
First, the procedure requires a degree of planning detail for which ade-
quate personnel is not available. The long-range financial plan contem-
plates infinitely more work than our municipal planning or administra-
tive agencies have as yet seen fit to devote to any matter, the immediate
need for which is not readily apparent. Second, as the result of this
PLANNING 817
primary weakness, current programs for expenditure and construction
represent little more than the realization of projects recognized by the
planner as the outstanding deficiencies. Only if and when the planners
are able to lay before the legislative and administrative officials more
complete long-term programs will the public be conscious of community
requirements. The stabilization of the tax rate, and not the need of
essential improvements, has been considered at all times the factor
paramount in program-making. Although the first five-year (1928-1932)
improvement program of the Cincinnati commission has been almost
completed, eleven years have elapsed, and intervening programs have
been sidetracked in most years to permit the financing of work relief
programs containing a great number of small pieces of construction of
no major importance from the standpoint of the city plan. The cost of
relief, administered either by direct cash payments or by financing work
relief projects, has not been considered as an additional financial require-
ment of the city, but as a substitute for expenditures for major im-
provements.
Adequate planning — more planning — is the inescapable answer to all
of these unsatisfactory situations.
PART II
ROBERT KINGERY
BEFORE I knew anything about budgeting and programming of state
appropriations for permanent improvements I thought, as most
people undoubtedly think, that state programming was lax, that it was
a hand-to-mouth arrangement each biennium, and that depending upon
the condition of the treasury and the attitude of the general assembly,
more or less money was asked for and provided.
As a result of some personal experiences in state budgeting and pro-
gramming, the following examples of such policies in Illinois are given.
Nine years ago a board of state park advisers was appointed by the
governor of Illinois, whose five members took the job seriously. I was
one of the members. We were advisers on state park matters to the
director of the department of public works and buildings, in which there
are four divisions: highways and state police, state parks, state water-
ways, and architecture and engineering. We found some of the records
of park ownership were inadequate; we found a fairly complete but not
adequate state park policy of land acquisition and maintenance and yet
we found a sensible biennial budgeted program of permanent improve-
ments which were then conceived to be necessary.
That board of state park advisers, jointly with the head of the depart-
ment of public works and buildings, developed a long-term plan and
policy which, in due course, were set up in the law. Then all that was
necessary was to base a long-term program upon the needs for capital
318 AMERICAN PLANNING AND aVIC ANNUAL
improvements on the park lands and to provide sensibly and adequately
for the accommodation of the visitors and the maintenance of the
property under a visitor load. Thus there was not needed a reorganization
of the capital programming plan but rather an extension of it to accom-
modate the expanded acreage.
In 1931 my personal experience was enlarged by appointment to the
commission on future road program for Illinois, whose job was not only
to review the past program of permanent highway improvements, but
also to look forward for ten years or more, visualize clearly the situation
which had developed and devise a new course of improvements on the
highways of the State.
Here again the commission members discovered that the preceding
twelve or thirteen-year program was fairly intelligent in so far as the
system of highways had been designated by legislative act, and that
the apportionment of funds for different classes of improvement was
fair in accordance with the "then" needs.
The commission found, however, that in the next decade from 1933
to 1942 the three principal undertakings should be: (1) The moderniza-
tion and rehabilitation of the older main state highways; (2) the recon-
struction of many city and village streets connecting with those high-
ways, and (3) the more rapid extension of the secondary type of road
surfacing into the areas not already served, as feeder or land service roads.
In due time the commission completed its report and recommenda-
tions, developed the text of laws to put it into effect and was successful
in obtaining the adoption of practically all of the legislation it proposed.
About the time of the presentation of the report to the governor and
the general assembly, I was appointed director of the state department
of public works and buildings, and held the oflSce approximately four
years.
Again, this legislation in the main merely applied and extended for a
future period of from five to ten years many of the existing principles of
programming and budgeting.
Immediately upon the adoption of the legislation in 1933, the state
division of highways completed the development of comprehensive lists
of projects on a mapped system of major highways, municipal streets
and secondary roads.
In the five years between 1933 and 1938 no major deviation has been
made from that general plan except as has been made necessary by the
uncertainty of Federal budgeting of highway allotments to the States,
and those changes have been principally the deferring of certain lists
of projects.
Another example of long-term programming in Illinois is that of the
public buildings, including the central administrative buildings for state
purposes, the five state normal school properties and the twenty-seven
penal, hospital and welfare institutions which are under the direction of
PLANNING 819
the department of public welfare. The central administrative buildings,
being jointly under the management of the governor and the secretary of
state, had a somewhat less comprehensive plan and yet the general plans
for additional building space were ready and merely awaited the avail-
ability of funds. When the rental of privately owned office space became
so high as to justify economically the construction of the next state
building group, funds were appropriated by legislative action and two
buildings were erected — a combined armory and office building, and an
archives building.
Similarly, general plans and layout for additional necessary buildings
and structures at the five state normal schools had long been in existence
under the direction of the state department of registration and education,
furnished by the division of architecture of the department of public
works and buildings, in accordance with the state civil administrative
code.
As the needs became pressing, the program was simply advanced, and
as rapidly as the required appropriations were made, details of the
necessary buildings and structures were prepared and the buildings
erected.
In the department of public welfare, the director has had for many
years a general program for such expansion as has been indicated by the
trend in the number of patients and public charges of all classes. The
plan is twofold : first, the provision of additional facilities at the existing
institutions, and second, the acquisition of new sites for expansion of the
facilities for the purpose of further segregation of criminals or others.
The division of architecture has, over a period of years, developed
general layouts of these institutional properties jointly with the technical
experts of the public welfare department. Plans of typical buildings had
been developed for dormitories, mess halls and kitchens, laundries, power
facilities, sewage treatment plants, and the like. Sometimes this program
is retarded with the result that facilities become crowded, conditions
approach the impossible and the dam is released with the provision of
new funds and the program gets into operation again.
We have found in Illinois that the general assemblies and the gover-
nors appreciate such advance planning and budgeting; and the more
clearly defined such plans and budgets are, the more likely are the general
assemblies to provide the necessary funds. In those departments which
have less tangible plans and budgets, both the general assemblies and
the governors are inclined to give them short shrift.
However, we of the state planning commission are likely to be inno-
cent of knowledge of such programjning, and may be incUned to believe
that there is no sound planning unless we ourselves have had much to do
with it. Frequently such an attitude, not uncommon throughout the
country, is a gravely erroneous one. There are many good planners and
budgeters who do not give themselves those titles.
320 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
PART III
HAROLD M. LEWIS
THE need for an orderly program for carrying out capital improve-
ments is particularly acute in a city which forms the center of a
metropolitan district and in the surrounding region.
In such regions a large part of the nation-wide public works programs
have been concentrated. Tremendous costs are therefore involved. There
are conflicting interests in the different municipalities. The rapid growth,
combined with a decentralization of population, which has taken place
in such areas during the past few decades makes it important that public
improvements therein be planned as part of a carefully prepared and
long-time program. While population growth throughout the country is
rapidly slowing down, metropolitan districts are still drawing population
from other sections. Sudden changes in the distribution of population
within such districts may therefore continue. These are some of the
reasons why capital budgets and improvement programs are urgently
needed in such places.
A FIVEFOLD PROGRAM
Five definite steps are desirable in the preparation and execution of
such programs.
First, a master plan is needed on which to base the program. There
should be separate master plans for each of the municipalities and
counties in the region, but a regional plan which will weigh the needs
and ambitions of each separate municipality and provide a framework
into which local plans can be fitted is also essential.
Second, a study should be made of the probable future income and
departmental expenditures of each municipality to determine how and
to what extent a capital improvement program can be financed.
Third, long-term capital budgets should be worked out for each mu-
nicipahty and brought up to date each year. These should be adopted by
the elected officials, and appropriations for capital improvements should
then be limited to items in such budgets.
Fourth, a regional planning agency should keep constant check on
the proposals of region-wide importance. This would indicate which are
the most urgent missing links and a list of such projects should be pre-
pared periodically as a guide to those responsible for the local problems.
Such regional agencies may be official or unofficial, but in either case
they will remain purely advisory.
Fifth, each local planning agency should be given some definite con-
trol over the selection of projects which will go into the official capital
budget. The authority and responsibility for the final selection must
remain with the elected officials.
PLANNING 8«1
GENERAL ADVANTAGES OF ADVANCE PLANNING
Experiences of municipalities throughout the country during the past
five years have taught them a valuable lesson. Those which had been
far-sighted enough to provide themselves with an advance program have
been able to use public works as an eflFective means of relieving unem-
ployment and hav ereceived full value in return for each dollar expended
directly or supplied from Federal emergency appropriations. Where such
programs were not available, hastily conceived projects have had to be
substituted with considerable waste of money and energy all along the
line. Delays were common, and many projects failed to be approved.
In normal times it is equally advantageous to have a comprehensive
group of projects prepared well in advance. If material prices and land
values are unfavorable for certain ones, they can be deferred in favor
of others with a considerable saving to the public purse.
