Whither Honolulu?

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HT168

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l.r LEWIS MUMFORD

rn1"HER HONOLULU? The accomip!ffl~ng report has been submitted to the Park Boaird of the City and County of Honolulu

by Mr. Lew~s Mumford, internationally prominent authority on ~nunicipal planning.

Due to the i~ portance of the suggestions Mr. Mumford makes f r the development of the entire city and county of Ho olulu. the Park Board is making copies of the report available to the general public in the hope that w at Mr. Mumford has to say will be of assistance to 11 of us in our desire for a better understanding of o civic problems.

When Mr. Mumford attended an education conference at th~ University of Hawaii in June, 1938, he was invited ~ the Park Board to return in August to conduct a re9 nnaissance survey for parks and playgrounds. Th~ report submitted herewith is the result of Mr. Munifo d's firsthand study and observation during that time.

Mr. Mum.fo d brings to his subject a lifelong study of the cultur and development of cities. He began with a detailed survey of New York and surrounding area some 23l years ago. Since that time he.has continued his s clies in many cities of the world. living and working n Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh. London, Geneva, Am terdam, Frankfort and dozens of other cities in the U 路ted States and Europe.

He has be me recognized through his books and essays as on of the foremost living authorities on city and region planning. His lucid and penetrating accounts of e effect of environment on man and of man on en 路 onment have placed him high in the ranks of seri us contributors to American literature and Americ thinking.

Members the Park Board are profoundly grateful for the op rtunlty of making Mr. Mumford's vast experience ailable to Honolulu. Although the pri-

mary purpose of Mr. Mumford's study was the de'Ve\. opment of a program for our local parks and pl~. grounds. all municipal planning is so integrated that the accompanying report covers general pl<nming for the city and county of Honolulu in addition to parks.

Among the many provocative and pertinent recommendations made for municipal planning in Honolulu are the following:

Replan Na:twul City Zones

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24.62

Priority Schedule of Development

Park I>istrlbmi.on Lopmdad

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Dramage Canals Bordered by Greenbelts

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Arterial Pu:rkwu:r• mrmka and makai

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More Xcr"Jisicr Beach Area for Public •

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37

Ocean Pcirk DeTe)opmeDI Toward Koko Head

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Hawaiian ViDOIJ"

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Expesi11•r4ti1 Prh»A•al Park ·

m ComilrT

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Sc:bool mid:.Pla1c,rc.01+ct BuildiDQ Coordinated •

Mc,lr ehift Park l)pe)apmeDl Uneconomic

Tbe Proircl l)bectar• Irr Poefflon

mk C Reay e I I d P -+ Faar •

Fr P.E

\ I r

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56,59

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, s,,a as Model •

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65

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86

We firmly ll••• that a thorouqh undentoodrnq of the prob,~u dlKuNed by Mr. Mumford wU1 9DC1ble ua all to ... ore dearl_y the form Honolulu·• future de'"1opment uat take. For that NC·MOD we 11199 cm• ful readlnci the accompanyinq report.

ty and County of Honolulu Park lomd

'ID' ...._

lulu Mceor. 0-- !

Wall. F. 1JII. ffn4hcnn 1...,1.f-'IM P. FcdllafalL O dda a.

Bo!msa, PldJlp I. S, +I ;. B rn V. wa Boll: ••• J. A. Oeeeend,w . . _ , 7 1 b P, h DIDon. A.I. s ... I - II II J. I. ~J•• I tarr, Jin. a, ?11 Wllllm. 81a11 f• S I TrNDspL

A MEMORANDUM REPORT ON PARK AND CITY PLANNING BY

LEWIS MUMFORD

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,s- _

FOR

THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU PARK BOARD

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Chapter Index Page

O,ap111r

l

1

Introduction

2

2 Honolulu's U lvalled Situation

6

g Assets

3 Honolulu's Pl

8

4 MaiorWea

s

14

pansion is Post .

6 From Produ

e Opportunities to Consumptive Demands

7 Can Cities H d Their Population?

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8 The Chorocte of Present Park Development 9 Local Gree 10 The Place of

11

13

14 Means of Wo

23

27

Its

33

rterial Parkways

35 37

New Park

12 Design and F

19

clion of Neighborhood Playgrounds Design In Parks ng Out a Park Program

42

46 51

15 The Function f a Project Director

59

16 Reorgonizatlo of the Park Commission

65

17 Conclusion

d Summary

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66

.1.

Introduction

â&#x20AC;˘

HIS REPOR la baaed on a four-week study of the parka and playgroun. of Honolulu. Some of the orl.Qinal inTeati.qalion was done o my first visit ln June. when J had no thought of makinq special of my obaen'atlona: the greater part waa dou durlnq my secon visit ln August. Such a rapid reconnolaaanc,e survey baa cert advantaqea, ln that lt enablea the ob.en.er to see the broad pl of pJanoJnq aa a whole, while cloeer obm_. vatlon often le~ to qettlnq boqged in detaila. I am. of COtll'M, a cutely aware th further atudy would discloae many thlnqa that 1 h ave either faile ¡ to see or failed to undentand. But on the other hand. Honolulu h much to learn. toward lta further development from the notable ork that haa been done durinq the laat ~ tlon in cities llke Amsterdam., London. Frankfort-am-Main. cmd New York: and m fmnlJJarity with thON development. mat perhaps partly com.Pl! for certain wealme.... in my local lmowledqe, whJch cltlze1~ of Honolulu can emlly repair out of their own store. If the reade i la surprised at the fact that a memomndum CD park p)annJnq ~ deala with the probl81118 of CODCJedon. ahma clearance, land , and munldpal admlnbdlullon. he should remember the comp x nature of the human envllonment, Ro etzucture can atancl alo e; no function exlata bf lteeU.

T

A

olulu's u

· 2·

.

Go pl .

IU'ivalled Situation Cin.n1ng must ._ __ , ources the land ~ U l With a surv in q co m . scape, the People th ey of actual re,.. stra ct and ar tr unity. Good planning d~ e workadoy acUVities lnunity: it beg· s~th•c.hekzne n that it Beeb ~ Withthean abPortun ·u q OW}ed f ........ Oil comI es. It ~ eeks to brtn ge o existing conditions d vantages; whe g out and to devel furth an op. goods thot h . needful, it seeks to llllport fr op er latent ad. has for Ion a en to be lacking in the n ~ : other areas useful ab g n adding to its scene, as Hawaii ove all it se ks to conserv greof store of trees and plants: but ence and to b . g them to ~ resources that are already in exist. of ~s develop ent, art~1gher Pitch of perfection. 1n the cow-se design-has a jfecis' l the conscious expression of human , ive ro e to play· whe P 1aces raw na e wHh thi . rever man settles, he dismind and his some ng that bears the marks of his own doing of that o interests.. But art has been defined as the well "what n d w ch ~eeds d~mg; and so it ls Important to rncogn1ze . ee s d g, as a first step toward doing it better. Much that is weak in ur current practices Is a result, not of antl-eocial action or of p e rse intentions, but of sheer indifference and ignorance.

LL s

Z:P~~

r.

Conaerve Aueta Honolulu is th drama. The blu the surf over the scape tha1 has f city itself has t casual fashion. assured of her n toilet: ahe rellea tion from her dish Up to a poin t, su lulu is n ow like longer be quite s

natural stage for a complex and beautiful human sea, the jagged mountains, !he rhythmic roll of oral reefs, and the tumbling clouds form a land· rivals as a setting for human activity. But the n its splendid physical features in a somewhat onolulu la a little lflre a beautiful woman, so well gifts that ahe ia not always careful of her n her splendid face and body to distract atten· veled hair. bar dirty finger nails, or her tom skirt. careless self-confidence is admirable; but Honobeauty passing into middle age, who can no e of drawing people's eyes to her unless she ls

2

smart and well oomed and radiantly in health. The wrinkles are beginning to she; w; the old wardrobe has ceased to be Just quaintly old-fashioned; uch of it is now in disreputable tatters. Worst of all, Honolulu h now reached a point where some of her natural advantages ar not merely in danger of being neglected: they have already n spoilt. More disastrous results may follow unless steps are t en at once to conserve Honolulu's peculiar assets.

Coollng by Trade Winds

What are the must underlie gjft is the stretc natural channel of the original swimming, th fishing, have r ·Nays and the l that have follo in all the sports attractions of H development of attractions wor

ain condllions imposed here by the earth, which of man's plans and contrivances? The first great of beach and shallow water, broken to form the cl entry to the port. The sea permeated the 1\fe awaiians: their love of bathing, their mastery of delight in surf-riding, their studious perfection in ained as a lasting link between their ancient s primitive life lived by the various haole groups . The display and daring exercise of the body, onnected with the water. is one of the permanent olulu. And one may safely assert that any decity that l;noNa or threateAS to lmpair lh9H aqainat its beat interests.

Another impo a value for pe •ropical or semi ttade winds that the most admir boast. Whereo good planning I light. 1n a clima effort must be t degree of ventil means cm open CilJ yet can sho

ant natural resource of Honolulu, which gives it anent residence that far swpasses many other epic regions, is !Is equable climate: due to the weep over the city from the northeast. 'l'his forms le crlr-coollng apparatus that a community could in temperate cllmates the elemental principle of to command the fullest possible exposure to sunlike Honolulu's, wlth Us open-air life, the- main temper the torrid sun and to achieve the utmost lion. Thls does not merely me(m open houses: It nd oriented type of planning, of which Honolulu but few qood examples.

Not the least f Honolulu's interesting natural conditions Is its charocterlsUc d pours of rain, and the correspondlng need of an extensive sy em of surface drainage lo take care of the run-off of water, not al e ln the rainy Winter months, but even on odd days at other SEtlJSO:n a of the year. A large pcD1 of the low-lying 3

areas of the ~ty was originally swamps and duck-ponds. The belated bulldiJ~g of adequate drainage canals ahowa how alowl-y the need for

~ping seriously with this condition waa recognlzed.

As yet, the ~ Benge that this problem offers has been taken up and carried tlj ough in only one great planning project: the Ala Wai Canal. Tlhe precedent set in that development is so good that it may well se1 a pattern for other similar situations: it is an excellent illustratio l of the way 1n which a utilitarian need, like that for I drainage or f highway circulation, may, through imaginative design, be co verted into a permanent delight.

Universal Verdure The fourth rime natural feature of Honolulu is Its vegetation.

Viewed from e top of Punchbowl, for example, the city ls one of the most par ke of cities: the denslty and spread of the foliage give a decepti e appearance of spaciousness, even where in facl the trees ove h a huddle of filthy shacks. This parklike quality of Honolulu o es much to the typical brilliance of its tropic foliage, the pepper re of the poinciana, the brilliant yellow of the golden shower, the f cthery greens of the palms, the dark tones of the banyan trees. One might define Honolulu aa a qreal park. par1ly diaflgmed by~t careless weedy undergrowth of buildings: indeed. here vegetatio ~ takes the place of fog in other climates in hidinq the city's arc ~ ctural misdemeanors. One of the chief problems in re-p)anninq e city as a whole will be to make this appearance of universal v rdure as effective In fact as tt seems to the distant eye.

Gard.en or Desert In every ci a perpetual contest goes on between the garden and the dese The streets of the city-through over-crowding, through congel tion of traffic, through indifference to all but the barest physical needs-tend to become a stony waste: an environment hostile to ife: noisy, dusty, ugly, unsafe. In such an environment, bare he th can be maintained only by heroic exertion. The garden, on the ther hand, as the aristocracies of the world have always known is a life-favoring environment: gardens renew the air, temper the eat of the sun, reduce the glare and strain, provide visual delight, ive space for play and relaxation and one of the most sanative fall modes of work-the care of plants itself. It is

4

not by accident bat the healthiest type o' dr/ th.T bas been de-signed in mode~a times-one of the fe-.v whose bea;t;i ra:.es a:u:I

mortality rates iu,al those of the n e i ~ g o:xm~.rle ta th'3 garden city. To bake park cmd garden a pe=snl attriliu•.e o; the modem city one of the chief CO"' .....

-wuli=s fo: :be II.Odem planner.

Significant Experlmem One furlhe-r n al resource needs lo be canTesed: the people of Honolulu the elves, and the -nutoa.1 calmn,s !bat maet and mingle here in ir dally practi.cN. Th. origfnal Polra wicm culture has le~ a eficent trace on the el1tim llf-: ita ldndly h:urnrm sense, its love of ealthful natural m:tmtiea. Its uutritiTe diet mmt all be reckoned th in any intelli;en.t pJanniaq Kbeme. The high Oriental cultures have a:lao left their mark on the dtf, fhrough the Japanese an the Chinese. hcr,e a no 1 - powerful co r,tr{bg. ady they have begun to taf)11ence the a:rchiliM> lion to make; ture: and their remonioua cult of l+ody, Npeda!Jy In their cultivation of flowii.1~. h as re-enfmced the oriql o,cd Bawailan ln:beritance. Finally, systematic rationalimD of the Wwht II World. with its habits o cloee accoantacy of time, money, cmd wwwgf, baa contributed element of pwpoMi,e ar::lltitJ lhat pcbaps helps to counter ance the more Indolent haph+wad ways that are closer to the fe-rhythm of the tropic&. Hawaii is a a;oift, ·Eiil e~riment in hybridization of rnJtmw whl.ch wm p,d.qpe mmk the future evelopment of human IOCielf. B la a mhriolu1e experimental on. Not the least of the r ..ucw that mmt be come-rved tbrou qood planntnq ia the popanlon 1ft rlf, Far the ultimate work of in any commvnffy la the maD cmd the • ·, an that the lanclac and the cu1tme Here, then, is situation that bolds many u:iusid c::dll'a:ikajes for city develop nt. What use has been made cf fr!e::n?

promv:e

5

.3 .

Honolulu s Planning Assets

~ W

1

.one. ~inls out the defects in the development of a city, its cituens sometimes exhibit resentment: they have adiusted them.s elves to these defects, they are often un~Dscious of them, and at times they even incline to claas them with benefits. The inertia of habit, the indifference of repetition underJie the citizen's apparent senae of pride. People aometimea look 'm et& benignly on farni)iar evils than they are inclined to look upon anfamiliar goods.

Sl!ch co:nplacency is unsound and debilitating; and one may n==c.rk. fu:rt this resistance to improvement does not usually char=ta!"..ze the same person's attitude toward a new motor car. The cure for h is perhaps to point out the elements over which the citizen may legitimately congratulate himself. In Honolulu, such a !isl of good things would begin with the fact that the city. though overgrown, has not gotten completely out of hand: its 150.000-odd L'lhabitants afford all the variety of group and ~rsonallty neces-

for a flourishing city. It is a city that has not forfeited its con路 tact with earth, air. sky: even though the beach Ironts have been stripped lo almost nothing, people still maintain the rlght to fish and swim there: even though the houses are crowded. it is hard to find a district so mean. a shack so wretched as to lack the sight of some growing plant. It ls a city of low houses: even its business district has escaped the blight of the skyscraper, though Waikiki Is marred by two gawky hotel structures. In the resldenUal streets (he narrow service road is common: the super-block and the cul路 de-sac are not unknown. These are economical devices of modem planning, which one must approve in principle. though in many sary

cases one may quesUon the particular manner in whlch they have

been planned.

