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IIWithout cities ofa new kind ..
our complex civilization
cannot survive."
-
James
W.
Rouse
lnternationally acclaimed as the most meticulously
planned urban project to be built by prívate enterprise
in this century is the new town Columbia, Maryland . The
following excerpts, token from the speeches of the
town's builder, James W. Rouse, illustrate a new,
humanized approach to city development.
Where City Planning
Goes
Wrong:
"The big hole in the planning and
city-building process .
..
is right at
the beginning. We aren '! coming up
with the right answers because we
aren't asking !he righ1 questions at
!he outset.
Urban planning and de–
velopment deal with highways,
land uses, buildings, densities -
even with crime, delinquency, dis–
ease, and deterioration - but they
almost never begin with the simple
question: 'How can we best pro–
vide for the growth and happiness
of a man, his wife, and family?' "
Planning
for
People:
"l
believe the ultimate test of
civilization is whether or not it
contributes to the growth - im–
provement - of mankind. Does it
uplift, inspire, stimulate, and de–
velop the best in man? There is
really no other right purpose of
community except to provide an
environment and an opportunity
to develop better people.
"Unless cities work for people,
tbey are not working well at all.
We should think and plan and
program not in terms of schools,
higbways. s treets, stores, offices, or
even dwelling units, but we should
begin our total plan and program
with the first and fundamental
purpose of making a city into
neighborhoods where a man, his
wife, and family can Iive and work
and above all else grow -
grow in
character, in personality, in /o ve of
God and neighbor, and in the capac–
ity for joyous living. "
thority to bring about such a human
transformation?
do so. Mayors, architects, planners,
and engineers all find themselves
hard-pressed to maintain the envi–
ronment, much less improve it.
Who Can Cure Urban llls?
By their own admission, those re–
sponsible for solving urban woes
don't have the power or resources to
22
The world's religions and philos–
ophies have also failed to accom–
plísh such a human transformation.
The Right Size
for a
City:
" People grow best in small com–
munities wbere the institutions,
which are the dominant forces in
their lives, are within the scale of
their comprehension and within
reach of their sense of responsi–
piüty and capacity to manage. A
broader range of friendships and
relationships occur in a village or
small town than in a city; there is a
greater sense of responsibility for
one's neighbor and a greater sense
of support by one's fellow man."
Conclusion:
"Without
cities of a new kind,
cities which exist to serve human
life and not detract from it, our
complex civilization cannot sur–
vive."
This leaves us with only one of two
allernatives. Either there is an out–
side supernatural power capable of
changing man and saving our cities
- or, there is no real hope for the
urban centers of the world.
Is there such a power? If we are
PLAIN TRUTH
June
1973