It is quite customary that the relative efficiency of the various official
departments will vary with the efficiency and initiative of their executive
heads. The department that is progressive and is well ahead in its plan-
ning is able to get its projects adopted and financed. Other departments
may have projects equally urgent which will go by default. It is part of
the job of the city or county planning commission to see that the proper
emphasis is placed upon different needs and that departmental expendi-
tures do not get seriously out of balance. It cannot do this directly but
it can do it indirectly through the medium of a long-range program.
In general, it may be said that a master plan for a city should provide
for its general development for the next 25 to 40 years. The official pro-
gram, such as would be prepared in detail by the city departments, need
not look so far into the future.
The long-range capital improvement program adopted by the city
or county governing body should cover all types of projects to be under-
taken within a certain period of years. The National Resources Com-
mittee has advocated the preparation of six-year capital programs as a
desirable standard for local, state and Federal agencies. Nevertheless,
only a few of the municipalities and counties in the country have any
official program for the future construction of capital projects.
SITUATION SHOWN BY NATIONAL INVENTORIES
The public works inventories sponsored by the National Resources
Committee in 1935 and 1936 cast a good deal of light upon the situation.
In 1935, municipalities were urged on by the possibility of obtaining
large amounts of Federal funds for the execution of projects included in
the program. A tremendous number of projects was submitted by a great
variety of agencies, but very few proved to be based upon carefully
prepared programs. In the State of New York, 3,719 projects were sub-
mitted with an estimated cost of about $2,443,500,000, aknost $1,000,000
000 of which was submitted by New York City.
322 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In the 1936 inventory it was obvious that the interest of the munic-
ipahties and counties had waned considerably. The lure of Federal grants
had largely disappeared and they were asked to submit a program which
they would normally expect to carry out. In only one city (Buffalo) in
New York State was reported an official five-year capital budget pro-
gram, Yonkers and Schenectady also have some form of capital budget.
In many of the smaller cities and counties they literally did not know
what projects to include, for they really had no program which they
were willing to stand behind even for one year in advance. Only 188
projects, with an estimated cost of $69,983,000, were submitted by
counties and their political subdivisions and 162 of these, with a cost of
$64,097,000, were in the three counties of Erie, Niagara, and Monroe
where county and regional planning boards assisted in the compilation.
The following facts seem to have been largely responsible for the
failure to get better local returns in New York :
1. During the preceding few years the questionnaire habit had been
worked to death, and to many the inventory problem came as just one
more questionnaire involving unwelcome work on their part.
2. Most of the local agencies apparently had no public works program
which they were willing to put forth as a normal one, although they
had been willing to list in the 1935 National Inventory desirable projects
which they would have been glad to have at no expense to themselves.
3. The questionnaire was unnecessarily involved and a simpler one
would have stood better chances of being filled out. For example, the
proposed rating appealed to many as impractical and the persons to
whom the form was referred were unable to supply detailed information
in regard to annual expenditures, daily employment, probable amount
of grant and similar questions.
4. No special funds had been supplied for carrying out the inventory
but the state planning boards had simply been asked to add it to their
programs. A field staff to interview local officials, explain the purpose of
the inventory and help them prepare the material would certainly have
been of great help. The Division of State Planning was unable to supply
such a staff.
I believe that the National Resom-ces Committee should continue to
publicize the need of local capital improvement programs, but that the
burden of much of this educational work must be assumed by county
and regional planning organizations.
BORROWING TO BUILD
It has been generally customary for major public improvements to
be financed by the issuance of bonds. In some cases these have been for
such long terms that the city has been compelled to keep on paying for
improvements long after they have been worn out. Such a procediu^e has
been disastrous and has led to serious financial difficulties. Conservative
PLANNING 323
borrowing is a logical procedure, however, and will undoubtedly con-
tinue to be one of the methods used for financing improvements of more
or less permanent value.
Several States have adopted legislation whereby the bonded indebted-
ness of the municipalities therein is limited to a percentage of the assessed
valuation of real estate, but there is a great variation in the method and
extent of such limitation. Only in New York, where cities may borrow
up to ten per cent of their real estate valuation, is it written into the
constitution, and only in New York are local assessment bonds included
in the limitation. New Jersey has a ten per cent limit on general, school,
water and other public utility debt and Massachusetts has a two per
cent limit on general debt. In New York self-liquidating debts, such as
water supply bonds, are exempt from the debt limit.
Where municipalities have borrowed close to their legal limit they
have been faced in the past few years with the danger that decreased
real estate assessments would reduce their legal limits to prevent any
further borrowing, or even make their present debt greater than that
authorized by the State. As a result of this experience some States may
adopt legislation to place further limitations on the borrowing powers
of municipalities.
In the State of New York there is no such limitation on bonded in-
debtedness for towns. This is one of the situations which the New York
State Planning Council thinks should be remedied at once.
PAY-AS-YOU-GO POLICY
An alternative to issuing bonds for financing capital improvements is
to proceed on what is called a pay-as-you-go system, where only so much
may be spent on capital improvements each year as may be raised for
that purpose out of the tax levy and any other sources of general income.
Setting up any such program will require a careful study of both sources
of income and expenditures which should be carried about twenty years
into the future.
Within the last three years an additional item of emergency relief has
come into the picture of expenditures and has seriously upset many
municipal budgets. The question of continuance of such expenditures
and how they are to be met is a serious one. Departmental expenditures
have in general increased with the population. Still greater increases
have resulted from the continued demand for new public services, par-
ticularly along lines of recreation, hospitalization, education and other
social betterments.
If some reasonable estimate of future departmental expenditures and
future debt services can be prepared and plotted on a diagram showing
estimated total future income, it will be possible to get some indication
of how much balance is likely to be available for capital expenditures
on a pay-as-you-go basis.
824 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
An example of a complete pay-as-you-go policy is the Milwaukee
scheme (also adopted in Kalamazoo) whereby a reserve fund is built up
from current income. No additional bonds are issued and the city
borrows from its own reserve fund to finance such capital improvements
as cannot be financed from current income.
A gradual shifting to a pay-as-you-go policy is provided in New York
City's new charter which states that the proportion of the cost of capital
improvement to be financed currently by serial bonds shall be increased
two per cent per year, taking fifty years for the complete transition .
LOCAL ASSESSMENTS
Where capital improvements result in direct financial benefits on ad-
joining property, it is only logical that a local assessment should be
levied on such property so that part of the benefit may accrue to the city
as an aid in financing the project. The establishment of an equitable
system of benefit assessments is a complicated problem and is being
studied by a special committee of the City Planning Division of the
American Society of Civil Engineers. Much research must be done
before any satisfactory standards can be worked out.
During the recent depression there has been a serious weakening of
the local assessment machinery due to the fact that assessments pre-
viously laid against benefited property have frequently been assumed
by the municipality upon complaint of local hardship. Adoption of city-
wide programs financed entirely from general city funds, even though
the projects were local in character, has also tended to break down the
theory of local assessments. It is going to be difficult to get back to a
sane assessment basis.
STABILIZATION OF LAND VALUES
Owners of improved real estate have in the past expected the value of
their property to be maintained at its original cost to them, or to yield
them a great profit due to the increased value of the land. With popula-
tion stabilizing, we must face stabilization of land values. This means
that the owner of a building, and the city official who places the assess-
ment on such a building, must be prepared to write off its value over a
normal depreciation period just as we all do on our income tax returns
for om* automobile if used for business.
If tax assessors would agree to reduce building assessments annually,
so that they would reach zero at the end of the normal useful life of the
building, then the owner, the city and the tenant should all benefit. The
owner would have tax relief and could afford to rent his building at a
lower rate to a tenant. While the city would lose taxable value on old
buildings, I believe it would gain in the end through fewer tax arrears,
the promotion of new building in new areas and rebuilding on old sites,
and the avoidance of blighted districts as a result of such rebuilding.
PLANNING 8S5
CAPITAL BUDGET IN NEW YORK CITY
The new charter for the City of New York, which went into effect
January 1, 1938, contains some rather novel features in regard to the
control of a city planning commission over the capital budget of the city.
While this control is indirect it should prove effective.
The preparation of a proposed capital budget and program is made
the responsibility of the planning commission, which must submit the
proposed budget to the board of estimate, the council, the director of the
budget and the comptroller not later than November 15 of each year. To
provide an adequate basis for such a budget the planning commission
must prepare a master plan of the city showing existing and proposed im-
provements. The comptroller must advise by August 15 of each year
the amount and nature of debt which, in his opinion, the city may
soundly incur for capital projects during each of the six succeeding cal-
endar years. The head of each city department should submit, also by
August 15, a detailed estimate of all capital projects pending which he
believes should be undertaken within the six succeeding calendar
years. By September 15 the mayor shall submit to the planning com-
mission the report to him of the director of the budget (stating the
maximima amount of indebtedness which he thinks the city may incur
for capital projects during each of the six succeeding years), together
with the mayor's certificate as to the maximum amount of debt which,
in his opinion, the city may soundly incur for capital projects during the
ensuing calendar year. The mayor shall at the same time send the plan-
ning commission his recommendation as to the capital projects to be
included in the capital budget.