E"ren 'the concentrated holding of land would have advantages, if the owners ol such land were as socially and archltecturally en路 lh;ihtened as the 9reat ground landlords who bullt up Bloomsbury, Mayfair, and Belgravia ln London between the seventeenth and

6

Ibo ninoioenth

tunas. The vers• ~ tha1 so much of Honolulu

ls built ol wood. d that 'SO mcmy of h3 old $1:n.,eure,. need ta bo renewed should lhnh<>r the pro, e&s of dxmQO and modemmIUon: whereas m cities at ha,.-e sunk k1o cuc:h cf thoh o:zplbl ln steel and stone. the stance la c:hrm,;v be , ., 1 as maztve as Ula buitdi.nqs lhemse

es.

Plannlrnfa High Ratuma

ID abort. Houol and ut!Jiu it• n liTe apolll on Tision needful for bumformation • all rivalry, No such high retam.s "1rY im.pU}M, the lonq as Honolulu'

u is a city that has ocly ID 1eam bow lo con""• ad,011J11yw lo 1 nin one af tb. moat attzac:· · it im a cilr wl 11e. if tbe aocial and authet!c laaaiog eTer look p- 1 ·on of its leaders. a h1 be wrought 1bat would lift Honolulu beyond er city that I know would proportioaallel yield

rational pJoooioq as Hoao1ulu. Bat the nee• • ne.: u f pnpnkrr suppxt. will be laddnq eo c:ltinna Nek - . l y lo mainfain 11w •talwa of familiar compro , evawiOD& and lbat an record.d in the preaent of Hanolalu. And mdie .ad. who lo9w Illa city best?-He who b to impro•• II. « he wllo S. callliDl lo nuaddk cdonq In th• QJoow-. uw I I eq a eealeelwe e of b 1l~bL lat.Woence. and atloa? JDrae, aUo.. DO douh4 cm lo tbe CDUIW9fl that w mabs a city de. lo law GI I ....... Ill .... power to maater I own d1rdDJ' and c.cpr • a..t lcleok la Ille transformation of • •JI • ra•

~c•

7

.4 .

Major

eaknesses in Honolulu s Plan 1

T

"'0 ·GH the natlve life of Honolulu is close to the water, the ~C) plan s ly discloses that fact. The cluttered develop~1S>;1t o; sht ing and marketing facilities around the docks -..1Jcc;es that no atternpt has been made to clear away and order :.."'.e spac-e need for approach to the docks, and for the expeditr;.:,;.)S unloading f passengers and goods. Except for the very reoe:i. de·.-elo~me of Alo Moono Park and for very brief stretches e:se,,ile.re, it is 1 possibla to skirt the waterfront either on foot or by ca: No otte pt has been mode. curiously, to preserve the ap~~ches to the ater to give vistas of the sea at the end of be =-•'kai-oo..!'lted s• ts and avenues: too often the old streets swerve c=d c-.t ott the ·sta. Bishop Street is potentially one of the h.ne ~USl."le-o:::s streets f the world; and the maior element mat conr:'~t;, :as :o !ts ty is that its lower end shows the harocr in a s. Many of the streets that parallel Bishop St:eet ~+...:~ :r..is ccnn on; and even Bishop Street is too narrow, and ~oo s:n:::iuly p!an~ed. therefore, to achieve the maximum effect. Even the city, not least in Waikiki, this sense of the 11~e1 ·10?1t is la · g. The visual neglect of the water has been a ~~spicu~us de in the development of Honolulu's Street P1an. =:e::ice ilie need f c,r a waterfront parkway: hence the need of occc:evards leading down to the water.

Natural Air Conditioning ':::e ~ailure to ake use of the trade winds on both the city plan c:n::i the conven nal site layouts is equally inept. One of the ..,.1e01 principles f modem town planning is that of orientation: ::;:_ocs:ng tha din'elcti' on of the streets and the building sites so that es can be used to greatest advantage. Because e trade winds have in making life comfortable hould be strictly observed in site layouts: blocks ,::nd houses sho d be so set that currents of air will now freely t=.rcagh t.i-iem. F m a glance at 1he street plan of Honolulu, it is

8

plain that this principle never entered for , moment into the calculations of the real-estate subdivider or th municipal engineer.

Not merely are the streets and houses rranged higgledy-piggledy, but the houses themselves, chiefly cause of high land values and exorbitant rents, are placed too closely together: as if to prevent adequate circulation of air. Ope building, wi1h a coverage of the lot area at which forty per ce t would represent fue topmost coverage allowable, is cbaracteris of modem planning.

Such open building is desirable in every of the world; but it lulu. W ithout ti, ade1s nothing less than a vital necessity 1n Ho quate gardens are impossible and the pr! lanm, even when provided. is stuffy. So far from accepting natural condition as a determinant of plan, the greater part of H olulu's buildings, not excepting some in its more expensive resid tial areas, overcrowd the land on which they stand. This throws extra burden upon the parks system, which must not merely pe orm its normal duhes, but make up in part for the deficiencies in n spaces in the prlvate areas of the city.

The relation between open planning circulation. and efficiency ls worth extra emphasis here. In a ell organised factory. like that of the Hawaiian Pineapple Com y , the principal workIng units are designed so aa to permit the c:lrculation of the a.Ir. Numerous physiological investigations, beqinoioq with win.

Jow's classic experiments, have shown th the lowering of the temperature is not so Important aa the ct air c:oolln9 of the body. Mechanical air c:ondltionlnq may a useful awdllary to natwe under special c:ondltiona: but for the au of the population. and for most circumstanceâ&#x20AC;˘ of living, the ore natural modes of cr.r condltionlnq that would be available everyone in the city through adequate plan0Jn9 mu.1t retain m r importance. â&#x20AC;˘ The third great weakness ln Honolulu' spotty and errot1c nature or its gro wth.

Ilia middle of the city have long been he ld vented the orderly and syste matic d e velop b y section, and lt has necess itated a pre exploitation o f the land in the remo ter sub been accompanied by 1he extremely cos hillside sites of the city, long before, ln

deve lopme nt \s the e tracts o f land near t of use: this has p reent of the city, section ture b uilding u p and rban are as. This has deve lopme nt o f the e ordinary course o f

things. they should have been made avail

le. In tracts llke that

9

of St. Louis Hei hts, for ex.am.- Jr. land h \.-iddl J h " "â&#x20AC;˘ as "'-""n opened up t m a-ct.lass o e owners who could ill afford the excessive si.~ prepara on and utlllty coats that h and the ily h .

3UC a development calls for: di ~ as en forced lo expand Its municipal services at a spropo onate ~est. In many cases, the angina} owners lost their entire savings in e process of ltquldotlon thot fallowed, lteckle11 l:xpaufon Coatly

Most private c ena me completely unaware of the relation between site costa d the total coat of building a hoUM. They are unaware that parcels of ground are m.o,e expensive to grade and service th even parcels: that the amou.nt spent on putting sewers and wat r m<Xina in billalde cneaa la dlapropo.rtlonately high; and they e even more lnnoc:ent of the fact that the ov~ extension of atre ta and utility mainâ&#x20AC;˘. in contraet to a mote com¡ pact and c-onse tlve development from the center outwarda. la one of the major auaea of municlpal deficlta-indeed, bcznkrQptc:y.

When funds are aclci.ng to provide safe traffic lnteraectl.one, necessary street ligh 911, or new echools, they do not connect this shortage with money at has been unwisely spent elsewhere, on servicmq subdivlai that cannot in reality pay their way. Unfortunately, many d officials. financien, and real-estate aubdividera are equally ignoj~t-GDd equally indifferent as to the economic and social resul ~f a recldesa pollcy of expcmaion.

Not merely ha the original land-holding system placed an obstacle in thew of Honolulu's rational development. In addition

I

to this, no syste atic attempt has apparently been made, during the last thirty ye , to correct the haphazard methods by which the land has bee platted and connected. together, or to anticipate the growing n s of intercommunication between the various parts of the city. The congestion of the traffic in the central area is a common phe omenon in most American cities: it points to the need for a radic ly different type of street design, in which the street will no lon rer be called upon to serve as a parking area, and in which b avenues will take part of the traffic load against those stre ts which locally serve the business section. The lack of a clear c ection between the Ewa and W aikHct sides of the town ls aggr ated by the hideous bottle-neck of congestion that now exists o the makai side.

tpass

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Arte:rial Pmkwcrya While ample erial parkways are lacking on the makai and mauk4 al.des of th~-~· ~o serious attempt can be made to solve HODOlulu s traffic ilitficulties: and as far as the park syatem goes, this means that o the days of heaviest park use, access to the recreation areas , obstructed to wheeled traffic, and the value of the recreation ~ d itself is partly undermined by the extra time and ne1Tous e_ne~ spent in going to and from the parks. Despite this fact. which ould be evident to every citizen of Honolulu, considerable sup rt baa been obtained for the highly dubious Pali Tunnel pro,e whose cost. whoM upkeep, and whose tendency lo further otqanize the growth of the city ahould put it far down on the pri ·ty 11st of public bnprovementa-or remoTe it altogether. Mean e, the planning of marginal parkways of the city. which wo radically bnprove the circ:ulatlon through !he area and make c:essihle all ita fac:illtiea, la acarc:ely eTeD

si

diacuued.

Re-plan Natural Zones

Let me note on further weakness in Honolulu's developmenL Partly because of atural conditions, partly through an historical development, the ·ty divides itself naturally into a series of major

zones: the port zo , the industrial zone, the central shopping zone, the administrati zone, 1he recreation zone, and the residential zones. The amo t of area available for these various types of zones seems more an adequate lo present needs; and it will probably be equal to e demands. What is badly needed, however, is a further clarlfi on of these natural zones. An attempt should be made delibe ly to push indus1ry away from the waterfront on the Waikiki s1 of the port, in order to keep a uniform approach to Waildld and to ve the proposed Civic Center site a more harmonious backgro d. Lack of vigilance here has already permitted a spotty an ill-kempt development, in which the excellence of some of 1he ne individual pieces of architecture is lost; but it is not too late to TE!IPair this condition.

To achieve the ecessary definition of zones, the merely legal procedures of a ing ordinance are not sufficient. It Is necessary that each zone sh uld be progressively re-planned, as occasions present themsel • so QB to achieve wlth greatest economy i~ special functions. ere the backwardness of street platting in Ho-

11

nolulu is types. T distinct advantage: ii opens the way for more modern e greqt factories in the industrial zone, though rh they do ot represent the highest degree of planning s.:i availabl are much more satisfactorily arranged for industrial PUfposes an If they had been put up on a uniform block system, designed 0 create the mC!I.JCimum number of building lots. The ob,. stacles to ard comprehensive planning in the business dlslric' are much mo serious: bu1 they should not result tn an apathetic acceptance f tl_ie present inefficient layout. One of the first steps that sug sts 1tself is the widening and planting of the mauka end of Bishop treat, the provision of a well-designed parking area, and the wipin away of the miscellaneous collection of buildings lhat spoils th magnificent vista toward the mountains. This whole process ould be a relatively inexpensive one: yel overnight it would Bishop Street Into one of the most attractive thoroughfares of i kind in the world: not merely more beautiful but vastly more effi enl than the present Jumble.

;;i;

Parka Frame Zones linition of zones. moreover, the use of parka and parkways aho d be conaidered, to give a visible frame to the zone or the neiq orhood. A greenbelt or a park girdle, as little aa a hundred feet 路de. can give aa much coherence to a modem neighborhood as e ancient wall used to do for the medieval city, Now ll happens at the natural course of the original btookll and atr.ama in the cl aa well cu moat of the new draina9e canals, is auch as to check y the otherwiae uniform tendency to spread on either side of th original port. By uUJiziaQ auch divisions. the dty has the oppo ty not merely to define the varloua natmal nel9bborhood.s of e city, but to open up, by means of the canal llllelf, its

with the aea. Strips of water and atripa of park. auch which the Ala Wal approaches the Ma, would not merely lndt11<11ie the recreation zones of the dty but give definition a:nd order to its aevetal parta. In tlm respect. Honolulu has a natural op ty for a sound kind of plannln9 that aurpaaaea the opportuni a of which the Dutch made such good uae.

Demand for Open Spaces t to the last the major weakness In Honolulu's deI have velopmen although It has been touched on in relation lo othor

12

matters. Thil is the low standards of housing and of open spaces 1ha1 obtain ~p many portions of the city: not alone in the slums.

The slums ~,emselves are among the filthiest and the most degraded in~~ world: tha1 they are not even viler, when the physical conditio of life are considered, is a tribute to 1he personalities of their inh pitants. The overcrowding of the land in the central areas im~oJ ~s upon a park program a burden tha1 park planning by itself ~ ot relieve. Such an acute maldistribution of population may be beyond the physical powers of a Park Commission effectually t correct. Ii creates a demand for open spaces precisely in tho e parts of the city where the land costs are highest, and the Ian itself is hardest to acquire. Such conditions throw a double burd n on the community: first in the evils that derive directly from~ em, and second, In the excessive cost of correcting them. Slum learance and good low-cost housing become, therefore, more an an incidental part of a unified program of park development

r

·5 · The Period of Expansi

D

is Past

ARK pLANNING today is part of the ll der process of order. ing the human environment in such a ,ay as to make the mos1 of its varled posslbilibes. No park rogJWU can be penna. nently satisfactory until its policies and • plans are fitted into 1he general frame of the city's de·.:elopmenl. and -represent the best thought available as to Its development a ·Nhole.

All _intelligent planning today must with the recoqnit\on that the population of the United States is alJt approocbing a state of stab!Uty. Between 1945 and 1965 the rmal increase in PQpUlation through the excess of birlhs over will come to an end.

P

This ts not solely a big-city phenomeo although the tendency shows Itself most sharply in metropolitan eas: the same c;enero.l fac1s apply even to relatively primitive like Oregon and Washington, where half the population is occupied on the farm or in the forest. These states have already ,parently reached siabil1ty-a fact concealed only by the annu iroroigration from the dustbowl and other marginal agricultural . In many cases U will tum out that -the earlier rather the lat date will hold.

Many people In Honolulu apparently e that thw island, are an exception to the general rule, ~ of the Mcia1 cm•po, aition of the population. I have not had s to the most recent statistical analysis of this problem; but th sudden fall of the Japanese birthrate here, amounting to about enty per thousand in a dozen years, would indicate that the sam forces exist here as elsewhere, and may indeed manifest themsel as, because of restricted economic opportunities, at an aa:::elerot rate. Others, again, apparently hold that the present curve of pulation growth, which shows a decisive drop since 1930, is so ly due to the economic crisis through which we have passed A up of reputable Honolulu engineers, who were giving counse on an important public project, showed me the graph upon whi they based their views of future needs. It showed a sharp upw increase in population up to l930: at that point the curve flatten out the n , with 1938. it

14

showed a continuation of the sharp orl91nal upward curve. If the depression were the sole cause of this flattening-out process, the upward movement should have been visible before 1938; but i1 did not in fact show itself. nor is there any special ground for believing that the present economic crisis is not a chronic one, attended by contlnued insecurity, fear. threats of war, and their deterrent effect upon the birthrate.