On the basis of this information the proposed capital budget of the
planning commission is to be prepared. It is to be in two parts. The
first shall cover all authorizations recommended to be adopted for the
ensuing calendar year, the aggregate amount of which shall not exceed
that specified in the mayor's certificate. The second part will be a pro-
gram for the five calendar years next succeeding such ensuing calendar
year.
The board of estimate will hold hearings on the proposed capital
budget, which must be adopted by it between November 25 and De-
cember 4 inclusive. If the board of estimate desires to include a project
not in the proposed capital budget, it must request the city planning
commission for its recommendations on such project. If the latter recom-
mends it, it may be included in the capital budget. If it does not recom-
mend it, it may be included only by a three-fourths vote of the board.
Following adoption by the board of estimate, the council must also
consider the capital budget and may strike out any project included but
may not add additional projects.
This is an excellent example of how a planning conmotission with only
advisory functions may, nevertheless, exert a very positive control over
826 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
capital expenditures. The procedure is now on trial in New York City
and I feel confident that it will work and will be copied by other munici-
palities.
PUBLIC WORKS PROGRAM FOR NEW YORK REGION
The regional plan of New York and its environs, as being carried on
by the Regional Plan Association, is an example of the effective use of
regional public works programs.
The Graphic Regional Plan was published in 1929 and included a
list of 51 proposals presented as requiring urgent consideration. Four
years later, in 1933, progress on these was reviewed and it was found
that 15 had been completed or were being carried out, in whole or in
part; an additional 13 had been officially adopted or studied, in whole
or in part. A new list of 47 urgently needed projects was presented,
grouped under the headings of traffic improvement, transportation im-
provement, conservation and development, new park areas and relief of
traffic knots.
Four years later, in 1937, a second report of progress was made and
it was shown that construction had taken place in whole or in part on 20
of the 47 projects in the earlier program (14 of these 20 had been pro-
posed for construction and the other six for only mapping or further
study). Acquisition of land had occurred on five additional projects.
Substantial progress was therefore recorded in spite of the depression
years and some parts of the program had advanced even faster than was
contemplated.
A new list of urgently needed projects was again presented, this time
including 42 grouped under traffic improvement, improvement of trans-
portation and new park areas.
It has been demonstrated that such regional public works programs
are welcomed by both the officials and citizens within the region and
are being used more and more for checking the urgency of local projects
which may be advanced for official action.
A mimicipal planning commission may well approach the problem of
a capital improvement program by listing proposals on their master
plan under the following three headings: first, those which might be
carried out within the next six-year period; second, a group for consid-
eration within the ensuing six-year period; a third group which would in-
clude projects for later consideration. It would be desirable to have
approximate cost estimates for projects in the first two groups and the
total cost for each group should not exceed that which could reasonably
be financed within the period.
An absolute essential for any capital budget program is periodical
revision and extension so that it will always look ahead for about the
same period of time.
PLANNING 8«7
PART IV
HAROLD A. MERRILL
According to recent estimates by the United States Department of
Commerce, total expenditures for public and private construction in
the United States reached the peak of nearly 14 billions of dollars in
1927, declined to a low point of 4 billions in 1933, and in 1937 amounted
to about 8}/^ billions. Total construction averaged about 10 billions per
year for the years 1920-1924, about 13 billions per year for the years
1925-1930 and about 6J^ biUions per year for the years 1931-1937, in-
clusive. During the past decade, public construction expenditures by
Federal, state and local jurisdictions have averaged about 3 billions of
dollars per year, and varied approximately from one-fourth to one-third
of the total of all construction activity. About one- tenth to one-fifth of
all public construction has been Federal.
If during the next decade, expenditures on public works by all units
of government for normal activities in the development of resources and
public improvements continue in approximately the same amounts as
during the past two decades, a potential ten-year program amounting to
no less than 30 billion dollars is visualized.
WHAT ARE PUBLIC WORKS?
The scope of the meaning of "pubUc works" has gradually expanded
and will continue to be modified with changing conditions. The limits
on the growth of the field are determined by the public will, national
wealth, standards of living, and willingness to pay. A hundred years
ago, public works were limited to lighthouses, public buildings and mili-
tary and naval equipment and facilities. Later public funds were ex-
pended on rivers, harbors, and flood control followed by reclamation
projects and public roads.
Today expenditures by Federal, state and local governments for
public works cover a wide range of activities, such as transportation,
water projects, rural electrification, housing, recreation facilities, public
buildings, erosion control, forestry, surveys and plans, to mention only a
few of the major categories. This list has been still further expanded in
the efforts of the government to provide useful work for the unemployed
and persons on relief during the depression. In short, the growth of
public works expenditures has kept pace with national development,
national wealth and industrial expansion.
At the same time, the investment in public works by States and local
governments has expanded at even a faster rate than Federal expendi-
tures. The States have matched Federal grants for highways, for forest
conservation, and for educational and welfare activities, and have erected
^Construction Activity in the United States, 1915-1937, United States Department of
Commerce, Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, 1938.
828 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
schools and other public buildings on lands donated by the Federal
Government. Counties and townships have built roads and schools;
cities have spent billions on streets, schools, parks and playgrounds, on
utiUties and sewers or marketing and terminal facilities.
As the concept of the public works functions of government expands,
it becomes increasingly evident that both long-range planning and pro-
gramming by each unit of government and coordination of all these plans
for the country as a whole have become essential in the interests of
economy and of an orderly and unified development. This need has been
further emphasized by the measures taken by government (to combat
the depression in utilizing public works to give employment) which have
again focused attention upon the necessity for systematic advance prep-
aration in order to reduce to a minimum the delays ordinarily met in
putting men to work quickly.
COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING
If we are to plan our public works on a long-range basis, we must be
prepared to estimate today what we must build two, three, or even six
years from now — what highways we shall pave, what new water supply
we shall tap, what light and power facilities we shall call into existence,
how we shall extend or remodel our transportation systems, how we shall
control our rivers, what parks and playgrounds we shall establish. To
make such estimates more than mere guesses, we must know a good deal
about the area under consideration and its place in State and Nation; a
good deal not only about its present but about its futiue. We must know
its physical features and the services rendered by pubUc and private
agencies to the inhabitants and others who use them, we must know the
som-ces of its wealth, the nature of its citizenry, its rate of population
change; we must understand its dependence on the larger world outside
its physical boundaries and its means of contact with it. All this we
must consider in the light of the ideal of providing and insuring a
minimum standard of living upon as high a plane as the wealth and
resources available will permit. In short, we must work the elements of
community hving into an appropriate plan for orderly development.
Through comprehensive planning a series of individual projects in-
tended for execution over a period of years can be made to contribute
toward the attainment of larger goals than can be realized by piecemeal
and unrelated planning and at the same time the value of the individual
projects may be increased thereby. Each Federal department or biu'eau
concerned with public works has specialists or agencies engaged in plan-
ning its particular projects. This is likewise true of the States, counties
and municipalities. However, a collection of projects each in itself
meritorious and well-designed does not make a comprehensive plan.
They cannot be treated in isolation but must be so fitted into the general
scheme as to achieve a whole.
PLANNING 329
Each project must of course be adequate for the purposes for which
it is intended; but the relative merits of alternate proposals for accom-
plishing the same purpose must be weighed. Multiple uses of the same
project and related projects must be taken into account not only for
present but future needs as well.
The numerous interrelationships between the various projects, both
existing and proposed, in a planned development must be studied with
a view to integrating them to a unified scheme with respect to physical
location, size, and character. Thus building may proceed over a period
of years with assurance that when each project is completed, it will
properly fit into the predetermined pattern of development. In eflFect
the comprehensive plan is a reservoir of projects to be drawn upon as
needs dictate and as they can be financed.
PROGRAMMING
Formulation of the long-range public works program is a planning
function employing the techniques of the physical planner and those of
the financial planner, with due consideration for social and economic
conditions and controlHng financial factors which are constantly chang-
ing. The procedure involves program planning and budgeting. Whether
they are carried on by one agency or individual or by several agencies or
individuals matters little so long as the operations are all coordinated
during the process and integrated results are achieved. Obviously the
greater the complexity of governmental agencies, services and interests
involved, the greater will be the necessity for division of labor and ade-
quate machinery for insuring cooperation and coordination.
Program Planning: Program planning is the function of determining
what public improvements, incorporated in the comprehensive plan, will
best serve social and economic ends and carry our governmental policy
for the period under consideration, and of establishing the appropriate
priority relationships. It will be concerned with considerations of timing
planned projects in relation to need, to effect on the business cycle and
to sources of labor and materials, determining the volume of public
works for the current year or biennium, and for a more extended period,
and with the distribution of the total volume, geographically by type of
work and between political jurisdictions. The program should cover a
six-to-ten-year period and should be annually revised and extended be-
cause new conditions arise from year to year which influence decisions
previously made.
Selection of desirable projects requires careful project analysis by
qualified technicians. The criteria to be applied should include not only
engineering soundness and financial, economic and legal tests but also
conformity to larger plans. Unemployment conditions, financial status,
fiscal policies and similar considerations are involved. Experience of the
Public Works Administration and the Federal Employment Stabiliza-
330 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
tion Board amply demonstrates that advance programs can be developed
and that they are useful.
Project Selection and Criteria: The selection of projects to be included
in the program and their time sequence within the period covered will be
determined by the criteria chosen. The National Resources Board in its
December, 1934, report recommended consideration of the following
criteria for selection of public works:
"1. The criterion of balance, including considerations of proper pro-
portion between expenditures, within a limited budget, for the several
kinds of public works and based primarily upon balance and proportion
in the several services rendered.
"2. The criterion of service standards, whereby deficiencies are
measured by arbitrary standards of service established at or somewhat
near the peak of actual accomplishment, plus reasonable probability.
"3. The criterion of essential services, applicable to such basic needs
as those of water supply, sewage disposal, and fire protection, with the
chief determinant simply that of whether physical conditions and degree
of population concentration make these services essential to a commun-
ity's well-being.
"4. The criterion of cost, including the following factors: Amount of
total available income (dependent upon community wealth, public opin-
ion, and public view as to what represents the real cost of public im-
provements) ; funds available for a given class of public works as deter-
mined by balance; and value to be received and benefit to be derived
from a given project at a given cost, in consideration of all other needed
improvements of the same class.
"5. The criteria of relative need and relative benefit of individual
projects in relation to and in consideration of all other needed improve-
ments, as determined by coordinated and comprehensive plan. These
criteria are the determinants of sequence of projects.
"6. The criteria of trends, and of growth and development potential-
ities, by which the extent and character of future requirement improve-
ments and services may be measured. Such trends and potentialities in
turn are determinable by exhaustive survey and analysis of conditions
and trends, and by comprehensive long-range planning.
"7. The criterion of emergency, with application varied according to
whether projects involved are those for the replacement of necessary
public works destroyed by fire, flood, or other catastrophe or whether
these public works represent speeded-up execution of normal expansion
of development of improvements and services.
"8. The criterion of social and economic desirability, which for prac-
tical application must be based largely upon such arbitrary standards
as may be established under item 2 above. (Many conceivable public
works are quite without economic utility or social desirability, as deter-
minable by applied common sense. The economic and social desirability
PLANNING 381
of expansion of accepted and useful services is relative and in the last
analysis limited only by public opinion and by limits set upon public
expenditure by public opinion.)"
Referring to these and other criteria, the National Resources Com-
mittee in its December, 1936, report on Public Works Planning said,
"These criteria are suitable for use in relation to the median or normal
program, but in the selection of projects for an expanded program in
periods of depression not only these criteria but additional factors must
receive consideration. An example of the type of question involved in
depression periods can be taken from the experience of the Public Works
Administration and the recommendations of the National Planning
Board in 1933, which showed:
"Planning considerations: Conformity with comprehensive city,
regional, or state plan: Indicate whether plan is city, regional, or state
plan, whether official or unofficial, and give status of plan, date of plan,
consultant, recommendation of planning board, if any, present member-
ship and consultant to board and date of recommendation.
"Metropolitan or regional significance: Consider relation of project
to similar or affected proposals in same metropolitan or regional district.
"Priority of projects: Consider comparative importance and desir-
ability of the project to other proposals in same district which have been,
or may be submitted, particularly where bonding power or other limita-
tions are likely to limit number of projects which can be undertaken.
"Sequence: Consider relation of project to other dependent construc-
tion, as bridge approaches before bridges, or sewers before pavements.
Is full use of project provided for when completed?
"Regenerative character: Consider stimulative effect of project upon
other or additional construction by private or public agencies. Desirabil-
ity and kind of additional work.
"Competitive character: Is facility provided by project in competi-
tion with existing facilities of same kind, or of same general purpose,
such as railroad versus highway, public versus private waterworks, etc.?
"Permanence : Is project a palliative or a final answer to specific need?
Is the utility of the facility provided measurable in terms of years?
"Continuing costs: Consider possible additional outlays required for
maintenance and operation and who will bear such costs.
"Changes in community: Consider effect of direction of community
growth, location of industries, population trends, etc., on continuing
utility of project.
"General: State additional significant facts on social economic desir-
ability of the projects. Has the proposal in its general and economic
aspects your approval based on your best judgment?"
These points were covered in Bulletin No. 1 of the Public Works
Administration. The application forms required additional information
on the time for starting construction, the man-year costs, availability of
332 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
the site, type of personnel employed on the site and in the manufacture
of materials, cUmatic conditions, etc.
"A third set of criteria relates to the availability of labor supply.
The United States Employment Service, which now has offices reaching
every community throughout the country, maintains a continuing regis-
ter of all persons who are voluntarily seeking work, either on public or
private enterprises.
"A comparative study of changes in the occupational and geographic
distribution of the available labor supply from time to time will oflfer
valuable indications of occupational trends and of developing shortages
and surpluses. Such data should and could be used as one of the criteria
in determining the type and location of public work projects.
"Still another problem in the selection of projects for a long-range
plan is the geographic distribution of allotments for construction projects
Here again some experience has been obtained through the work of the
Public Works Administration. The National Planning Board in Septem-
ber, 1933, after review of the criteria for geographic allotments in a
critical economic period, suggested consideration of: (1) Population by
States or regions. (2) Unemployed by States or regions. (3) Relief funds
by States or regions. (4) Families given assistance by States or regions.
(5) Federal income by States or regions. (6) Area. (7) Combinations
of some of the foregoing, with varying weights for different factors."
Each of these possible methods of testing distribution of funds has
its own advantages and limitations, and each may contribute significant
considerations to be kept in mind.
Population provides a general test by comparing percentage of funds
with the percentage of population in the several States. The advantage
of this method lies in its simplicity. But the needs of the States, from
the social or economic point of view, may or may not be proportionate
to population. Just as the aid to the unemployed provided by a project
cannot be judged wholly on a basis of location, so also the need for aid
cannot be judged wholly on a basis of population.
Unemployment figures would presumably show the need for aid if
they were available or accurate. Even if such figures could be obtained,
they would not show the whole story, for they would not include many
cases of distress which are well known to exist. Self-employing rural
distress cases, for instance, would not be covered by this classification.
Relief funds also are incomplete as a guide.
Families receiving aid as shown on the tables compiled by the Federal
Emergency Relief are, perhaps, the best indication of need available.
Area bears less relation to need than any of the methods just dis-
cussed, and is therefore not recommended.
Combination, with varying weights for different factors. The Re-
covery Act, in section 204 (b), established a basis for allocation of high-
way funds, as follows: Seven twenty-fourths by area; seven twenty-
PLANNING 888
fourths by mileage of rural delivery routes; and ten twenty-fourths by
population.
This combination of factors is obviously not applicable to the whole
program of public works, because of its special relation to post roads
and omission of unemployment relief as a factor. The existence of this
method as a part of the basic act does, however, suggest the advantages
of a weighted factor combination as a test for distribution of projects.
The best combination appears to be an average of the population,
unemployment, relief, and family figures discussed above. This average
may prove useful as a measuring stick if allocations are figured 60 per
cent in accordance with location of the project and remainder distributed
by source of materials and similar considerations.
Application of Criteria: The following considerations involved in ap-
plying these criteria are repeated with some modification from the
National Resources Committee's Suggested Procedure for Public Works
Programming by State Planning Boards.
Permanent Social Need: (a) Does the project conform to a compre-
hensive community, state or regional plan? It is realized, of course,
that for every project there must be plans in the sense of specifications.
The question refers to the relation of this specific project to other pro-
posed improvements and developments. If the plan is prepared in
sufficient detail to indicate not only location, but type, capacity and
general design of contemplated future construction, conformity to this
plan will be an approximate measure of permanent social need, (b)
What type and standard of service will be rendered by the project? The
protection of life and health would normally fill a more permanent
social need than preservation of property, while the latter would or-
dinarily take precedence over projects not falling under either of these
headings, (c) Will the project confer a general benefit on the State or
region as a whole, or will benefits accrue to a limited area or group? (d)
Will the project be of a regenerative character, serving to stimulate other
or additional construction by private or public agencies? (e) Is the proj-
ect a palliative or a final answer to a specific need?
Financial Advisability: (a) Is the economic justification of the proj-
ect sufficient to warrant construction from normal revenues and/or
credit, taking into consideration such factors as bonding capacity and
general financial ability of the governmental unit? (b) Will the project
add an appreciable burden in the form of maintenance charges, or will
revenues be adequate to carry operating costs including possible addi-
tional outlay?