The depression is only one item In the present picture: the increase of cheap controceptlves and the extension of scientific contraceptive knowledge ore far more significant factors. The general decline in population increase set in in England, for example, cs early as 1870: by now it is almost a worldwide phenomenon, whlch would be even more conspicuous than it is already were It not for the fact that sanitation and p ublic hygiene and medicine have lowered the number of deaths per thousand and increased the expectation of life.

Build for Stable Future We must accept the fact, then, that the great period of p opulation expansion , which set in with the nineteenth century, Is n ow drawing to a close. The National Resources Committee's RepaTt on Clties put the y ear when the population shall have ceased to increase as 1955: other estimates place it earlier. Meanwhile. the rate is rapidly dropping. Unless some pTofound change taices pla ce, making parenthood as such more desirable and more atlractive than it now is io the average married pair, population will be on a replacement basis. In Hawaii, immigration from the mainland may for a w hile postpone the stabilization. particularly among the haole groups; but these are jus1 the groups that sh ow the steadiest decrease. All our activities must be re-appraised with this fact in view. Instead of acceptlng quantitative increase as n o less desirable than inevitable, we must concem ourselves With qualitative development: w e must bring into existence an environ¡ ment that shall be favorable to the propagation and nurture of chll¡ dren, if only to maintain adequately the numbers we are now reduced to. And instead of malting grandiose calculations as to future needs. whose ove r-optimism used to be automatically corâ&#x20AC;˘ rected by the me re flooding in of new members of the community, we must now malce closer calculations. The pressure of population

15

hift plann1Ilg, Jerry-bllikilng, amateur,-3h b d perhaps a tolerable exeuse f0r ing up: .makes Is now eas If theY once a, lroprovisatlon, have any. eidstence, no longer ans, zoning acheJ118S and ~oad-buDding Cllc.

M st of the cl!Y pl d des in AJnerica have ig1101'ed fhla ~ tlviti:s of the last t\\'O ecatill clung to the original notion, '7Qlzj aching change. They... ~..., that the population would contit,'lle pro · t enth cen,,... 71 h1 that · ht h d and that the only t nq m1g old thl3 during the nme e 1ndefini!ely to eJCPCXO f liable mechanical facilities. Many~ O 5 back would be Jaok s~ twenty years proJected plans for abscn,. of 300.000 during the: 01 as three million; and cor-~dini;.'y ing populations as accepted by allegedly sober bankers ~ reckless fantasies=~: their ~ncmclal calC\1krlions. I• would h:n-e investors as a if these projects had been merely cornro•Uej b been bad enouCJ th icipol archives: unfnm,...-..1-. r and placed on file in e mun pape bdivislons street extensions, sewer rmd water r - .::. s uburban su ' advance o f ,,_ . n put through far in U.101! c...~ Ofte extensi ons w ere 30 S . _,_ 11 1 vast railroad stations, like that at th t:9el !:i use. :s.w.a ar Y ak, • Philadelphia , were brought into existence to ~ e care or on :m5:. !paled demand which was, in fact, diminishing.

ha;

·-=,

Jndeflnite E,cpmudou Obaolete

As a result of this over-expansion, cities lh:roughout Ar:.ea::a have been decaying in their old centers, and over-extending themselves in raggedy fragments, often tax-delinquent or olh:er..vise cpproaching private and public industry at the edges. Honolulu :s not without examples of such over-extension. In many cases. the areas zoned for business and industry are from five to fifteen tirr,as the amount that any city would normally have used, even if process of population increase had continued. Today these O\"ee· blown attempts at civic greatness have become the signais o( municipal bankruptcy. Planning for indefinite expansion is nO'f wasteful and obsolete. The city of the future will have a retie: se;:e of its nQturol Jimits: it w1ll attempt to make the most of wba1 it as, rather than to evade its actual difficulties and iis actual deterioration by en ...i:\skirts d coura':fu1g its population to move out to the oi.: Good~ P0nnit the interiors to become more coropletely blightedP means rehabilitation: it means beginnin<1 ovel an Ing the job right

me

aga1n c:::g

16

The fact that Honolulu dld not, before 1920. aub)ect ltaelf to plans of expmudon is tod ay one of 1ta largest assets. Its central commercial and indwitrial areas are n ot very much lmt;1er than will satisfy its Jegitlm.atâ&#x20AC;˘ demands. although the infiltration of industriea into areas from which they should he excluded must be watched with care. But. thanks to the approac.h ing stability of population, Hone> lulu aiay at last pull itself together and areate a perm.anent frame. work for its a ctivities. With the approaching stability of papulatlon comes another Possibility that has usually been foreign to our American city economy: the notion of permanence. particularly permanenc::e in location and ln the type of use to which o district or a zone is dedicated. Hitherto the exploitation of land has been on the assumption that the populoUon would automatically In¡ crease: this increase in population would cause a rise 1n land

values: the rise in land values in tum would cause a more lnten¡ sive type of exploitaUon and would thus promote a change 1n use from residential lo commercial, from low buildings lo high b uildings. From the standpoint of the land owner or the real-estate speculator, this transformation was the main purpose of city development: no effort that p romoted it was unworthy. Hence the popular programs for "attracting population."

Under such a system effective zoning was Impossible, and effective planning, in which the street pattern could be adapted to the particular function served, was hopeless. Every street was planned to serve eventually as a through traffic artery; and blocks were laid out and land subdivided so as to produce the maximum number or saleable Jots and street frontages. not so as lo make the most economic and socially advantageous use of the site. With the diminishing pressure of population, there is a reasonable prospect of planning for permanent functions and permanent uses: not for the next few years alone. but at least for the next few generations.

Planning that 1.s d one now will set the mould of the future. Hence it is important, both ln the general scheme of planning and in each Individual task. lo take all the necessary time and forethought and technical sldll and art that are necessary lo effect a good plan.

Ala Wat Br1c149 Bit

Planning today works with a greater number of known factors than in the nineteenth century; and it can work toward a more

17

. 路ecttve. As the pressure of population decreases definite social obi rk done at once, befo.re sufficient study h ' ~~t~ ~ the pressure it fits into the general s eme of development 1,een ~ade, ~:~ethought through to the po t of complete integrQ: before it hasbe resisted. The acceptance on the part of the citizens tion, sh~4d-and even on the part of me rs of the Park Colll of H~o u uf ch an irresponsible and ran om piece of planning. miss1on-o su . as the bridge over the Alo Wai is almost as azmg as the project itself: the obstinate refusal to consider the lJ dge in relation to the present and future needs of Honolulu, was s bad from the stand. point of method as from that of result. For cod planning, today more than ever, is not a matter of putting ugh an isolated proj. ect: ft is above all a matter of coordination. Planning that is thoroughly thought out and coordinated with oth ~r needs is necessarily slower than planning in a piecemeal and 路t-or-miss fashion as political opportunity hastily dictates: but th is no objection to ll If the pressure of population is over, the rus is over too.

.6.

From Pr ~ductive Opportunities to Co umptive Demands Tll.l. another c

•lusion follows from the approaching stability of populatiQll. ' g a period of expansion it was natural that !ndusby sh d have the primary task of feeding the hungry mouths, clothing e naked bodies, Un.king together by railroad and steamship the wly settled areas. Hence new productive enferptises absorbed ost of the available capital. By now, however, a great series major Industries have been built up and a vast producHve pl is in existence. Although opportunities for new enterprises and ew types of industrial goods will doubtless multiply. 11 should plain that for the major Industries the plants themselves will be a replacement basis, and in the case of many commod1Hes, e commodity itself will be on the same footing. Only one real Id of expansion remains: that of raising the standard of living, of ultiplying per person the amount of goods consumed. Wher the emphasis in the nineteenth century W'OJI mainly on the fascln ling new problems of production and Irons· porlation, the emph Is for the twentleth century must be on the no less urgent prob! s of distribution and consumption.

Many people are ,nlllnc;r to admowledc;re tbla approach.ln9 chanc;re; but they COD 1.... it too much as taJdnc;r place OD the terma dictated by the past: ame)y, by a mere raising of the wage level and by a continued ependence upon Individual consumer's demand, more or less anipulated-lilce the current demand for radios and motor -by the astute salesmanship of lndustrles whose products len themselves to fashion. Those who believe this overlook: another nd of change that ls taking place: a change 1n the mechanJsm of emand. Under the earlier economy, the demand of the lndlvldu consumer was for such goods as he could personally consume: Ibis was the main regulator of producttqn.

To multiply and v these individual needs seemed to the orthodox economist and buslness the only basis for sound production: expanding lndl dual wants meant an expanding market.

S

19

worldng-class families that failed to n:,,J:'~ l]nder thijb"system, I might nevertheless possess a motor CC:; their child n proper : shabby, Insanitary dwelling and still c,;, or they . ght live In suite of furniture far beyond their m.ea:--~. tempted I . purchase a CoJDIDUDity Perquisilea ot1on however. there has been a s ~1 During e last gener anch; satisfied mainly by machine l:lci::;a.. shlf t from ndlvidual creatlon of profits and dividends, .o ~try as an cident in sed 1n goods and services Iha! ere s,~ lective d ands. eunxp~~ys to all lts citizens. What are called•~. • ,_ p lied by.. ed comm th0 plantation system come to occ...p, a ~~er c:a qulsltes n er Th uni _.. __ I ~ in a community's budget. e comm t7 .._.,.,...~ larger P fy b uman n eed.s bi'{ .............., '-'--- - - s demands and to satis to norma .__ • .~ •-~ that the ost important wants should be met, WDStner ~ .:.,.;,. vidual's OJ~ preference ls sound or not. ln urban comm'.cl~ we do not 1edre the provision of a sanitary water system c; t-:c. ;::,. vision of ~ucatton to accidental choice: we erect a s'.ano:r.: ,d cleanline or of lileracy and make acceptrmc.e obligator,r to~ munity. "P&rquisites" hcrve become an irupo!cru p::!'1 in the co unity's budget: an increasing part of the c::nr.~ bcome of e country goes to their provision. Tb.is ~b~~ in :he mo. dance of emand gives to programs of city development cod ;>I housing place of peculiar Importance in the national eoo::ic-r: sound pl1 · g along these lines ensures that the shitt m the :::stribution income, which is inevitable if our productive sysl!e..i :s lo be kepi running at all, shall he soundly managed in sudi = fashion as to increase the real goods. in health, comfcm. cmd jcy, available o the ordinary citizen.

Educatl n. recreation, hoapital Mrvices publ1c hygiene haft IDcreased importance in the national ec~uomy: they 1epc Ia collective eed whose fulfillment the community cannot leaff lo ~out of the laws of supply and dnumd on the part al workers And Just as the lessening of the number of shifts ove to ~e~=~ulture and Primary industrial prc,ductia: numbers s tratlve and professional semoes krger O to thrust pe pie, so the s lackenin g of industrial expcms.'00 )eCJds e surplus capital of a Ptofit-m In • not lnto n ew productive enterprise g nature, but into those consumptive and cultt:re'l

(I::

9

~":cue

'":uala.

20

ocUvltia1:1 from whld no Immediate financial return can be expecteci. although ea year may bring steady dividends in terms of 1n1eJllgence. haa h, and spiritual animation. Such wealth, thouQ'h apparently p I lo extravagant use, has the special virtue of not being readily nsumed: and In that sense the cathedrals of the Middle Ages. fo example, have paid a return incomparably higher than the mo profit-making enlerprlaes whose bulldtngs and ships have long go rolled away.

Within the field of ties a llimllcxr ab!~ c:an be detected. The annual budgets of Am c:an oitlff ahow a decnaae In the amounts spent for streeta, tr rtation, and other utllltarl.cm operations aa against the amounts pent upon health. education, and recreation.

This change expres s a real rise 1n the standard of living, not merely as regards quantity of goods which the individual acquires, but sUU more Ith respect to the qua1tty. These new goods represent not the m s of Jiving but living ltself: the deepening of intelligence through tudy and research, the discipline of the emotions through music d the dance and the theater, the gain In physical exuberan through swimming or tennis playing or golfing ln a beautiful en arb No Lonqer Luxury Expenditures on th se new items in the municipal budgets have gained wlde public provol! they represent an individual demand which the un dad Individual ls quite unable to make economically effective. he increasing part played by these collective utilities of culture Is ue to the fact that goods which were once-like parks themselve onsidered the luxuries of a ruling minority have now become necessities of daily life for the mass of the papulatlon. This ch ge represents, not the passing caprice of fashion, but a profo d re-orientation of life: it comes about as the result of bJgh taste d tntelllgence. Such collective consumption is a true Index of the ture of a country. In general, one may look_ to relatively less cap ol going into profitable productive enterprise and more going tnto rmanenl civic goods: one may look toward a narrowing of lndlvi ual demands and toward greater opportunities for collective enJ ents and satisfactions. Instead of an automatic expansion of productive mechanism, one may count upon a steady expansi of the consumptive mechanism, as population approaches atabllJity.

21

. ..,, fie for expanded effort is a very large one. r This ne that they have the accommodations they ._ cities can 1 ounds, schools, and museums on the scale~ for~ :ece arY if anything like a full quota of the P<>plllQ. h d the ans to take advantage of them. In comnn,1._ tiOn a f •-=1:-ati t r-4'0Qll with the abun t energies o our civ.uu. • on. o say nothin; of its SIJP8fb ted!J ·cal equipment. the malonty of our cities are hi a state of piti~ impoverishment. filled with obsolete &truc:bnte and mak.eshi~ ban services. The ugliness and sordid disarray of the usual can city, the existence of slums, the abeen of a consistent and har:mOnious design in so much as a quarter of the ty, the failure to achieve a coherent pattel'D-Qll th... thlnqs a contradiction to the high pretensiom of our c:iTilllatlon.

':°

~

.7 .

Can Cities Hold Their Populatio EFORE CLOSING the subiect opened by 1he proaching siability of population, one furthE!l' conaequen must be noted. The growth of the city In the past w dependent mainly \IPOD its <Ihility to draw newcomers lrom th haus!ible reserves Ill the open country. Although in diminution of the rote of increase is slower In rural in cities, the same tendency is a1 work there: the sup ishmg. Now ii happens tha1 most cities above fifty population do not reproduce their own numbers: with recruitment the city would diminish in population. even apart from the tendency on the part of man escape from the more congested and sordid intern the city to outlying urban developments where a1 sunlight, fresh air, and free play space can be seculfed for their

B

children.

Jntemal Decay

If these tendencies continue, the cities that now twill be emptied out in their central areas, leaving a mass rotting or dilapidated structures and a vast burden in caplial whose returns are annually becoming smaller and s poin1 of eventual tax delinquency and forfeiture. This happened on a vast scale on 1he mainland; and if is not so conspicuous as yet in Honolulu, it i$ so must nevertheless be taken into account and guar Under lbw c:ouditiona, the prime question of m b4tc ,u •a. not how the city la to expand and In.ere<~! lion. but bow 1t la to retain the population which • exlatln9 mvnidpal QfQJti• and the exiatln9 commercial en haYe been_ frc1111ed lo Wt&.

This question, I submit, can be successfully an.svJ,lered only if it Is rea:xmized that the older cities must be made ov into sound biological environments. Cities that do not reprodu their population lack some necessary conditions for effective family life; 23

f play faclli ties, the thrE!<.lt _high ground rent s, I the uncertaintie of economic existen~I in shaping that multitude - 1 d ,baSernen , tial of rnorw 0 lC1Y a substan sult ls the lowering of the al congestion, lack

1 these ~robabal ~!:lsions whose final r of mdlvidU

birthrdl9 ·

IJDprove Urban En ill not to 90 d

If the exiltlnq c:

.

th• sort of en make itself overt be a burdensome chlldten will no hOu.in ystematic 1n1p.ro• ement of q, 8 ln the eatabU.hment of healthy at llo~ of necesaatY public open spaces framed and applied to all undevel them from turnlnq into slums and b wise for their early application to ol particular to those ripe for demolition lt calla for the provision of gardens, on a ac:ale that will give to the city suburb usually has at the beginning IUhurb itself becomes a prey to spe tion.

Ultimately, every well administe aava itself from bank:ruptcy and ho tendency toward reckless suburban tial measures toward its own renov municipality cliacourage auch unec premature subdivision, by wlthhol •xpreu highways, bridges, or tunne outalde the municipality'8 bnport area of attractJ.cm.t la thQt it will •eek to malt ve cm a hWQan h b houatng. nelnhbor'----' ome Y ..

UQQQ planning • an Priority achedule for citte 8 ' these Dlunlcipal lmproy ,1.....: ementa are a ~r dli.c:tiy fuzther th ccept 0

u

in population, it must onment in which hcmnq

abUity, This calls for the prevention of overcrowd. dard.. of density, the crea-

Such znea:surea should be d areas at once, to keep hted districts; it calls Ilk. parl9 of the city, and in pestilential slums. Finally, ks, and recreation grounds the advantages that the of its exi.aten c ~fore the aliv e disorder and conget-

municipality, in order to ess arrears, must offset the growth by taking substan·on. Not merely must the omlc growth by reaiatiDq g aaaen1 from ill-advised that open up cheap land

ntrol: what ls much more the city itself permanently um. clearance, large scale kd par evelopmenL On ant

first: and othel at le only to the extent th gs come

Larg• Honolulu economic ough no sari,0 analya1a UP<Jn hie Us student can oubt the general stattstical w h the foregoing vi s of population are baSed, Alth

24

there Is nevertheless considerable number of people in Honolulu who are convinced that the development of tourist lrade will continue to offset, by ~I gr<Itlon, the tendency toward stabilization. They look forwar to a cheap airplane service between the Islands and the mainla d: they envision fucther Industrial developments that will take of ex surplus. Suppose these sanguine views should prove c ct: suppose the inaease of populaUon that has taken place ce 1920 should continue. What then? Ju a matter of fact, the P blem remctlna fundamentally unaltered.

It will still remain une nomic and anU-socrtal to attempt to congest this increase wl the confines of Honolulu proper or to extend Its suburbs f r. The local water supply by Itself limlls thls expansion: to ove e it by drawing upon distant supplies would not merely n a water shortage In other parts of the island where It ls ba Y needed for agriculture, but It would excessively add to the capita cost. To make proper UM of the recreation fadlitlea f the Islands-the baaia for attracbq a larc;rer number of peop from the mainland-an active reqicmal p)cmniDq authority ah d prepare for the buildmq up of 119W recreation centers an new qreenbelt towns and TillCJQM In other parts of Oahu. an on the other islands; DO amount of local elq)(JDsion could econ ally take care of the I n - . far from If: the garden oi principle of city development-to build new towns once old o es have reached the limits of favorable growth, that is, betwee , fifty and one hundred thousand-must be Invoked. To take c of the possible increase of population Involves, not city pl g, but regional planning for the Islands a1 Jorge; and meanw e, the necessity of replanning Honolulu and rebuJldlng Its con ested or blighted areas and providing sufficient qucmlilles of on areas. will remain. In other words, the essential pr )em of planning ls not radically altered by additions to lhe po a11on. What the tendency toward atal,illty does la to llmpll the detaila of the aolu11on. not to alter the genera) terms. For dty, DO matte, how clrastlc: the prewwe of PoP'lllCltion, can aff to orow ln the haphmcud and wm1eful fashion that preyafled the past.

P

GuaranlN Order

PendizMJ the fonnul,Cllllcm and execution of IUCh a comprehenllYe policy of city re aL the clty hm the alterna:tl.- of accept.

25

ing decay and aying the price for this decay in deteriorated social and econ 路c life. One large step toward the fonnulatton of an enlighten policy of city development. however, can be made unmediat y through the rational provision of park Ol'9Qa and playgro,un~~ Here the maJor outlines for a long-tel'Dl deve}. opment can be etched out at once: the necessary land CCIII be spotted and cqulred: and a policy of thorough systematic Improvement. un ertaken piecemeal, can be carried through over a long term of y The strategic occupation of the open SPGCes of the city la th best quarantee of order and economy in the development of building areas.

. 8.

acter of the Present Park Development

s WITii most

A

ericon Clllea of tho past, Honolulu grew up without any t~matlc effort lo conserve or bring Into existence lts n ful open spaces. Nevertheless, though the development of Hon lulu's parks was belated, Iha city already possesses the subst ttal framework of a comprehensive parlc system in the chain parks that now begl,ns with Ala Moana and passes alonq th& sh area through Kaplolanl Park and the lntermittent connecting tches along Waikilcl. These parka. t()(J9thw with the Ala Wai the yacht basin at the end. transform the immediate neighbor ood into what one may properly call the recreation zone of H olulu.

Lopaided Dlatrlbution

But upon ex g !he recreational zone In connection with the population of !he olty as a whole, one is conscious of the fact that it does not ext d far enough. The larger park areas are lopsidedly situated. building of Ala Moana Park has partly served to rectify this condition; but as the sites for low-cost public housing, under e slum clearance p,rogram, are mainly on the Ewa side of the ~ty, one mexy now raise the question as to whether there is not the possibility of a waterfront area In thls sectlon of the town can be used by the nearby neighborhood conununltfes. The irably wooded island now occupied by the quarantine stati cannot be left altogether out of such an inquiry; 11 might be at wilh a development of small ferries at various points, partl subsidized by the city, a very useful recreational area could be made available. An early survey of these various possibilities hould be made.

The county park are admlrably dlstdbuted around the Wand, at least for thoae forms of recreation that embrace the sea. But the use of se parks is for special occasions. such as holidays and weeke ; and though they form an essential parl

r=

of any omprehensive scheme of recreation, their existence does not 1n iah in the least the need for day-to-day facilities that sslble, without carfare, to every family. It should not be thai a forty-five-cent fare for a family of three, though small a middle-class purse, is an item that must be reckoned with in: the family budgets of the underprivileged.

Space Requirement.

The tal area dedicated to parb and playgrounda in Honolulu about one acre for 360 people: thai of city and country lo one for about 123 people. This la a high standard In on with such apace-poor dtiea cu New York: in compmiother American citieâ&#x20AC;˘ double Honolulu'â&#x20AC;˘ size in populaadequate, but no more than that. In the most crowded of Honolulu. where living conditions, from the point of ealth. are most deplorable, the proportion of people to the acre o p lay apace la much hi9her. Hence a realiatic appraisal cannot ccept the statistical average cu quite aa faTorable as it paper: a cceaalbllity, uae, dally refreahment-value, not looks eage per thousand people, are what determine the apaceenta for parks and playgrounda: uaed apace is different d apace: functional apace la one thing and merely formal another. In other worda, the relationship of pmk apace to eed la more algnlficant than grou acreage.

Sporadic Development

The

an int and op land fO relaie needs undoub this tra

gotten .

oor distribution of neighborhood playg1ound space is a e fact tha1 the park program has never been treated as part of the city's development. Random pressures ortunilies have evidently controlled the a cquisition of park purposes: there has been no systematic e ffort to e amount of space dedicated to the social and hygienic f the inhabitants. Similar pressures, moreover, have ly been responsible for the premaiure development of or the tardy development of another. One group with neighborhood leader wants a playground and, because l and insistent, gets it; another group, in much more eed. ne ve r makes its need visible or audible and is forhaphazard. planala9, such indolent opportunlma.,

28

are me-ritahle until a com1>rehena1ve d 1 _ -i,. development i.a Instituted. Such an ! onq-term, Plan tor O ......scb--'ul based P an would hav nite priority e, upcn actual ial e a defi. etarY demands would be based upon these need: Its budg. where !ha expenditure involved. was larg and distributed, lolW :en:n of years; the Park Cotnmission :o~r;rIha s:olently :io pressure to dribble away a few thousand dollars {: beunder of special demands which should be met If at all In ml cause work. And ·th • • a ater stage of ifs Wl . out this plan, even the moat efficient of l,oards must be the -,.,cfim of mere oppcrtunism: a policy that Is economically w csteful and fatal to any orderly development.

=

::els

Concentrated Development . A.nether weakness of a .vague program of park developmen_t is that. Wlth each area crymg for special atient!on, with each recreation purpose demanding its special tribute, It is difficult to put through c:ny sing!e iob systematically. One of the wealmeues In urban psychology is that the city man. in our day. has acc:uatomed hbnse]f to dealing only in finished products. i9norant of the loaq period of growing and procesafnq that must take place before the can or the package or the machine reaches b1m. He often displays a certain impatience over the unfinished, based

ignorance and the failure to understand nature's slow processes. While much oan be done, perhaps, by way of public education to make the urban intelligence appreciate the need for lime in perfecting a park: or any other structure, lt Is advisable lo meet the city man's impatience at least half way. One of the reasons for Mr. Robert Moses' popularity as Park Commissioner in New Yark City is the fact that. e ven with some initial extravagance, he concentrates his resowces on a particular Job and carries It through till the Improvement is finished. A scattering of half~eveloped parks is not so impressive as a single park that has been brought to a state of completion. While such a development must not sacrifice real efficiency to effect. the demonstrative value of a perfected work, in arousing popular demand, must not ha overlooked.

Pt•matme Acc111 Still another advantage of this concentrated developmen~ should at lhe aarne lime be noted. Instead of opening the incom UpOn

29

• maturely, the area under , evelopment is kept plated park P";_,- force while the build.in and plantinq is be. ,__ for the WOfr,.,,,g P k in N Y ''"'~ · ·ed on In the case of Fort Tryon ew ork, for lng desl~ed by the Olmsted Brothe for Mr. Rockefeller, exarnPI_ • Uk decade was given over l the building of the something e a · k. l)uring this whole period of c o ~ n ~d p 1anting, the ::a wa& closed lo the public. When ti fmally opened, it ; state of dazzling perfection. Par prematurely opened ; r :ly handicap furlher work. but the give the ~itor an unperf ecl notion of what Is to be hen~ he lS . either c;aplious over what he mistakenly takes lo a finished Joh, or be. learns to be satisfied with somelh.lng at is half-done cmd grudges the expenditure of extra money f its real completion.

Every architect knows, lo his sorrow, how angerous lt is to let his cllenl see hls building in a half-finished late; and this bolds even more true when ihe client is a who city. Unlike roads and buildings, parks cannot be hurried lo mpletion: no addition to 1he working force, no overtime allo ances, will make a the special reasons tree grow faster than nature permits. One for Jong-range parlc planning, indeed. Is th :work must be started today if a satisfactory result is to be a eved ten or twenty yeoTB from now. Hence the value of timel ess; hence the need for patience.

Survey Requlnunenta

CO:

=

\

I

No adequate park program for the city l lf can be laid doWD until certain neceuary atatiatical lnformati has been collectecl.

What ls DNded la a block-by-block can1vtb1a oi nelQbborhooda to fftahliab the number of families. the of people per block. the immber of children. the aQe s,.ople auryeyed. and •-ally •L-lr q~tdbl\llic,a of all the

,...

w.

pz ••

enc... Such a auney could --"y L - Natlonal ~ "'"'·

1'9CNC11ional prefc-

D Included ID the Youdi SurYey done a Utile while o. had the oNd for II been formulated then: part of the n1 be lnc.luded In the Real Pioperty lnec.Na1l!r data mlQht poulbly ~ Pf0*1ed here, to be don. wlth '"WPA • which baa NCeDlly done on •La.y. on the --n•ral I _....._.

- mainland. If tb1a ..the-,_.. that ICllllpi.. be labn ID OPIPOrhdl~ dON not open up, ,....,.. chec:bd ap for the "' parts of the city: and ~ :.:-• 1 a. plailrldnow and _..__ cm a whole wtth - - - dlwc Id. ..._. obe1rwen work-

30

I

'

The reason for su a survey becomes plain as soon as one sets out the requlremonts of a broadly organized par.k system contraSled with a me collection of publicly owned open As Olmsted pointed 路ut two generations ago, park areas should grade upward from e immediate patch of open space around the individual house r group of houses to the widest and most comprehensive regi al recreational uses, drawing upon the iJ:lhabitants of many ommWlities. The core of such a development is obviously th individual garden. Within the residential

spa;;:

bJoc.'lc there should small enclosed play areas for the play of little children Y under the eyes of their mothers; a sand pile, a board, a few s Y boxes are almost all that l.s needed by way of equipmenl The proper design of residential blocks involves the corresl P cing and hedging of such a play area.

qrounds Suited to Needs

The next type of group of families fo

ayground is that which should serve th~ g a neighborhood: a bigger play area

for sports like tennl basketball, or even baseball-<>r as an allernaUve, swimrnln . Here, again, small areas, sufflcieot for the play of children m four to twelve, should be more numerous than the bigger area for children above that age and for adults: alking distance to a playground d!ffers since the tolerable according to the age f the user: and whereas half a mile may not be too far for olde children. it effectually excludes the younger group.

In addition to 1111ch ctlve rec:reatlonal areas. open CJfMDa and uld be eatabUehed In neiqhborbooda to -haded promenadea Mrve as attractlve p ces where the older members may meet. ac:cordcmc:e with their age. NX. and incllna路 90Uip, flirt. or court boys and glrls ln the city's street. or In don. The courtship outslcirts where they may take refuge for the drab places on of the most pitiable spectacles that the '1Teoter prtvuey, Is o modem dty lwnlrshes 11 gtvea to all the amatory eXJ)loraUona of Youth an air of furtl ness, sordidness, and shabblneas which lire sexual life. One of the best uses to aubtly corrodes the which any park may put 1a obviously to serve aa a harmonious q lovers: the prolonqotlon and enrichment m9etlnq place for y of COUrlahlp ia one of e beat ways to lntenalfy sexual ardor and fQrl91id boredom.