Employment Potentialities: (a) What is the percentage of labor cost
to total cost of the project? (b) What is the man-year cost? (c) What
are the requirements of skilled and common labor? (d) Is the class
of labor required by the project available in the community in which it
is to be constructed?
884 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
BUDGETING
Budgeting is the process of allocating financial resources for carrying
out the program. Budgeting does more than assemble inventory data
through schedules setting forth capital needs over a period of years: It
tentatively apportions outlay for the desired program in terms of antic-
ipated revenues and long-range fiscal procedures. Needless to say, this
last step is the most difficult to attain because it has the appearance, to
the elected legislator, of committing public funds beyond his own term
of office, which may mean failure to be re-elected. It is therefore highly
desirable that the initiative should come from some permanent non-
political agency which enjoys public confidence.
The first step in the budgeting procedure is to forecast for the period
agreed upon the probable revenue which will be realized from available
sources and to determine the proportion of this revenue which may be
used for capital expenditures. As much of the public works program
as can be financed may then be specifically provided for by earmarking
the revenues for that purpose. This is over-simplification, of course, and
takes no account of the many intermediate steps in the process, or of the
negotiations, the compromises, the outside pressures, and the probable
political bargaining which go into the crucible from which the long-range
capital budget will ultimately be poured. The long-term program
of public works is the physical plan expressed in terms of time and money
and the long-range capital budget is the financial plan by which the
physical plan may be carried out.
FEDERAL EXPERIENCE IN PROGRAMMING
In the Federal Government, Congressional appropriations determine
the extent of the work to be undertaken in any fiscal year, and the exis-
tence of an approved six-year program will facilitate the expansion or
contraction of expenditure as Congress may authorize.
The experience with river, harbor and flood control work, public
buildings and public roads is significant. Lump-sum appropriations for
application to a list of approved projects or for expenditure in conformity
with closely defined regulations have permitted much more efficient use
of available funds than fixed amounts for individual projects.
The experience of the corps of engineers with river and harbor work
is perhaps the best example and a detailed description of this procedure,
as outlined in the December, 1936, National Resources Committee report
on Public Works Planning, seems pertinent here.
"The first step in a river or harbor improvement is authorization by
Congress for a preliminary examination and survey," says the report.
"In effect, this authorizes the chief of engineers to direct the district en-
gineer in whose district the proposed improvement lies to make a pre-
liminary examination and report to him whether there appears to be
sufficient merit in the proposal to justify a thorough examination.
PLANNING 386
"The district engineer's report passes via the division engineer to the
Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors (of seven engineer officers)
which reviews all river and harbor improvements from an engineering
viewpoint. The board report, with those of the district and divisional
engineers, is passed on to the chief of engineers who directs a survey if
found justified. If a survey is not found justified, the case is closed by
the submission to Congress of the report on the preliminary examination.
"The report on a survey so authorized presents a definite plan of im-
provement, estimates of costs and of benefits, and a favorable or adverse
recommendation. The report is reviewed by the division engineer, the
Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors, and the Chief of Engineers.
It is transmitted by the Secretary of War to Congress and referred by
the Speaker to the proper committee of Congress — the Committee on
Rivers and Harbors in the House and the Committee on Commerce in
the Senate. Upon passage of an 'authorization to improve' bill through
both houses of Congress and signature by the President, the proposed
improvement becomes an adopted project. The actual construction
work begins on it when Congress provides the necessary funds.
"Since 1914 it has been the custom to make appropriations in lump
sums each year for rivers and harbors improvements which have been
authorized by Congress, and the allotments from this lump-sum appro-
priation to the separate projects are made by the Secretary of War, upon
the recommendation of the Chief of Engineers of the army. If there are
any projects in the pending authorization bill upon which work should
not be carried on, the President or the Secretary of War is still in a
position to order that no allotments shall be made for these projects.
"A somewhat similar situation exists in the field of pubhc buildings
where the Secretary of the Treasury and the Postmaster General are
authorized by the Public Buildings Act of 1926 to report annually to
Congress as to needed public buildings. They are responsible for the
preparation of a 'Program' and money is appropriated largely on the
basis of the estimates submitted by the Office of the Supervising Archi-
tect.
"The Bureau of Public Roads in its work on the Federal-aid highway
system has similarly developed procedures for selection of desirable road
projects so as to secure conformity of individual units of construction
with the ultimate national highway system. Through the authority
granted to the Bureau for negotiation and agreement with States, proj-
ects can be developed and selected a year or more in advance of pro-
posed construction.
"In the days before the budget. Congress did all the selection of
public work projects, acting under pressure from the various bureaus and
departments most concerned. The activities of the bureaus have now
been funneled through the budget but Congress naturally retains the
basic control of the finances of the government."
8S6 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
In the same report, the procedure by which the Public Works Admin-
istration operates has been summarized as follows :
"All projects requested by Federal agencies pass through the projects
division in the Public Works Administration, with the exception of those
involving construction of Federal buildings, such as post offices and
similar structures. The projects division examines all projects from the
standpoint of engineering, finance, and economics. In some types of
work, notably river and harbor improvements, such examinations and
studies have previously been made by the corps of engineers. In these
cases, when the project has been recommended by the corps of engineers,
no fmi;her examination along these lines is deemed necessary.
"Non-federal projects, with the exception of transportation and
housing loans, begin in the office of the state engineers (P. W. A.) and
pass with its recommendations to the projects division at P. W. A. head-
quarters in Washington. They are then examined from financial, engi-
neering, and legal points of view in the divisions bearing those titles.
Transportation projects do not go through the state offices, but begin at
once in Washington where they are examined separately in special
divisions devoted to those subjects."
FEDERAL SIX-YEAR PROGRAMS
For many years public works have been advocated as an important
factor in controlling employment and in influencing the flow of capital,
and it has been argued that planned and directed public works might be
used for purposes of economic stabilization. A bill to create an emergency
public works board was introduced in 1919 by Senator Kenyon, but was
dropped after unfavorable reports.
Dm-ing the next ten years, however, various proposals for long-range
planning of public construction were made in the state legislatures and
in Congress, culminating in the passage of the Employment Stabilization
Act of 1931. The Federal Employment Stabilization Board created by
this act was directed to watch the movement of business activity, and
to report to the President whenever a state of depression existed or was
anticipated in the next six months. The President is authorized to trans-
mit the report to Congress, with an estimate of the appropriation needed
for public construction to improve conditions in the affected area. For
these purposes the law provides for the programming of Federal con-
struction on a six-year basis, and specifically declares it to be "the policy
of Congress to arrange the construction of public works so far as may
be practicable in such manner as will assist in the stabilization of industry
and employment through the proper timing of such construction, and
that to further this object there shall be advance planning including
preparation of detailed construction plans, of public works by the con-
struction agencies and the board." The law also definitely provides for
annual revision of the program and extension by one year.
PLANNING 337
Unfortunately, the depression was well under way before the passage
of the stabilization act of 1931, so that it was not possible to realize to
the full extent the potentialities of the act for long-term programming of
public works by Federal agencies before the launching of the $3,300,000,
000 national recovery program in May, 1933. However, the six-year
programs which had been submitted for two successive years by Federal
agencies were very useful in the selection of Federal projects under the
expanded recovery program, due largely to the data readily available
and the experience gained in that short time through the board's estab-
lished contacts and practical working relations with Federal construction
agencies numbering more than 100. The Stabilization Board was abolished
and its functions transferred by executive order to the Department of
Commerce in March, 1934. On authority of the President, the projects
division of the Public Works Administration acting for the National
Resources Committee requested each Federal agency concerned with
construction to revise its construction program in 1936, 1937 and the
1938 revision now under way, so that in effect this function of the stabil-
ization act has been continued.
STATE EXPERIENCE IN PROGRAMMING
Long-term programming by the various construction agencies of the
Federal Government has already made notable progress through the
efforts of the Stabilization Board, the National Resources Committee
and the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works; but
among state and local governments the practice, with a few notable
exceptions, is of recent origin. To stimulate this work on the part of non-
Federal agencies, the National Resources Board cooperated' with the
state planning boards and the Public Works Administration in conduct-
ing national inventory of works projects early in 1935. A second inven-
tory was undertaken in July, 1936, with the responsibility for participat-
ing in it left solely to the individual state planning boards. Wholly aside
from the uses made by Federal emergency construction agencies of the
twenty billion dollar project-list compiled, the inventory served to
emphasize the need for non-Federal long-term planning.
If we are to avoid waste and duplication and promote an orderly and
unified development, there must be not only careful planning of public
construction by each governmental unit, but also coordination of local
programs with state and regional and national programs. In conducting
the national public works inventories and programs referred to above,
the state planning boards are in a strategic position to act as public
works councils, stimulating interest in public works programming on
the part of local governments, supplying advice and technical skill, and
integrating from the larger point of view of the State as a whole, the
various programs prepared by counties, townships and municipalities.