31

We should not forget tha1 in the westen world the planning of parks and the introduction of courtsthhip a an edrotic ~e the royal courts, as e ve wor courtship mdiin together in . . . cotes: and it is high time that a little pubh wisdom was applied to this area of life. If wiping out se~al isease is an imperative hygienic matter, building up a nch a many-sided culture of sex is no Jess an important contributio to family well-being.

I have been in public parks on the malnl d where motorcycle police with searclllights patrolled the par in the evening and obscenely blazed upon park benches in rder to mterrupt the tender moments of lovers: a perversion far orse than the loosest sexual abandon that the searchlight mig discover. Just the opposite of this is needed: public gardens d promenades that lovers will take to naturally, in preference o the sordid quarters that dishonor their every emotion. Wi ut any ostentatious declaration of purpose, the placing and pl ting of neighborhood promenades may well make a positive c ntributlon to the biological well-being of the community, thro gh their direct effect upon the moods and feelings of the young

ritu':1

ra

•

.9.

Local Greenbelts NE Of

O

;,=.:;;.,):es esa:xbJ,sh9'..1 by modem urban desl'111 .;s :.tie :-.90.::ess!ty fa: Q?eenbelt:s to give shape and uie ~

.

coherence o be &ooo) m::nmunity and to lcoep II from beln9 .Invaded cn=a ~ d:ii.::: ;::aer ls eslabllshod. by a lower order of w'l:xm building. Tae iailu.e t.> e3toblis.~ o ~teonbolt arc,und the garden 5"'.:hnb of fo:ast Hills. L I.. for example, turned out lo be a ~rc:ble ..eoxv:my.- V."nat tt did was to invite ihe 8 pec:u.!au7e bullde::: ti> aeep r,.p kl fae very door of the com• mUDlly end fanen h!rn·e}f c::i ~ vc.!ues oeo:ted by good planning, whllst lcwen:r::1 me vc:lues cf lhe ne19hl:oring property.

The greenbelt w • • a triple then: it CjliTft a cohuent patlam to the .,..;g},bor:hood: it pntTellts enc:roa:chmant; it profllies nnd.ed pmk sp+e +. Mcnonr. the pcu,ision of lntra-nrban parb In kmq strips has the exc:eDent efted of apreadlnq park sen1c:es OTIII' a wider ama: while. at the same lime, lt cnolda lh+ Yica of parb Jib C-mal Park in N-York. of taking too large a cbn:nk oaf of the or!~ bm1cffng area cmd mere or lea bloc:kinq fll ar6cuJaled ~ Hono~u r..as ±9 mh-=loge of having its greenbelt araas mcr..i or less y:::,v;.::5ed by nar.rre.. O:i the mauka side, the spurs of the mam!.?lI'. s lhr. !ecri dcw:i into the city form a natural open green wall I!l01 CC!l OC.:.y be de-.-eloped for urban building a1 cm extrcr,cgaru = t . Wnere these meas hava not already been !!aaificed ;o the 3cix:i."'Vicie dley should be retained and oonneded roge!her cs a greenoe!\. V.'he.re the soil and rainfall lend themselves lo fur.he:- cultr.tmar:. these ween. may be leapt in active use as frutt-:ree p!a::ta::.-ns. Otherwise they should be left open fer the ~or::rl pk:nki:er a:id excursionist.

pm....-.

srECm

Pmb and DraiDar1a Canals Far mere hnpcdam dMm this aatwal maukn ..,.....belt ls the Ofi>cclozdiy offeeed by chob ;iw c:anak- Nllch of the land upon 1'hich BonoLzm waa baill iD Iba pcm omed 6ctitely rid l!Nlf 33

--'thout an artificial dr ~age system. In ~aa of surfaceUllnghaxn water w•property by Ala Moan · Park, and even :inore like the D b blnd it an impossible cci ndition will be created the lower areas e drainage canals are dug. S o far, th ese canals have le unless • · amp tructed mainlY for the pure1Y • t anan purpose of get. fl .._.L ti b een cons _ ...er The magni cent co tnUU on m ade b y the ting rid of the .. u, • 1 Ala Wai ls to show that If the drainage ana s are on an ad• quate scale. they may be combined In daome fashion With park strips. These strips serve as qreen anes that m ay define the boundaries of a neiqbborhood and provide a park 'riata toward the open sea. An Incidental useJ f such canal.a is that they serve as positive barriers against e. Nature h as h• given the city planner a potent ally-pro ded he has the Imagination and the means to make uae of it.

A system of drainage canals, bord ered by parks. would Qlve to Honolulu a special character like that hich lends 11s cbann to Annecy in the Alps, The fact that a new canal is n ow in c:oune of building without any provision having been made for auch park strips abows that the aignificance~f drainac;ie canal f,ram the planning standpoint has not been d either by the engineers of the city or. for that matter, by the · ark Commission itN]f.

As far as the intemal development of the i:i ks of Honolulu goes. the working out of a park and drainage al system for everr great neighborhood area is perhaps the ost important ilem lo be added to the immediate program.

路10路 Tbe Place

f Arterial Parkways

f THE bringing of the 51 into the heart of Honolulu ls one item In a complete park P , the bringing of the countryside inlo the syslem by ~~ans of at least two molor parkways, runnJng more or less lei to the sea on the one hand and the base of the hills on other, is equally impcrtont. The plotting out of such parkw , with roadways lor travel In opposite n planted strip, would flll a double directions separa1ed by (unction. It would give nolulu the fast and safe traffic ar1ery that JI needs, instead of series of impediments and bottlenecks that now s1and In the of quick Intercommunication; and !1 would link up the varlo k services more closely than Is now possible. These parkway should skirt the makai and tbs mauka sides of Honolulu. Far congesting traffic in a central point their aim should be to pi it up and drop It at Intervals all along the route.

Federal Aid

I

Every allemative to prtnciple of arterial pl that are already used to aclueve the necessary pelled to condemn and tngs. Moreover, the wid the further disadvantage upon the city and its pr ways, sldrtlng the city COWltry, would have a cl The reader will note arter1al parh,aya. Here 路 two types of traffic arterl lo:re, almost impossible f dlaagyeeable lo travel on neas of the atroggllng b 90ch side. A parlcway, 0

scheme goes against the fundamental g; namely, it piles traffic upcn streets already over-burdened; and In order dth for the arterial avenue, It is com路 down large swathes of existing buUdg of any of the existing streets has f imposing a major financial burden owners. Whereas arterial parkeither side and leading out Into the for Federal assistance.

I speak not of mterlal roac:la but of an important difference between these : The arterial road is a wide tboroughthe pedestrian to cross and extremely of the glare and the usual uglitness or residential developments on the other hand. that has a right-of-way

35

at least one h dred feet wide, can be planted so as to offer complete shade and coolness for those who drive along it, as well as a m degree of safety for those who wish to cross it. A road is a p lie thoroughfare to whlch all abutting property owners have rl t of access: a parkway, in distinction, is primarily a park, d the road that runs through it need not be opened to traffi except at conventont intervals.

J'

Tne-.haded Streets Once such crya were built and planted on a large scale. they might well uenc:e the rebulldlnq of the commercial areas of the c::ity. He the ncmow streets, and the unrestrained abcmdonmeul of aha trees on most of them. ahow a wanton n eglect of a beautiful o~ pol'tuDity. The merchants' notion that the chopping down of ~ ade trees on bwdneas thoroughfares is a sign. of progress or b 路 efficiency is one of those blind 1111pentltions that canno be Justified by sound business practice . Shopp ing along sh d s heets, aa every visitor to Paris knows. ls a far m ore de.liq pastime than shoppinq in the bamtn waste of an American COJ ercial districL It ls likely to take longer, too. and this is to tJ:l advantage of the shop keeper. Whereas the open glare of hot pavements often tempts the buyer to reduce as far as possil~le the time spent on shopping.

Even the attempt to combine trees with buildmgs on Bishop Street is f. healthy step. It gives one a hint of what the smaller thorou ~fares in the city might be if the spirit of the park were brou t, by means of a parkway, into the heart of the built-up quarle The opportunity for adequate park treatment that was open by the widening of River Street, I must point ou1 incidentally, h so far been neglected. This would be a proper starting point fo making the tree-lined street a normal feature of all street wide gs and straightenings in Honolulu.

· 11 ·

New Park Areas HILE THE ljlf'Ca1d

W

oellutlin · es of a city and regional park sys.

1aid down, there are a few links that tem have n w remain to connected. One of these Is the extension of the Ala Moana-\ kl ocean park development from Kahola up to Koko Head. The (JreQI reef outside the Kaha!a section obstructs the use the waterfront there for either sailing or boating. By dredQL,c, of the reef and using the material to fill in a strip on the side, a new parlc and parkway could 00 created which d connect directly with the park already acquired at Har. a Bay. At the same time it would provide an opportunity th Honolulu, for all i1s love of water sports, strangely lcr....k:s: th is, a large quiet area that can be used for diving and deepe:r swimming.

Kailua Beach One other wem~'8lllS 1n the regional park system is the inad• quate ftoniaqe the has acquired at Kailua. Here la an ex~ tionally tine n beach-perhaps the best In the island. D

cm.swen. in fact. to hat the mainlander tbiab of when he hears the name "W · · • 13ut already a great part of this beach has been carelessly to qo into priTate ownenhip and to be built over. M while. land TaluN have been qoi:ng up, and if the Pali tunnel la at through. this part of the iaJand will not be much znore them minutes away from the heart of Honolulu. ft will there draw a load of Sunday Tisiton comparable to that of the most • led beaches wHb.1n the city llself. Hence the Deed for a more sufficient park area here is highly \IJ'qen~ W'Qent. deed. that I would here make an exception CIQd su.gg 1t it be by special funds. alnce the annual IUDl dedicohl.d lo Park Co,nmfesicm for lhe acqulaltlon of new Plvp...6- la fnsoffldeal lo acquhe an adequate amount of lcind. at CID ecadJ d, 2I

In lookingi ov er the various types of park playground d I tho1 th , , an tee. :e on areo e Park Commission has developed I impressed If the wide variety of uses and by the · ·-'d ' <:nn . th f. vv • e range <>I m terests have been se.rved. With the pollcy of devotln each of the park areas to a more or less specialized p~ g • V pose-usmg ""apiolani Park for horse riding and polo playing, the Ala .w for boating and boat racingi and Ala Moana for tenrus, b:ls, and aquatic sports-I am in thorough 09J"ee. ment. I1 se to roe, he>wever, that there are two special kinds r)f park that might well be added lo the present system in order to embrace a fuller range of activities. ati

Park

Wild Park Lacldnq

f park that la lacldnq la the upland wild park: the primeval p k. Such a park ahould be located In th• bills. It should incl ~e within a relatively narrow compass, perhaps, a wide range · f topography and natural vegetation: there should be an example of semi-tropical Jungle; there should be. if possible, one or more ti slides; there should be a stream and a waterfall of a kind th t has always contributed to the traditional delights of Polynesi existence. Such a park could have the barest mini· mum of ph sical equipment: at most, rough open shelters for over-night ping, simple stone fireplaces for cooking, and a mere clear ce through the denser vegetation for the hiker and the camper. Contrary to the unwise practice of some of the larqe primeval ks and reservations on the mainland, access to such parks shoul not be made too easy. The roads leading to them should be p ed to attract only those who wish the experience of roughnes of simplicity, and of solitude 1n the midst of nature.

This exclude large, well surfaced roads and large parking areas that would act th~ sort of picnicker whose very presence would rob the seen of the value it holds for those who meet Its challenge.

On the wmd met. of the Island. Dr. N. P. Lanen baa a tract of land w nrr closely meetm the requtrementa that 1 have .., down here, d 1t an oppostwdty for rec:reatton of an entirely from that 11UQQ8Sted by the sunnier pcub. of the different shore. I wo d suggest that a small area combining these advan· tages be se aside experimentally to determine whether the pri· meval park as as close an attraction for the Hawaiian citizen as

Qlv••

it has for th

inhabitant of the mainland.

38

Fish Ponda While on the subj cl of the primeval park I h th.er thought to ~e development of th~ s ould like to add one o Th more aquati ks long !be shore. ~ ocean. too. is Part of our P . c JXtr a ce. The love of al ost all the peoples in th runepvfial inheritf th . fund e act c for the an ater is one o ell' most amental charactena·ti I . w .. th8 S th Fili ca. t un1tea e Pino, and the J......... th e aa,.,,a11an, · ty oan, ard th - .......eae. Without anY und ue pie w e now archaic Hawaiian traditions, ii seems to me that sc t-water fish ponds, constructed and stocked ~"' traditional lines, ght we ll be a use ful addition 10 th.e recrea....... . tional opportunities o some of the o utlying parks.

Hawaifcm Village

I no1e that various ~ co:l Hawaiian villag the city. This seems t<ij bul, on the other hanci In one of the wilder sion has set aside for

oposals have been made to construct a typiin connection with one of the parks within me a highly inappropriate urban enterorise· • • ii might well be the crowning achievement d mare distant areas that the Park Commisublic recreation. To come to such a village among its n atural s oundings, and to participate (up to a point) m some of the typic recreational resources of the old Hawaiian village, would be an cellent way of not merely recalling the past but enriching the pre

One further point.

MCI or the sun la the elemental forces. Th ment of the usual c ancient convention of ·~kedness give s the tbi:rt eveo the wearln lhct Pl9asure. In En !here hos long been of ze-..ornng certain out Wearin~ clothes. lilere is no mason w llshed_ on one or m

nt.

e of the cpeateat dellcJhta of bathlnq In the nloyment of untrammeled contact with theM y invite a cerlain eaM, a certain abcmdonventlonalltlH of civlllaalloDJ above all. the arlnQ clothea. Every swimmer knows that ast touch to his enjoyment of the water and of trunlcs talces away a little of the edge of and. 0 country that Invented Mrs. Grundy, custom, at various public bathing beaches, urs when men could qo into the water withuch segragated bathing shocks no ono and y a similar convention should not be eetab0 of the beaches of Oahu - applying :

'Wo:nen aa well as t men. Wb1le this proposal perhaps runs n ~ face of ~ an and

to

f9COgnjze

t mlsslOPCDY

the

tradition in these tslands, It Is cmd .,._ cllstrusl of the

shamefacedness

u•

body which the early missionaries sh p olynesian civilization, no longer repr of the community . Rather, one detects in lnousness born of qualities the very o affected to p romote. To restore to both the privilege of confronting the p rimev the sun in Adam's original garb is but a for the restrictions and burdens impose Me lville 's chCtrac te rs derisively called "

Fonnal Garde In extreme conlra~t to the primeval, of park that represents the very apex o ma l garden. In the Banyan Garden in has a brilliant example of such formal become inore available , the developme areas of the city would be extremely de natu.rol centers for neighborhood play well lend their beauty to great formal w edding or the celebration of the anniv honoring of some local public characte providing such formal gardens in future further developmenf in aesthetic design d en itself as conspicuous an example of Hawaiian traditions as the new building created, under the Park Commission, in othe r places.

But while favoring and emphasizing rary motifs and materials in planting

ed ¡

â&#x20AC;˘'--

contact WUh nts the sanest ~ t a prurience and O llb!dsite oi those that ~ awaiian and haole ~ forces of the ocean and ust measure oi resbtuti(JQ by what one of F.er::nan nivelization." m u-u:u-

Ud par~ is another type aesthetic cultu:e: the for-

a Moana Par~. Hono!ulu anning. AF. p-Ji.::!lc funds of such gardens in other irable. They would 'crm ctlvities, and they migbt ions in hfe-hke a rsary of a marriage. the , or a sociable luau. In I should expect to see a at would make the garodem taste and modem that have recently been e Ala Mocma Park. and

utilization of contempogarden architecture. as e that there is room in

well as in building proper, it seems to Honolulu for at least one or two small ex ples of the high garden art of 1he Chinese and the Japanese. The are a number of privcne gardens around the city which exe:mpli the special characteristics of these cultures, but in a city where e Oriental peoples have contributed so much to the vividness d color of its life . some public recognition should be given to e of their supreme contributions to culture. Many Auledicansjl unable to paah beyond

Hawa:it will qet their tint and oaly real 40

with the older ddl-

the East through what evidences they find In th... ,ations : their sakes, as well aa for the edification and dellQht jJJ011cfs. or ent residents of Honolulu, one or two conapicuoualy pennan of the lie examples of Japanese and Cb.ineae gardening would qood pub t for the city which Dllght prove one of lta most profitbe anIn\fe............ ..n ..... Were the desire for such a garden given public able . it is even possible that some wealthy citizen, with a expression.hilan.lhropy, would ensure the ultimate PClSsage of his talent forg 9 n Into public possession. private 0

~

!ci

· 12 · Design and Function of Neighborhood Playgrounds

W

ITH respect to the provision of neighborhood playgrounds I have already mentioned their weaknesses in number and placement. These wectk:nesses can be corrected only after making a systematic canvass of neighborhood needs. But I cannot leave this subject Without saying a word as to the character of these developments; for from the standpoint of permanent economy, rational design, and aesthetic mastery, the best playgrounds of Honolulu seem to me definitely superior to those I have seen on the mainland, not excluding some of the excellent ones that the La Guardia administration has erected in New York, to say nothing of the well established structures of an older period in Chicago.

Too often playgrounda are regarded by municipal authorities cm

permanent waate-spa.ces-or unoccupied Iota set aalde for play.

That the very spirit of play is enhanced by taldng place in a setting that shows order and vision often does not occur to the municipal departments concerned; hence, ugly chicken-wire fences, clay or bare asphalt surfaces, and a complete innocence of all aesthetic device. Honolulu has made a valuable departure from this stale tradition by providing, in soma of its new playgrounds, structures that have none of this tawdry makeshift quality; ~ey are rather examples of building art worthy to have a place bes1de the open-air gymnasiums or pctlestra of the Greeks. The handsome bounding wall, the judicious planting of shade trees, the retention of grass wherever possible, translate the spirit of organ\.zed play to the area itself. .

Coordinate School and Playground will, I trust. take permanent root in Honolulw the

Thia tradition Waldr Playground should be spirit called forth In the Mothethr ,..qr°:und activities. But one 1 '-·--d Into all the city's o er P -.1 - --ll•-attn ln,uav should not be missed: that of cooiwu Q Important opportuDltf '-"'d-buUdln9, and vice versa. Here 11Cbool-bnfJdfnq with P-:r...---

42

~trative ·fication ls ne an k c;oinmlssion alaould design ~ · to the effect th pca....ds of the city, il~cluding those att chadmJoJster all "-- at the qroth •L.. l a ed t ......1.. . "18 pt~. !hat these areas ~emie ves should have the o .......Uc lciioola. so btollghl to their deal f and should be used highett coxnpelenc:e ~le, If in the n ~ housing un.ita that m to : : Q?ea\eet exte111 b. either the Haw · Housing Authority ':;the P_Ut up ln future 1 grounds are provide as part of the original • City itself. pl~.

Jllislion should be b1 ught 1n and the design. the Park CoJ:n. the new area s_houl be placed under = ~ : ; d ~pbep of lion. All this will do tleaa add to the burdens of theAll • JmisdiC> and c:all for both ct arger staff and a 1arg ah Coaum.lon ann al mcome. But the present division of er me of the city's 11• d . responslblJity Ji-. la wasteful: an it wor agamt the building up of a pazk IIY'IWm. compnibenai._

There are park pr 1ocated, that . mig h t land In more appro srudy than I have h where such land sh g!n ls in connectio cases ihe sites so cl than to cmy other

rties, insignificant 1n extent and ..,_uprope.1y e 11 be traded off or sold m order to acquire riale areas. It would need a more thorough the opportunity to make to suqgast prec1S&ly uld be acquired; but cm obvious place to b&with the razing of congested slums. In some may be better adapted to pork purposes

BJhbcmParb

Along these lines older type of city pl In the midst of a pa r,lann1ng, with the ta'"8, treated as m lerV!ces, the nelg •ffacttve design. It and, In general 11 ~ ' school wtthou

I have one further suggestion to ma'ke: ln the g, the park formed an tsolated open area em of built-up blocks. ln the n&w t'fpe of dty velopment of super-blocks and closed cul-dere or less self-contained areas for domeslic rhood ribbon park t,ecomes !he very core of ls the naturol site for the elementarY schoo~ akes ii possible for the child to wolk to ::1' 1 ~~nOO crossing a traffic street. ihls gives le

c1assroo: 7;r i

Itself the quiet and Isolation necessarY for good <xnd ll brings the k u.alf closer 10 the door of the borne. Sac:h a oacie w.Aed oat - c • fm)IT,

.:.s;;

:Clwl•flec:t imlQIIIClda.La.

pa Jblr

aD the

.,.sd,oee oa:m;':. effed

tbe larlD9 oat of,,..

OIi . . WNI Cc n, Cllfllt CII po

th Ea11t. or aa Frankfort ha.d throughout

b<Ulf,:;d in e · further point: the close connection between

as BadburD Europe before 1

This brtngs ~ 00':xnd a program for rehousing the occupants of ad eas The rational control of land use a sound park P llcy gesl or · • deC<lYed and f occupation and open spaces, is ctn inw:llh respect to r efsitY ovalid park system. Through the creation ciisP9nsable P. ~t:Jishes a proportion of open land to occupied of parks, the c1 [ es a whole. This, however, is only a part of o land for the cl O Such O standard of open spaces and dens. well-oriented P h~ fo~ every arsa. In England , the vast re11 ity ~ust ~ e~t m:nts of the last twenty ye<ITS hove been at housing devsie f twelve or less families per acre. This stand. average en so ard implies r onable land va lues, and In tum it guarantees that such values wl remain reasonable.

r ' r r

Spearhead of Planning Under the po c:e powers, the .American city hem ample comm. tional mean.a fci c:ontrolllnq the density of population and extent of land con ln the Interest of public health and bygwzi.. Before these st ards can be estabUshed cmd protected by law. however, the will have to tackle a much more difficult proo lam: that of o ning up the maior lcmd areas within 1he city for orderly hum occupation. There can be no sound or effective planning of ei er neighborhoods or parks and playgrounds so

r

values mean

Fhrents; these conditions in tum place a premium

upon congestio and upon bad types of architectural design.

This proble came down to the present-day city out of special historical con ons with which everyone in Honolulu is familiar, With the rlQht and wron911 of theae conc:Utlons the c:ity planner ~ have Do c:em: but about the urqency of correcting tb8lll • must speak In Do uncertain terma. All available , ___, meant ahould be lak at ""'....

By openin t once to reduce land values to a 11CD1er value, publlc housing territorially owned land on the outskirts 0 over for pub; ' by using the process of eminent domain to take use, by estab P ~ s land held against public interest out of for all new de ~ 9 aw maximum densities of population per acre opmanta, by enforcing the minimum standards of .

E

fi: :

d sanilati in now overcrowded quarters-by these l:},q;e11e ~gilant~.

J ~ g authority would co~ct the inherent ;.e(:lilS a short-sighted f.onopoly. And Without such cornprehenof ath Park ussion can scarcely hope to catch up With aid,~ or provide anything like the full services and faciliactll째1 nodern city shoul demand.

~

:\-e

ces a m anninq, in othe r words, cannot P<>Balhly stop at the edqea P<D"k pl b: its greatea need ia to Infuse its standards of apace of the par and order o every other aapect of the dty'a develop. aiid park syste ia thus the very spearhead of com~ : :.- urban plannin

~

· 13 · The Quality of Design in Parks alled the lungs and the breathing spaces of ARKS have been cimportant aspect of the park has perhaps the cilyi and this the fact that they are, in reality, much more tended lo obsCUl'~ot is also cm open space, but no matter how than that. An emptypark until it has been adapted to the special big ii is, it is :taapark fulfills. The origin oi all municipal P<Irh civic nee~ th k like the Tuilertes or St. James Park: the outdoor is the rolhya plar ' The quality of design, which marked the archipart of e pa ace.

If into the park: in rTce likewise infused ltse tecture of th.e pal... ' making O setting for promenades and play, a certain amount of formalization necessarily enters into the conception of the park.

Sometimes the deliberate parts of the design are elaborately concealed by naturalistic artifice, as in the great romantic parks designed during the nineteenth century by Frederick Law Olmsted. an American of world-wide renown; but even in the most pastoral and informal settings, Olmsted's aesthetic touch was everywhere visible; and in the most successful landscape park of all, the Prospect Park 1n Brooklyn, Olmsted provided for strongly formalized entrances, even as (with Vaux) in the design for Central Park, the plan of the Mall and the great stairs and esplanade that lead down to the water, he did not hesitate to depart from "free" design into the strictest kind of order.

In remoter portions of a region. where the natural landscape m of 100 •trildno a character to be modified by the worb of man. ~ , - : ~well be left In her savage state: but to ac:hleve succ:eu and 'the portcmt that acce1a to the spot should not be too easJ

P

=~

Pllmltlve for rec:reatton should remain of the molt observed, 08 for ~ ~k de,,elopments where this has not been 9 its 1en thou.sand on Mount Rainier in Washington, with val mountam m on a single day, the very feeling of priJnehe!9h1a 1s bad}JJSses and untmo,meled spaces and terrifying fact1111ea that by the suburban nature of all the vast or and feed the curious visitor.

visi::

cc!.~

Be auty Best Preserver tbe more striking beaches. like that by Koko H pd, very little On vrCi1:'f of design need be added to nature's achiq ements. But In the owds of people are going to gather for esse1J1tially social where; s design is an essential part of the whole relationpl~ The路 people's park. no less than the royal par~-. should consbiP路 certain sense of order and by the planting of ery tree, the of evef'/ building, give sense of what Ufe' environment des be al its best: spacious. harmonious, rhythmic Infused with : :quali1Y of keen vitality for which the names " " and "beau" must serve as commonplace equivalents. Aes Uc delight ts !t somethJng that should be segregated for the nnoisseur of pictures or statues; not an emotion that one puts o tap on entering a museum and forgets in doily life. It is the n reaction of !he common man when the sea is blue and the sky d when a wale.r lily unfolds in a pond, when a clea n, finel proportioned building extends its welcome 1o him when be en ters . No amount of attention that is paid to the aesthetic par1 of k design 1s wasted, for beauty is the best preservative of a park r a building.

An ugly. disheveled environment discourages good : whereas a handsome. well-ordered environment usually stim ates the best kind of human reaction: under normal clrcums1ance people take personal pride In maintaining such beauty.

The formal beauty of good architectural design d the spirit of play are indeed closely akin; where, indeed, is there a finer rbylbm or a keener sense of design in space than the balance of a surf-rider's body, in the delivery of a fine serv in tennis. or the curve of a diver's body as he leaps from the Ving board?

Beauty of forrn In sport is not obtained by a ccident: t is obtained

by Practice, by emulation, by the deliberate exe e of hwnon skill. It ls this sort of beauty that counts in the design f parks; and It is by no means an accident, perhaps, that possibl the most de~ghJluI playground for the young of all ages in e world, the ard!n du Luxembourg, is within the compass of a ghly formalized P<lTk and garden.

veY;

a

lpark J

Bllng,

Archltec:tme Commended ClnAllhaugh all the main parks under the Park Co1Jllll1= ,o n are in lncoinplete state, the quality of their design ts dent. E'.spe-

nded is the use of the native tropical vegetation ocrllY to be comrne t ossible, and the handsome, clear-<::ut cbor_ ...e .-test E.xten p .. ,ros The archltectural treatment of A, ;o u:, "''~l -w siruc,.... - · ntq ac:-ar of al! the , .e the design of the Mother Waldron playgr0 Ul:\d ,-·~•oa:r.a Park OXldH'cu1ar1Y successful; these have their parallel ..;~, seem to me 90J · q strUcture and pergola ln the coastal P<nk :he nandsome j~ k pavilion in Ala Moana, giving on to the 18 at ·.vaiaiua. ~ ~ and pooL wilL if developed according lo beaUliful ~ q f -nnq CUI restaurant, provide a setting that ia • • a} p]CQ O S8• • the origll1 f 1 ces in the world, The closest approach to this ctl1ed in e-wi p 1a be equ . . , is in e handsome restaurant that has en bu!lt, under pcsswiliiY rship of Robert Moses, tn lhe Central Pork Zoo in I0 the OOI:JDlly k 5:.he • m"'rit indeed, of all of Mr. Moses' park develNew a~ • " ' . : fr.:cj e magnificent seaside park at Jones Beach to tua opmen...,, smallest m · playground. Is that every spot that his arcrutec.s and pl~ ers touched bears the mark of highly rauonal .upcse 1n1e1J~·r,hle design, and aesthetic fonn, No spot ia too 17 mean. no function is too humble to exist without benefit of mt. It ;s useiess to - pk m. the past of Hawaii or any other region lh: aesthetic prece<1lent for the new structures that the urban parks need. Thm will1have to be found, through continued experiment, Jn 1he line a1rJ~y established by the boathouse on the Ala Vlai :ma the other µildings I have mentioned. In landscape design and in the wor;king out of formal gardens, further thought cmd imagination m needed; but the architectural precedent is by now we~ es1ablishi . and the need for an architectural form, clean. :vid, ~ng enirugh to hold its own against the effects of sea and -Ountain, shoul be obvious.