338 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
FUNCTION OF THE INVENTORY
The inventory of public works projects is not, of course, a long-range
program, nor is it in any sense of the word a capital budget. It is, how-
ever, an initial step out of which both a program and a capital budget
may evolve. It is a practical and useful means of introducing the pro-
gramming idea to public officials and of providing a primary reservoir of
projects which may be winnowed and refined by planners and construc-
tion experts until the elements of a program emerge from it. The inven-
tory procedure in the public works programming process corresponds to
the collection of facts in research: many facts will be discarded, but
out of the whole body of data accumulated, those pertinent to solution
of the particular problem will be drawn.
In general, the following steps are provided for: (1) Preliminary
drafting of a long-term public works program by the appropriate plan-
ning agency based upon the comprehensive plan and submission to the
governing body for use in preparing the official budget; (2) formal review
and ratification of the program by the governing body for incorporation
into the official budget; (3) adoption of a period of five or six years for
which budget estimates are to be scheduled, subject to revision by a
specific procediu*e in case of altered circumstances; (4) annual review,
revision, and extension of the long-range program and of the budget;
(5) authorization either of special tax levies or recurrent appropriations
for the duration of the budget period to guarantee the availability of
funds for the programmed capital outlays.
In the absence of legislation, much may still be done. The state plan-
ning boards can secure and keep up-to-date inventories of state and local
projects; and with the basic planning data compiled or available, they
can work these project inventories into preliminary programs. Even
without any long-range budgeting provisions, construction departments
can so program their work as to make the annual budget serve a broader
purpose, if the professional planner can convince them of the wisdom of
such a course. State, regional, county and city planning commissions
can work with construction agencies toward the goal of long-term pro-
gramming, and can coordinate construction programs.
Through their contacts with state and local governments and with
county, municipal, and regional planning agencies on the one hand, and
with Federal public construction agencies and the national planning
agency on the other, the state planning boards will become an important
factor in the efficient operation of the Federal system. The strength of
democracy lies in its flexibility, in its receptiveness to experiment, and
in its readiness to devise new techniques for coping with changing
economic and social conditions. Coordinated planning through Federal,
state, and local agencies is such a technique; and its success in the field
of public works programming has elevated it from the realm of experi-
ment to the category of a definitely workable procedure.
PLANNING 389
Planning Promotes Progress
E. D. RIVERS, Governor of the State of Georgia
FUNDAMENTALLY, there are two great schools of thought in this
country: the progressive and the reactionary. The progressive per-
son reaUzes that times and conditions change and that if the interest of
the whole people is to be adequately served and the general welfare
properly promoted, there must be changes in government, in society,
and in economics to keep pace with the changing needs of human beings.
For this reason, the progressives are usually in the present day referred
to as humanitarians; that is, they put the welfare of human beings as a
first objective of government and the first philosophy of life. The reac-
tionary is one who believes in retaining the status quo at all hazards and
letting current events and changes in conditions adjust themselves as
best they can to the status quo, regardless of the effects generally upon
the people. The progressive places humanity first, the reactionary places
property first.
It is my conviction that this nation was intended from the beginning
to be progressive, to put humanity first. Prior to the founding of this
country most of the people who later settled it lived in England. Eng-
land, in those days, was predominantly reactionary. Those who settled
this country tired of this trespass on human rights. They left a land of re-
action to found a land of progressivism. When they laid the mud-sills
of government here, they took pains to write into the preamble of the
Constitution and into every subsequent paragraph and amendment
thereto the unmistakable purpose of promotion of human rights and
progress. But in no single word, sentence or paragraph of the documents
of government they drafted can we find any intimation that this should
be a government devoted to having people get rich. I, therefore, feel
justified in my conclusion that it was intended from the beginning that
this government should be devoted to human rights and progress for
their protection. I am a progressive.
George Washington was a great progressive, and, likewise, a great
planner. To perfect the new nation required planned patience, wisdom,
bravery, hardship and faith. Washington, as a surveyor, a planner, was
our first good roads pioneer. Washington, as a planning educator,
founded from his bounty what is now Washington and Lee University.
Yet, for the pains of his planning, he incurred the enmity of the leading
newspapers of his day, much disloyalty among his own cabinet members,
and those of his own party. Like anyone who plans progress for human
beings, he was misunderstood and therefore was maligned.
As with Washington, so later with Jefferson, Jackson, and countless
others who led in a program of progressive planning for humanity, who
brought into the world a new philosophy in advance of the thinking of
the average men of so-called practical business affairs.
S40 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
Almost a century has passed, yet we have survived our wars, our
panics, the preposterous prosperity period of 1920, the greatest gambUng
event in the history of America — the exploitation of Florida, and the
dire distress resulting from unemployment and from bank failures of
1932 and 1933. The United States is here today the richest and most
powerful nation in the world, because we are a progressive nation with a
leadership that constantly plans in advance for the general welfare of
humanity.
If we are to continue to be a great nation and a prosperous people,
we must profitably plan our progress for the future and with the change
of time expand our methods of planning our progress. We must keep
the faith, regardless of the slandering we receive and in the face of the
direst predictions of calamity howlers.
There are many great needs for planning. The personnel of those who
administer government should be planned through proper training and
merit examinations. So few of our people, indeed such an infinitesimal
per cent, can have the opportunity to administer government that con-
sideration should be given first to the vast throng of our people who
cannot hold public positions, rather than to salvaging spoils under polit-
ical pressure for those few who do hold pubhc position. Efliciency and
economy in government, through a trained, patriotic and energetic per-
sonnel, need to be planned for the national, state and local governments.
Only by planned personnel for government can extravagance, waste and
corruption be eliminated. Planning a personnel for public positions
that will cause families to be ambitious, to train for public service the
ablest and finest of their household, is greatly needed in every phase
of our government today. Following through the thought of planning
personnel goes even further than simply governmental service. It in-
volves planned education to implant character and to train for avoca-
tions and professions the youth of our land to the end that they will be
suited to work in the various enterprises that will make for the develop-
ment and conservation of our natural resources, our cultural and spirit-
ual advancement.
Planning our finances to the end that government may economically
invest public funds for the program of the whole people, with popular
support, is mandatory. American democracy has brought to the world
gifts past appraisal. But democracy is a process of education as well as
a form of government. It confers great privileges upon the individual,
but imposes the inevitable obligation as well. While the price we pay
through taxation may at times seem burdensome, yet it is small indeed in
comparison to the benefits and privileges which accrue from the civiliza-
tion built here through planned democratic processes of government.
However, improper planning of our finances has caused through
haphazardness and immediate necessities an opportunity for reaction-
aries to send out propaganda against taxation. It is high time that in
PLANNING 341
planning the finances of government, we accent in the public mind the
blessings from taxation. Despite the abuses, iniquities and lack of uni-
formity in financing government, taxation is still one of the greatest
single blessings of the masses of our people. Through the process of
taxation, the government reaches down into the channels of business and
trade and lifts billions of dollars up into the treasuries of government,
then this money descends through various governmental services, to
build highways, to educate boys and girls, to provide health and recrea-
tional facilities for the people, to give systematic security to the old,
blind, unemployed, dependent and crippled children, to conserve,
develop and distribute the benefits of our vast natiu-al resources, to care
for our sick, our insane, our other underprivileged, to protect society
against criminals, to provide for the common defense of all our people,
and otherwise to promote the general welfare. As this money descends in
the form of these governmental services, it is again spent back into the
channels of business and trade. Not a dollar of it is lost or destroyed.
Every dollar the government takes up to the treasury from business and
trade through taxation, descends again, through governmental services,
back into the channels of business and trade. Yet, on the round the
money makes, it performs a fine function of planned progress for hmnan
beings. If the money remained entirely in the channels of business and
trade, government would perish and society become stagnant.
Without taxation, the average person could not educate his children,
could not have a paved highway, and even the rich could not enjoy the
blessings, protection and progress brought by taxation. Recently I had
breakfast with Mr. Henry Ford at Ways, Georgia, where he is doing a
wonderful job of planned programs himself. As I thought of the great
wealth of Mr. Ford and the great blessings of taxation, I was impressed
that with all of his wealth, Mr. Ford could not build the highways and
bridges over which he travels in his trips around the country and finance
the courts and the officials who protect him along the route, and support
the many other public benefits he enjoys all by taxation, though he
should exhaust his entire fortune in the endeavor.
Nevertheless, there is need for planned financing of government.
There is need for uniform tax laws. The lack of uniformity of taxes in the
several States and in local communities within the several States is most
glaring. Obsolete and unjust tax laws on the part of a given State or
its subdivisions causes maladjustment in industry. An industry which
under uniform tax laws could most efficiently and economically operate
in a certain State may be forced by xmjust and disuniform tax laws
to locate in a different State and incur in processing and distribution
cost that he passes on to the consumer. In addition to the amount of direct
tax paid, it is of ultimate great benefit to our people that our tax laws be
made uniform and modern to meet changed conditions as well as ade-
quate to support essential progressive governmental services.
342 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
One of the great coming conflicts in American history is going to be
over the question of equalizing governmental services and governmental
costs for those services between the relatively rich areas of the country
and the relatively poor areas of the country, to the end that equal gov-
ernmental services be rendered all our people, and equal costs of those
services be borne uniformly whether in the rich urban centers or the
remote rural areas. This calls for a planned national financing for an
equalization fund to be distributed for state administration, especially
for health, education, and highways.
As with personnel, so we might carry the picture of planned financing
to include private enterprises. Industry should be located close to the
source of raw materials with proper regard for reaching the centers of
consumption through equitable rates for distribution. No commercial
enterprise should be over- or under-capitalized. Adequate credit facilities
and proper opportunity for expansion should be permitted. Private
budgeting should be prepared and provided. Planned financing, both
in private enterprise and in public services, is a prime need for our people
and offers opportunity for the most enthusiastic planning.
Planning of our transportation and distribution system in this country
is so imperative that the plight of our railroads serves as a glaring ex-
ample of this need. There should be a planned coordination between
air-, water-, railroad- and motor vehicle-transportation, as well as be-
tween public and private transportation. This one field justifies a great
planning effort. Like taxation, rates of transportation should be uniform
between States. At the present time, artificial tariff barriers have been
erected between various States and various sections of the country in
varying degree. While the Constitution prohibits the levying of a tariff
between States, the differentials in transportation rates have in practice
set up such tariffs. This has caused a maladjustment in industry, a higher
cost of commodities to the consumer, neglect of great natural resources
and the corresponding lessening of our national wealth, and sectional
business bitterness that has retarded our progress. Whole industrial
villages and cities have become deserted, millions of dollars of invest-
ments lost, and community cultm-e and sentiments uprooted. No sound
economy in this country can be had until there is a free flow of commerce
between every State and region of the country, unhampered by artificial
tariff barriers in the form of transportation rate differentials. Every
State in this country has enough resources and natural advantages to
develop uniformly an economy that will be sound and progressive.
We need a planned balancing of our populations between rural and
urban divisions of our national life. No more people should live in our
cities and towns and villages than are necessary to carry on the normal
functioning of industry and commerce. To overcrowd these centers
means relief rolls in times of depression and consequent increase in costs
of taxation, as well as human suffering. Those not normally needed in
PLANNING S43
commerce and industry should be induced to live in the rural areas
where they can have their own little house, gardens, chickens and eggs,
butter and milk, fruits and vegetables — the back log of a living, regard-
less of periods of prosperity, recession or depression. The only way to
induce our young people voluntarily to adjust the population between
rural and urban life is to plan a more attractive rural life for them to the
end that they will want to live in the country as much as they want now
to live in the towns and cities. This can only be accomplished by equality
in education and health, adequate all-weather highway facilities, the
benefits of electricity and the modern conveniences attendant thereon,
and tax burdens equalized between heavily tax-valued communities and
low tax-valued communities. In my opinion. North Carolina has planned
the best balance of population between its rural and urban life. No city
in North Carolina has more than 100,000 people. The balancing of its
population has likewise been accompanied by a balancing, to a great
extent, of agriculture and industry.
We in Georgia emerged into the governmental planning field on July
1, 1937, less than a year ago. We created a planning commission com-
posed of four citizens appointed by the governor and the respective
heads of our departments of highways, public health, natural resources,
and public education. At the head of this planning board, I named
Henry T. Mcintosh, long a volunteer planning enthusiast, editor of the
Albany, Georgia, Herald, one of our best smaller daily newspapers, and
with him such outstanding people as our great chemist, Dr. Charles H.
Herty (noted particularly for his recent discovery of a process to make
paper out of om- pine gum, cottonwood and other southern timber) and
Mrs. Martha Berry, nationally known for her original and unique edu-
cational institution for the underprivileged known as the Berry Schools.
We went aggressively into the planning of both human and natural
resources. At that time, counting the District of Colimfibia, Georgia stood
49th in education; we have since lengthened our term of schools, raised
and promptly paid our teachers, installed a system of free textbooks
from the first grade through the high school, included vocational sub-
jects, installed school libraries, instituted classes to reduce our percentage
of illiteracy, started an audio- visual educational program, added 115
additional vocational agricultural teachers, added more than 200 home
economics teachers, and doubled our high-school enrollment in vocational
subjects, so that now Georgia ranks well up among her sister States in
equal educational opportunities for our children. At the time our plan-
ning commission was established, Georgia was spending only three cents
per capita on public health; now we are spending ten times that amount,
and whereas then every form of disease was on the increase, now every
form of disease is on the decrease. Then we had no program of soil-
erosion prevention, rural electrification, rural route highways; now in
this short time we have covered more than two-thirds of our State with
344 AMERICAN PLANNING AND CIVIC ANNUAL
conservation work; we are spending $3,000,000 of state and federal funds
on rural post roads and have already built hundreds of miles of rural
electric lines. Then, our primary highway system was being built under
the political spoils system; now we have in progress a highway planning
survey based upon through and local traffic conditions, scenic, historic
and recreational spots, possibility of future developments, and other
factors. Then we had no natural resources department; now we have a
model for the entire country with divisions of forestry, mining and
geology, wild life and parks, and historical sites and monuments. What-
ever we may think of it, with our increasing population, and our increas-
ing machinery, the trend in the nation is toward shorter hours of work.
We are planning for our people to spend leisure time outdoors or in
recreational centers rather than increasing traffic hazards on the high-
ways or in beer joints and other questionable places. To this end we
have in the last twelve months established sixteen state parks and are
in process of establishing thousand-acre park tracts in each county that
does not have a state or national park. When our planning commission
was created, we had no form of social security. Now we have the full
field offered by any other State, including unemployment compensation,
re-employment service, old-age insurance, old-age pensions, aid for the
blind, and for dependent crippled children. We have constructed a
modem prison at a cost of one and a half million dollars. It is the most
expensive public building in our State. It cost much more than our state
capitol did. We have installed industries, both to make the penal system
self-sustaining, and to teach the prisoners trades and occupations for
their rehabilitation when they are released. We send the commodities
we produce only to agencies, departments, institutions, and subdivisions
of the state government.
When our planning commission was created, we had no department
of safety or state police patrol. We now have one of the best in the
country and have reduced our accident and death rate on the highways
tremendously, as well as our premiums on burglary insurance. These are
among many things we have accomplished for Georgia by planning.
We should have national, regional, state and community planning.
Our planning act authorizes and requires this coordination. We are
carrying forward in the whole program. I am not an authority on plan-
ning, and came here not to give you expert planning advice. I am an
enthusiast for planning, because it is essential to progress, and I came
here to give to this conference such help as the presence on your program
of a governor from one of the forty-eight States can give.
I feel complimented that you invited me and trust that my contribu-
tion may have reciprocated the invitation in value. I hope to have the
pleasure of welcoming the National Conference on Planning to Georgia
one of these days. You could not meet in a State that is more in step
with your efforts.
INDEX
Adams, Frederick J., 291, 295.
Agriculture, Dept. of, 14.
Albers, J. M., 230.
Albright, Horace M., 3, 18, 31, 49, 62.
Allen, Thomas J., Jr., 38.
American Council on Education, 148.
American Forestry Assn., 30-1, 32, 114.
American Nature Assn., 114.
American Planning and Civic Assn., 3,
31-2, 49, 102, 114, 296, 300.
Am. Society of Landscape Architects, 28-9.
Appalachian Trail, 159-62.
Archeological sites, 43-4.
Ascher, Charles S., 266.
Augur, Tracy B., 211.
Aumack, H. F., 251.
Avery, Myron H., 160.
Bacon, Edmund N., 199.
Bard, Albert S., 211.
Bartholomew, Harland, 315.
Basse tt, Edward M., 157.
Behrendt, Walter Curt, 291.
Bennett, Charies B., 189.
Bessey, Roy F., 211, 307.
Bettman, Alfred, 266, 284, 288.
Big Bend National Park, 41-2.
Black, Russell V., 241, 285, 287.
Blaisdell, Donald C, 285, 291, 303.
Brown, Paul V., 135.
Bunker, Page S., 163.
Butler, Ovid, 30.
Buttenheim, Harold S., 241, 284.
Caldwell, John C, 115.
Callison, Eugene H., 195.
Cammerer, Arno B., 4, 33, 49, 84, 101, 142.
Camping, 146-51.
Capital budgeting in Illinois, 317-9.
Capital budgets and improvement pro-
grams, 278-9, 316-38.
Capital budgets, New York City, 325-6.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, 41.
Chase, Pearl, 111.
City planning, 190, 196-210, 315-7.
City planning, administration of, 251-65.
City planning, new developments, 211-3.
City planning, trends in legislation,
273-6.
Civilian Conservation Corps, 43, 58, 61,
85, 88, 90, 99, 103, 104, 163, 166, 175, 176.
Compacts, interstate, 153-6.
Conover, Reeve, 251.
Conservation education, 111-8.