Makeshift Improvements

In park pl~. . omy, the wise ~~ m every other department of civic econ· and spend hi 118 that of Emerson's: save on the low levels 011 11:uctures th~~ gh ones. It is poor economy to erect makeshift lheir coat of presently look stale and seedy, will rot or lose s>ennanent 9 ~d Will either have to be replaced or fonn a bu-ea are real! re, t is real economy to build whatever strUC:"1ia.e annual needed In durable and handsome materials, decndea and P ls low, and whose life may be measured in turiea. rather than ln years. For. of all the parts

;J

48

3

oemlanence may be expected its cl a c d that fa .ct uld be taken advant • f Parlcs rate O ~ ~ Simpl s traightforward deai age ~ the design d its str'l1 ainJy to portions, texture dgna, earned through ·tl, CSS1 ~ye ID • an color, have a 1'l d_. all the mi nor anqes of convention and tast M P<>wer ""cu _. ,L· subiect , e, , __e chani.. __ ,;..ment. on ....., o er h and. is to rapid 0 L_ ccsl ...--uld red ed = 0 "'11cence·• this item sbo uc to the lowest axno t ,nee ·th c<mvenienc:e and sound upkeep "---matu un practic,:::ble '" • .-re re e>cpendibalf-baked de lopmeni.s are Wasteful It la b tte t::e& OD r • ... e r to go _,_ --th the develo nnent of parb, until the need f 1 s!""''l' ...

• . or mger . -oUDl.s of the. annual mwuopal budget la recoqnlzed, than to ;::rde.rtake makeshift im rovements whose fea1ure ts the fact that l!ier ,rill hcrn to be e.

·tt .IXI "'hich

~ _ .1

j

Pr.ii~ m'll Handicapped

The whcle Parks P is seriously handicapped; it Is quite ~~I. br the s:?:ailne oi its annual municipal income. The two ~--ed and _'1ity thOUS,~d dollars allotted the Commission rep:res.-::s about rour per CE - t of !he annual municipal budget: the =o-.m! a.-aiiable tor ' provemenls and developments is infinh ·~::icl cr:er mainrancm , costs are provided for. Even the whole :;o_'l:lget !S nc, lmga eno gh 10 provide complete policing and serTit!!S. c:nd the leek of y substantial and regular development - ~ mc:ke preco:r.ous .e completion of any concerted i:mprove=~t progiwn, depend t largely on sporadic allotments by the

~=an..~.

Because of the n~ l problems that arise through the congreqafion of large groups ol people in a limited area. park police are QI iznJ>ortant foz the proi:i care of parks as park gardeners. Their P.a:e ..s noi merely to re ress disorderly elements, a simple poUce !cl:. 'faey must be y IJamed to oversee tactfully the enlire -.:SC ci' the park and to ·ve those who use ii the fullest sense of Ease co:DPQ'tib!e Wlth g order. Until the parks have a special ~ oi their own. s lly trained, along the lines so well laid ~ by the designer f the Boston Metropolitan Park system, ~ ~ ot Il. Iha par of Honolulu will labor under a serious

~ rcr. iunds for park · provement, there would be no obiectio~ E-;er to the reserv

on of part of the annual income for cap1·

49

. quite the contrCITY, for tal !Jnprovements.f the total is almost an . ·de out o d so set asi ·ty's taxation system on of a comIJlUlll ted to parks by th But the total s;: = e mandatory by 1 greater as a minimum. Moreov should beth aznount n eeded to maintain in extent.E e tuollY 11 will be possible to as well. ven -'-inlstratlon side of the nonce an d aum d 1ncome now devoted to building an n long as the parks remain ln an Wlflnlsh must be greater, and must be Increased or park put into commission. Buildings themselves; to provide for copltal outlay for the annual charges for roainlenanc obligations.

th:aied

propcrtion that CQri

dex of the effectiven.!: icipal administration. municipality should ha : the mandatory linut , as the parb ~

mc:r.a...

em prope:rly hift over to the moinfe. k budget a part of the

development; but 80 state. the whole budgei each new playq?Ound parks do not maintain Without also providing Is to evade inevitable

With the extension of Honolulu'• parb their more lmeuat,.

UN, therefore, the proportion occupied by e ~ in the annual budqel ahould lncreaSe. To te this readt1llllmat should be a first concern of all citisena ho are aerioualy mt. ested In providlnq recreational facilitiea and a hea:ltby euthODment for the lnhabltanta of Honolulu. and adequate r1 IPOD• to thia need la forthcomlnq, the Park muat. ln pm,lenre. reject new commHmenta, and proceed ly with the ~ ment of their exiatinq properties.

so

-

· 14 · r.feCIIlS of Working Out a Park Program 5 FAR dS technlcal assistance ls concerned, the parks have durfng the last few years, been very fortunate Th ch ' acter of the design has been thoroughly 1n h ~ ; W1~ ·onal needs, without any attempt to reproduce archaic PQlte draw upon foreign hlstorlc sources. Under the priority sch: ule that has apparently existed In the minds of at least the Chairman of the Commission and its Architect, the most important elements have been put first and nothing has been skimped In order ID give the work as a whole the appearance of being finished before ii actually was ready to be done effectively.

But park plannlnq, from the v ery nature of things, touches eTery other mpect of the city's existence, The quality of space, which 1s a matter essential to urban health and beauty, is a quality that CXlllles especially within the province of the Park Department.

Spacing is no less essential an element than placing and building -just as in music, the interval may be as important for the musical effect as the noles that are actually struck. But it is obvious that the work of preparing and executing a comprehensive park program for Honolulu must, under the present political ammgements, be an obstacle race for even the most earnest and intelligent and dvlc·minded commission. Planning Involves relationship and the IXUks for Honolulu cannot be planned in correct relationship to all Us other urban and industrial needs unless some authority is a..--llvely dealing with these things and formulating a rational treal· ment for them. Even the present park program has been seriously bandloopped by the lack of any authoritative planning commission In the city capable of fo.r mulat!ng and carrying out a coordi· llQ1ed program of city development.

A

:io

lneff.c;tual Plnnnfnq l'he Present City Planning Com.mission has been In exlstenoe for seventeen Yeors. During that time U has, no d oubt. accompllsh': 0 9l'9at deal of useful pedestrian work, bat bec:czm• of lack

51

r

on the ,..,, nn... pporL 1ack of intelligent cooperation . su ... _ .. so far done little to anticipate the 1:11,..1 a ctive pu11 Uc ffi •a]s it =. ...10, of electe~[ o CJ ' • upon which the city must embark. In Vie,,, construe enterpns::deT which it has functioned, no blQJne czt.. of the · c:umst~ce;lanning Commission for this failure. Laclt of taches t the C~ty d lack of financial support have hcnnatrung 0 political ntyd~ efforts. Such a commission might be co111• even its lmost DlO es .. and Haussmanns without being able to chelange1o.. posed pf Mi . e"t performance. Unfortunately, half-hearted . ta to its pres ..

1 a dd an ~ in ome wrrvs worse than no city planning at all ·ty la:ol g Is s -, . . bee , 0 P . 1s the impression that some prov1s1on has n made, that for it gt~ be! g don. e, that some careful eye is overseeing all some w k is n Uty hab't d . , d lopments.

Whereas in rea .

1 an ilie city ! eve th . routine . t 1hro ttle every attempt to improve e city s present continue o

re

I

f11h

conditio Charter Revision For th sake of doing its own work more effectively, the Park Co on must necessarily interest itself in the better compoaie city government-must concem itself, in other worda. with the ery important political and administrative revisions that the pres nt Charter Committee will undertake to incorporate In their rec mmendations.

The ft important need for a new type of city planning authority ls to ~raak through the water-tight comparlments in which the various ty departments now work. Departmental jealousy is an obvious d ever-present cause for the failure to work out a com· mon sol lion of a common problem, and one of the causes for this iealousy is mere ignorance of what the other departments are doing, wh· another is the desire to acquire for one's own depart· arge a share as possible of the municipal budget. Tbll of course, not peculiar to city offic:iala and c::ertainlY not Honolulu. One may observe exactly the same friction at• work the adrnini5 trati on o f cmy large university. While Od• minis ve autonomy i f d efflci s one o the secrets of responsibility an neede~ in any organization, such autonomy cannot exclude the Plans.or onunon Plans and for common means of effecting those ~certatn matters which concern other city deport· and ans should be made mandatory for common con·

rt

c::onunon action.

Uncooildinated Bulldin'J recent case of the ~a Wai bridge crystallizes th d The Jnherent Jn the sent scheme. The e .... _ e angers lhOl are ks ch n.,,u,aer of a ter. _ 1 oublic war ose lo consider the b'"'d ..,onOJ .

If t . ed tur " ge as an •·dapendent' sa <on am srruc e.

His plan of '"'bridge was li ht i.i.e · Ill pared without the s g st real consideration for the park ~ for the yacht basin ~proach, for !he SQfety of the frl(XIIS having to cross the a Moano Boulevard, or for the probable need of a much broadef parkway. But the fact 1s that a brtd can lJaVe no such indepen ent existence. Whether ii Is a go: bndtle ot a bad one does ot depend merely upon its structural e/f!cl<'..llCY' but upon its oblll to work harmoniously with the other ::eeds of the area It serves. ~ plan, design. or build such a bridqe except as part of an auth d city planninc,1 scheme. duly axcmiiaad and thoroughly cri cized by the authorities concerned. hi Dot merely shor1llighted bu extremely wasteful Such uncoordioat,ed building baa chmact · d a good part of the conventional flllprovemenl& that have made by urban authorities throughout the country.

.Ped:

Waikiki

Another example, almos .JTed In Honolulu, In whlc .'D ·NJ1hln a few months of lh IO lay down water pipes. S roiatlon that now exists be cew str~t that ls to be c whlcli th1a abort-cut from the oct: it la hcued on the fi:>. t,h,i llJllty and beauty o r ;iq d1welopments (namely few mtnuies of travelling lim on the boats of their pro

ti 80dal irnercour:.e have

ment

•

ort-cut Not Needed

comic in its Jneptitude. recently oca recenUy paved street must be tom completion of the povtng lob, ln order 1 another example of this misch.levous een city departments ls the proposed d over the Ala Wai. The bmla upon to WatkiJd la urQed la an obsolete andarda of foot-traffic:. It would sacrl· one of Honolulu's proudest city plan· the Ala Wai HselO in order to cul a between two sections of the city that, ve population or prospective amount need of any such rapidity of move-

Pr·OQJ"mill of Cl'ric Action ~reas Intelligent city lannlng ls always concerned to r&d .~ number of streets t the lowest possible level. half·baked ly Pl"lr\nlnq, lacking in soctal obJecttve, usually dlsUn· 53

tree1s and traffic tb orougb fares to areas

quishes Use1f by a~~;:~ The cure for suJ erratic projects lies where they are no aster plan by itself as a master policy: 0 not so much in ro. fon:nulated by min that are capable of program of civic actio.::_. of the cttv as a w ole and who are not ho!d ing in view the gvv-,. to prevailing •prqctices h en th ose practices d wasteful. afraid to go conbetrarYbsolete and inefficient have proved to o __ ...,,_. city plannlnq p ro am to be a chieved?

How ia the n-..-- . . f th · d the """"" How ls the city plannloq education o e a ens an "''"''es. f u nolulu to be oicltnded How is a. coherent monal groups o o 0 L - fonnulatod. not cu an arb ary e-xerc:use of• techmaster p 1an to µv nical authority b\lt a:s a rnolu te coruienaus o the city'a best intelligence about its needs and ita poaaibllitie a o future development? lnfonnal cooperat..on between various de lments and groups may prove •;ery useful as a first step, but me more systematic and inevitable method of obtaining a co on approach to city design should be arought into existence. is involves finding, first of all, some coherent administrative m to take the place of the present tcmgle oi conflicting jurisdicti s of territorial, county, and municipal cn.:.thorilies. It involves e incorporation of a more effective type of city pl(II)njng autbori in the very shuctura of the municipal government.

°

Ahoul the composition for such an authori , there appear to be mcmy differences of opinion in Honolulu: me favor a continuance of the purely adVisory form of commissi n ; some favor a more active cmd responsible type of commission Few as yet. apparently. have questioned the usual form itself as th• moat desirable type of administrative orq Most city planning authority in the United States is indeed v sted in commissions.

Often they are unpaid, as with the present nolulu City Planning Commission. Sometimes they are paid, as · the new commission provided under the reformed charter of the ty of New York. Such commissions tend to suffer from the lack of an indispensable element: a dommant personality of mark administrative or designjng talent, capable of fusing togethe r in common design the Special projects needed, anticipating future evelopmen ts, making Y for them, installing them suocessfull making them 1nte~ 9 and useful to lbe comrnuntty at large Mo.t of the ef{ec:tlff 1 ~ffl'ole~ ta . . . Y,:....a.. I = - cud a l'be peat ftTe hem been c:ba• IO

:f

. tence of such a p rsonality aa the head of the t110 ,,as one encount rs the highest type of pl Park system.

-L mi d ann1ng work WIi erever dJscovers sul,;'.li a n at the head of lt Th • one usucd:cated regional pl Ing reorganization of ihe R:i:as~ and camP anY was large! the work of a single man Dr d1stclct Ill c;enn h d h f 1h reg!

• . Wilhehn ,..1,rnidl who a c ar o e onal development of th Ruhr ;x.,ul-th~ advent of the azls. Similarly, in Hamburg th e unil th 1 h • e street development of e new eas a ong I e Alster, the planning of lhe new parks, the building f the new schools, wos largely the worlc

of Dr. FrilZ Schumacher.

Commissions me, by Ir very nature, consultative and dellberatl\fe bodies rather 1h oxec:utlve ones, They provlde a Wleful public check upon the anner. They give no guarantee, in their own compo&.ltion, of th ability to plan: rather the reverse. To eetabllsh the type of pl q ••nice needed, one person mu.st be entrusted with the nece ary power and responaibllity. He mu.st c1e1 ote himself wholehe edly to this Bingle purpose: he m ust carry ii in mind day and nlq t: he must live with his plans; he mu.st nurture them: he must de their development; he must be cap, able of amending them. Such devotion and such integrated a ction are beyond the normal orking of any cc,mmlaslon. no matter how harmonious. For this r son, I propose that the active p)annin9 agents of the dty be pla ·ed on a different footing, and I would put forward for discussion organization on the followin9 lines: dviaory Council (I) A popular educatlo1 al body, in this to be called the City Planning Council. Such a cdpncil should be of an advisory nature. It

should be non-paid. It J pould incorporate the maior professional and OCCuPQtional and l.igious groups of the city-not excluding the tespcnsible labor uni f s. This would bring into the active work 01city Planning, groups e the medical professions. whose advice and lnteresl have been egrettably lacking from this field-and whosa failure to deal w1 the environment as a conditioning factor In .JL think' tO "1l1Elqse hos been a sei ous handicap, many observers the Profession itself The nu-.. · ed f the best available ~ -.....se of such counciL compo~ 0 trlbQte !bet, ntat1... of each p, ahould be two-folds (a) to COD ent of tlie Plofeulon ad'ric:e towcad tu Q9Deral ""T• CIDd (b) to to tbefr mpecloJ CJIOUP'

:"!:.,..,

'!~

55

the principles, and the vision of the more active city plcmnblg

a~on.