Cornick, Philip H., 241.
Coulter, Stanley L., 103.
County planning, 211-29.
County planning legislation, 271-3.
Coutts, George W., 195.
Coyle, David Cushman, 9.
Crane, Jacob L., Jr., 189.
Curtis, Harry E., 57.
DeBoer, S. R., 241, 247.
Delano, Frederic A., 9, 281.
Demaray, Arthur E., 158.
Dixon, Joseph S., 89.
Downs, Myron D., 241, 315.
Draper, Earie S., 156, 211, 230.
Eliot, Charies W. 2d, 281, 282, 284, 286, 288.
Elliott, Charles N., 164.
Elwood, Philip H., 211.
Bates, Charles C, 127.
Everglades National Park, 36.
Feiss.iCarl, 291, 297, 300.
Fink, Paul M., 159.
Fisch, Fred W., 199.
Fisher, Walter L., 3.
Forest Service, U. S., 15, 20, 21, 22, 32,
77, 85-9, 113, 161, 173.
Fortenberry, J. H., 168.
Foster, Ellery A., 307.
Freeways, 156-9, 217.
Garden Club of America, 25-8.
Gen. Fed. of Women's Clubs, 25.
Geology, 35, 73-5.
Gimre, Gerald S., 199, 251.
Glacier National Park, 32.
Good, Albert H., 119.
Goodrich, Ernest P., 199, 208.
Gosnell, Harold F., 289.
Grand Canyon National Park, 32, 40.
Granger, C. M., 77, 137.
Graves, D. N., 125.
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 12,
Greenbelts, 243.
Greensfelder, A. P., 284.
Ham, Clifford W., 195.
Hare, S. Herbert, 133.
Hays, Howard H., 3.
Herlihy, Elisabeth M., 251, 289.
Herring, Frank W., 315.
Heydecker, Wayne D., 241, 266.
Historic sites, 33-5, 42-5.
Hoan, Daniel W., 195.
Hot Springs National Park, 3, 38, 41.
Housing, 189-94.
Hubbard, Henry V., 291.
Ickes, Harold L., 11, 45, 49, 84.
Ihlder, John, 189.
Interstate relations, 153-62.
Jaqueth, H. H., 251.
Jesness, O. B., 230.
Kelso, M. M., 230.
Key, V. O., 289.
Kingery, Robert, 315, 317.
Kings River Canyon, 37.
Kittredge, Frank A., 45.
Kizer, Ben H., 181, 307.
Lambie, Morris B., 289.
Land planning, 287-8.
Land-use maps, information for, 192-4.
Lane, Franklin K., 3, 7, 45, 62.
Lathrop, Harold W., 130.
Lautner, Harold W., 291.
Lawson, Mrs. Roberta Campbell, 25.
Leonard, Raymond F., 230.
Lewis, Harold M., 315, 320.
Lieber, Richard, 81, 97.
Livingston, R. A., 175.
Lockwood, Mrs. William A,, 25.
Lohmann, Karl B., 291.
Ludwig, Clarence C., 195.
Lusk, Robert D., 289.
MacKaye, Benton, 159.
Madsen, David H., 92.
Maier, Herbert, 39.
Malsberger, H. J., 166.
Mann, Roberts, 103.
Mather, Stephen T., 3, 19, 46, 49, 62, 82.
McCarty, Dwight G., 266.
McFariand, J. Horace, 3, 7, 33.
Mendenhall, W. C, 21, 22.
Merrill, Harold A., 315, 327.
Mesa Verde National Park, 3, 41.
Metropolitan Planning, 211-29.
Meyers, Arthur C, 196.
S45
346
INDEX
Mickle, D. Grant, 199.
Miller, Herman C, 195.
Miller, Neville, 195.
Mitchell, Robert B., 189.
Mt. Rainier National Park, 11, 22, 32.
Mumford, Lewis, 221.
Nat. Assn. of Audubon Societies-, 114.
Nat. Assn. of Housing Officials, 192, 291.
Nat. Conf. on State Parks, 84, 95-178.
Nat. Conf. on State Parks, previous
conferences, 97.
National economic planning, 185.
National forests, 17-22, 32, 77-81, 85-9.
National forests, recreational development
in, 137-40.
National park conferences, 3.
National Park Service, 3-94, 98, 99, 101,
113, 141, 142, 143, 146, 161, 164, 169,
170, 174, 216, 217.
National Park Service Act, 54, 56, 57.
National parks, 1-94.
National parks, 1938 conference on, 1-94.
National parks, recreational development
in. 141-3.
National planning, 281-8.
National planning legislation, 267-8,
National Resources Board, 72.
National Resources Committee, 45, 148,
155, 188, 222, 282, 287, 298, 316, 330,
331, 333.
Newcomb, Charles S., 251.
Nolen, John, Jr., 241.
Noonan, Albert W., 241.
Nusbaum, Jesse L., 72.
Okefenokee Swamp, 37.
Olcott, George W., 153.
Olympic National Park, 11-6, 37.
Orton, Lawrence M., 315.
Park operators, 61-8.
Park, Parkway and Recreational-Area
Study, 57-61, 144-6, 153.
Parker, William Stanley, 288, 315.
Parkways, 134-5, 155, 156-9, 216-8.
Planning, 181-344.
Planning and admin., state parks, 119-36.
Planning education, 254-5, 264, 283,
291-306.
Planning in the Pacific Northwest, 283-4.
Planning, need for, 339-44.
Planning, value of, to public oflBcials, 195.
Pomeroy, Hugh R., 211, 213.
President's Conference of Governors (1908),
7.
Public land reserves, 245-6.
Public land reserves, acquisition of, 244.
Public land reserves for cities, 241-4.
Public works, definition of, 327.
Public works inventories, 321-2, 338.
Public works planning, 286.
Public works program. New York region,
326.
Rabuck, Arthur J., 266.
Randall, Robert H., 289.
Recreation, 10, 20, 23, 47-68, 80, 137-52.
Recreational Demonstration Areas, 147,
173.
Regional planning, 196-7, 211-29.
Regional planning legislation, 218-29.
Regional planning legislation, interstate,
268.
Regional plaiming legislation, intrastate,
270-1.
Rettie, James C, 307.
Rivers, E. D., 339.
Roadside control legislation, 279-80.
Roadside parks, 134.
Robbins, Ira S., 266.
Rockefeller, John D., Jr., 13.
Rocky Mountain National Park, 8, 30.
Rogers, Edmund B., 54.
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 11, 282-3.
Roosevelt, Theodore, 7, 46, 49.
Rowlands, W. A., 230.
Russell, Carl P., 33, 141.
Rutz, Edward C, 195.
Salomon, Julian Harris, 146.
San Bernardino National Forest, 20.
Sassaman, W. R., 307.
Scammon, Richard E., 289.
Segoe, L., 251.
Shantz, H. L., 85.
Shattuck, I. S., 199.
Shurtleff, Flavel, 211, 216, 266.
Simoneaux, Nicole E., 170.
Simpson, Hawley S., 199.
Soil conservation laws, 234-5.
Southwestern monuments, 42-5.
State parks, 59, 60, 81-5, 95-178.
State planning, 289-90.
State planning legislation, 268-70.
Subdivisions and tax delinquency, 245-6. •
Taylor, A. D., 28.
Taylor, Carl C, 307.
Taylor, Fred C, 199, 208.
Tennessee Valley Authority, 298.
Tilton, L. Deming, 315.
Tolles, N. A., 307.
Tomlinson, O. A., 22.
Torkelson, M. W., 211.
Towne, C. A., 177.
Traffic engineering, 200-10.
Traffic planning, 204-10.
Transportation problems, 199-210.
Tresidder, Don, 61.
Twichell, Allan A., 189.
Vance, Rupert B., 307.
Vermilya, Howard P., 189.
Vetter, R. A., 122.
Vint, Thomas C, 69.
Vogel, Joshua H., 211.
Wagner, H. S., 151.
Waite, Henry Matson, 281, 286, 315.
Walker, R. A., 173.
Walker, Robert, 251.
Wallerstein,- Morton L., 289.
Wallgren, Monrad C, 11, 15.
Weinberger, Julius, 5.
White, John R., 49.
Whitnall, C. B., 241.
Wiecking, Ernest H., 230, 286.
Wilderness areas, 69-94.
Wildlife, 35-6, 85-94.
Wilson, M. L., 17.
Wirth, Conrad L., 84, 144.
Wolman, Abel, 281.
Wood, Elizabeth, 189.
Wootton, Bailey P., 171.
Wright, George M., 37.
Yantis, George F., 283, 307.
Yellowstone National Park, 3, 4, 18, 30,
32, 38, 40.
Yosemite National Park, 3, 8, 32, 61-8, 90,
91, 141.
Zisman, S. B., 291.
Zoning, 246, 247-50, 277-8.
Zoning education, 239-40.
Zoning legislation, 230-40, 272, 274.
Zoning, rural and agricultural, 230-40.
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