One danger in connection with appointments for such a body should be noted. In most cities. such appointments are treated aa a way of paying off, by an honorary office, some minor politiCQJ or personal debt; the purpose of advisory bodies that do not effectively advise ts to serve as a front of respectability for the lob in hand. It is not such a body that I have in mind; respectability and good intentions are not a sufficient qualification for the office. The council should not consist of more than fifteen members: these men should be disttnguished primarily for their competence in their professional fields; they should still be active, and aggressively interested in their vocations, as well as in the general welfCU'e of the city. They should not pass upon any specific measures; but they should help to form and criticize and assay the fundamental policies of the city planning administration. The members of such a body should be chosen at yearly intervals; in such a way as to give at least half of those first inducted a term of office as long as that of the Project Director Project Director, with a competent staff large enough to handle all the problems of survey, engineering architectur and economics. that may arise. The post of Project Director sho~d be an appointive one and U should hold for a relatively long od路 (2) A

~:::!r::tl~~

rearsh.

than ten A shorter span of ofll:.th~ hlm perha s a . oc~upan to s ow his abilities, or it commits effe::L P gamst his will, to a premature effort to achieve an

It might be that in Honolulu the type f th p of man required for such a O e arlc Commission, be obtained on a non-salaried bas' It should be placed bey is.d th ls important, a1 all events, that he on e need fo and that his work should be j d eel r curry1ng political favors. any particular year but b g not by lts immediate results tn longer period of his su ~its total effect upon the city over the pervts on. poal could, like the Oi.ainnan '

t

or th• en;i.neer, Whm la needed la :;:::..,,d th• baslnesa of planning, 019anfzati80ID1e0J1e who wm - ~ necessarily bei.n9 competent to c ~ Ce>ofdb:ia. ~ ~ of desit;JD,, This doea not exclude the oUgh the Cle> ~ - : ~ or engineering trm.., __ lt d of Q i>e1-on 'llt'Uh

~-• --.u<J• <>ea exch,... ~ ~ m the detailed Work of C ua the Ule ~ J:::s ~ . , ilia best talent available for the latt gkout the Plan.

semcea

d :=.c:i :.lie best should be good enougherf :wor r Ho-<m noth-

-- $ ' -

.-?SS

~ • • ~ -c:- penncmenl officials -~ -. ,,_ -

is too lov•

,. :,.--. ..--..:; order of planning should be done f::? '.":"...-~ ~- the best technician available. His 89 .es;:,onsibil!ty of the Project Director ~ -- :i,:,t ~haps as satisfcxctory as wou1d · =:r , - - . ~ =...; :::di,itect. ,vho is both administrator and ~ ,-,.; _...::.::onal lines of certain European citie ;= ;=-~::b. ,: offers the best method, I believe ~::;,c- :x reci:..:;.ic:al equipment necessary for the _:::. =:::.uL-Y in office and continued supervis ::...,"?==1-~ IO any long-term improvement.

~~-fue =

nolulu-fue ence all exce • th th '>'• e PCirt-time '---•

uc~Ul.Jutd be the nn.v, . arrange:- ....,...,mtment hnlcian in one i but tn the ~ of obta:inlng the ork, along Wiili which are b-

Board of Public Worb : A CC::abcrating Board of Public Works, onsisting of tbe ~= :x appointed officials who administer the various city ;p;x.::__e::!s. The active Interest and unders1nn11r1;·:n g of these rle.c:-,...e;:'<:, t:::,qetner with such special members the Park Com' .... r, i.:se.1. are involved in every city pl program. ~

5x:.J of Works should meet regularly t discuss its com.::.:z ~ . : i s , and it should be brought togethe at special rneetc::

~

Wtiative of the Project Director en sor:ie new ;r s.c«ll. not covered by Its routine procedure, I on the carpet. b;s

~ people in Honolulu are by now agreed, believe, that Iha Ir- -! lie:l:1 of h\-o years for city supervisors far too short to ~ ei;:c1...ve public service. In New York. term of the city

~ 1'tlS changed from two years to four y,

~· 4 ''>N to competent officials and good a ~ ~ 1ewJst 1...._

, wilh a marked

trallon. A term an six, would be

,uur ¥ears. and probably not more 1 ~ • in Honolulu if the riqht sort of admlllniStrator is to be .

ilito _p,NJc: we.wk.

.

57

t

f municipal government that llie POst

j, studen ° tUned

corresponds on the planning of Project Director, as herelho~ f Mayor or City Manager on the 0 10 and development lide : would ii seems lo me, combine administrative sld · This sc tteme f authority vr!th the necessary .

O concentra on o the advantage f ds ain t abuse of power, and also vnth the democratic safegu~t of~ter:st and goodwill on the part of the necessary enllstm h I and resistance will. in the long al fficial w ose assen munictp o I of the plans that the Project Director may run make or mar mos d Id be f ed t'torward. Befo such an odmlnlslrolive boar col orm_ • phuowever it woul be necessory • I oolleve, to group thedexisting or er. With· City and•Territorl authorlties Into o more ... ~,rrr1metrical ·~ out the overlappi and conflicting Jurtsc:Uctions that now eY.1St. It will occur to

Sound Collaboration The aim of this whole scheme would be at once to widen the participation of cil ens and professional groups in the entire program of city deve opment, and to give more authority to teclmical competence : !{ ound adrninistrative initiative th.cm now exists.

Most city pl ~ cornrnissions., instead of grasping and inlar· preUng general J~estions of policy. spend far too much time on niggling details, at often embarrass or block 1he design.er of a proJect without co . tributing effectively to the formulation of general policy. A clear d finition of the several functions involved in city planning (namel~ planning itself, administration. and advwort counsel) is a first t~ep toward sound collaboration. Plaio'a aqe-old dictum that the concern in morals and governmen1 is for e<tch agent to min ~- bis own busineu, is still true. But Ibis involves. ftnt of all. cliacov ~q what one's busineaa truly is, and it involves the creation of a J 11ethod of procedure whereby common busineA no l~as than lndi~~ual buaineas. may be efficiently furthered. The adV180ry board lo uld have no direct responsibility for determining policy but lt ould act as a liaison group between the publlc at large and the Protect Director and the Board of Works. h citi&en-like lntena In plannlnq develops. how.Yer. and aa the Tari-: : orgmdud that make up the city beccune ccmadoa,S of ICope of their profwcJcmal roalrlbl1tlon to er dtr plonnW Pl'OQi'Qm. one N&Jl•ct the ~ board to Ql'OW Ill hapd'"

J~ain

tance.

· 15·

.B.

The Function of a Project Dir tor

~OF.£ discussing in more detail the functiomi of !)'_re...'10!, let me antici~e some of the criticis th~~ Prolect 5 ,:::;d against the provision of such an officer. may be

n,e first that naturally occurs ls that the Profect

ctor has an ~atitf almost equal to that of the Mayor' a: henc: the l>Ohihility ~ :it ah! and conflict and cross purpoeea. Thia obi c:tion need not :111:in us ,rery long. Within the province of c:i planning, the ~ Duector would indeed have a power co CJMble lo the Mayer's: but like that of the MayoT himself, It wo be subJect lo ';ri.ieka 1 supervision and controt If the question raised, why ~'id no& the city planning cmd administrative tficea both be •" '9d 1o an elected official like the Mayor, the la twolr:id: the far-sighted planning of the structures of te city le by ita full-time office~ It calls for a different type of pclcground and cJ11111l from that of a mayor or city manager: again, the citiee of the : ;,esmnent th.at qoea best with the professional ""'¥- and planner ia not neceuarily that which ea itaeU easily r.611. tactful shoving cmd hcrulinq and backing f ordinary pall-

la:nawer

.a

Fd

id•

be neede is perhaps not t ~ ci.'V..vn from the local community. He m t therefore be h-....:;bt he:e by appointment, and any effort to ti him to the roub ~ e.'ected office would compromise his wor from the very :>?.;-!:nq. In a certain city on the West Coast the municipal equivalent of IE":7t~. who, for practical purposes, is there f th · e nominally ~ - ~ Director devoted a great part o e ~ , ' ectioneerlng ln -,.'.Csed 1o be spent at the service of the city, in ·pal favors for ll:C::l neil;hhorboods and in obtaining small m~..... he achieved ~ h:x!J 9?0ups. As a result of such canny eff ldng, although ~ t y and a very powerful political whole was 5 0 'trt::f~ CIOntrlbution to the planning of the dty ~ a DegQtive one. iu; sor1 of Project Director that may

59

SubJect to Check blectloo that may be raised lo the office of ~ec-. provides for too great a concentration of Pewei,. p1reotor is th 11 uch is not necessarily an evil. What tnUst ~ But power as ls 1rrespon~ible power, pow&r that is above C!'!liquarded agal 1 t Is a):)ove the possibility of being displaced ct

The second

clam, power overthrown,

alnly, cs ProJect Director, althou9h he Would h. over many Important points In a city'a d e ~ given a final whlch would lay b1m open to the tempta6ona of men~me 0 ft, or even mâ&#x20AC;˘râ&#x20AC;˘lY affable collualon-would be - . bribery and Ject to the no al checa of democracy: pu.bllc crltfcian. ~ ment on char ,. and dlwlaaol In the eTent of J>l'OTed tn.,,_ petence or Whal our erican cities hove suffered from is preei.sely the absence of po er on the part of those duly comml.s5loned lo ~. ther the city's ocllvlties. Our cities have been handioopp,gdlhonks to boc ard Constitutional interpretations by the Supre:r.e Courts-by th inability to acquire land in advance of public need. to control the ally negligent practices of the individual ~ erty owner or d speculator, to reorganize and rebuild bliqhied areas. In man states, indeed, the city may not take positive mec&ures for the h ing of lower-income groups who are not loi9n core of under ecent standards by the commercial builder. To create the off! of a Project Director or of a city planning com"Ilttsion without nsiderably widening the powers of the existmCJ municipal go rnments eventually, through local cmd CX)J'lsfftutlonal amen nts, ls to give with one hand cmd take bark wilh the other: to p mlse the results of planning without providing the elementary m s of achieving those results.

The greatest afeguard against the misuse of power is the active employment o lentific knowledge and technical skill. The physician has the war of life and death over his patient-a power that th& com..1tu.i,ity willingly entrusts to those who have suffi. ciently pre themselves by study and discipline to wield iL So, too, with Project Director: the safeguard again.st despotis?ll same as the safeguard against iqnoranoe and illcompetence: n ely, in the very technique that the enqinee[ and the architect d the planner have achieved for arriving at their

results.

80

Survey the City

i,asic guide to all comprehenaive city pl

la fhe

fb• This ahould be a body of knowledqe inl th IIUrfty •'-• cit1• d ....:_, • Ptoceaa of of """11al de\'elopment an Nt n-on.. which will • both at 1 co11tl0 d taiL the eaaential charac:teristics of the and its arge CJJ1d 111 to the qeolo¢cal formation. the 80~ lopoqr~ .,itb ie Vlecxther, water and other natural resou:rc.l """.... .11... ate, --...._..ons ~ iJ1d!lBIJ'ies, and the social and educational and ellgi.oua pracf the coJDJDunlty. These survey. mu.at be Willi the :•of con,petent ,peclallsta cmd t.chnldan• In department, and th•Y should be paralleled by aJmllar actl.ttles ln tu achoola

;.ct

;! '

of the citf,

All such surveys begin wtth a c tual outdoor o .ra:t!o!l. Such 1nt1mate knowledqe of the city, deepening with y sand expenence, should be the possession of every citizen; the found&Jon for this should be laid in the schools and become an sential part of their curricula and activities. City planning bodies that lack such understcmd!ng themselves, and that fail to foster s~ understanding on the part of the individuals and groups wh , compose the city, lack the very first resource of intelligent p! g: a basts in fact. a true picture of existing conditions, a mcm -sided contact with 1he life and activities whose physical stru they propose to Improve. While in most cities, city museums merely an antiquarian interest, it should be possible in Honol to create a civic museum, as part of a wider city planning roject, which would deal with the future as well as the past an which would be the natural repository of the knowledge in the Project Director's office. In such museums the past, the p sent and the luture of Honolulu should be spread before the eye such a concentrated and simplified fashion that every citizen might become an octlve P<Xrlicipant in the city's destiny.

o:

UrbanBwwal 0 Wing the survey, the next important mk of the Project ~ la the development of a comprehensive licy for urban ~ that Ja, for maintatntnq and cunna vblq that la sound <l1Jcin oluJu·s actual developmant up to the pl es an and for intro9 '"•uch rn""' ch and IDnavalkmS as nee asew i far ~ie lllQln ~orcm:Jas fenance of health ad w M,alirq tn fl*llrlll The formula-

rG am and its critical revision is something Whi h on of sue a P 191" d . . ch ti . t the• surface divergent an sometimes mcom~t..l • u:.., e may brtn9S of ,1from shunning such .J.Ssues, as 011i=aldoin 8 .. $~ o~ r ·~ 1ntere · ft~ limorously is tempted to do, the ProJec:1 Directo where too o en • b • r of the w ork that 1& to e earned through, boldl must. for th e . th m a1Dd bring them to a h ead . For the notion that ...... Y e ~1 • ....y .dramatiZe rtant chang 5 can be made m the structure of our Present ~po "thout als :, changing the gen eral pattern of life which they cities ~fy · and lflect. is a superstition. Planning, so far from Q\. exeinp · ting practices. rath er concems tempting merely to stabilize eXlS itself with achie g an orderly basis for change and readjustment In working towat d this end, lt will n ecessarily come into confllct with vested econ Dmic Interests of one kind or another. In the long run, good plannil~g works to the advantage of all the inhabitants of a city; not the 11east to 1he advantage of those who have a large economic stake f its existence. But, by this very token, it cannot forfeit the adv~iage of the whole to the temporary aggrandiz&ment of Interest o~any single individual or group.

This should C r e out very plainly in Honolulu. if cmy effective city planning is t be done, In the steps that must be taken to deal with the present and situation. It will come out likewise In various other departmen . Such changes as may be proiected can come about only thro gh a well considered program of education and purposive politic action. They cannot be bought on the cheap.

One of the impo ant l'eOsons for putting the Project Director above the concerns of local politics, and above fear of losing office through tempoI" shifts and eddies in public sentiment, lies In the very need for exertion on his part of courageous leadership.

r--=

f

Master Plan

Th.e third step arrlvinq at an effective scheme of city development la the Pto on of a master plan which will not merely record the •xiating de., opment of the city but which will Indicate tht Un.. of future de lopmenL both In apace and In Ume. Such a plan la not to be nc,i~~led aa a IIIOD\lmenL ftxecl and I n ~ It la rather to be upon aa cm lnatrumenl of orderly thoutJhL open rnlaloD need d1ctalN from year to year and from «JeDto ha hie NC11lt J1tt1e lleClllN on the Master Mr. Im •II lie.ala die Maa1llr Plan aa Ull plated oalf

for•••

' ° :::-a

62

\

ce: be ,includJea under this tenn nothin ~ sp<X a UUXP· 1;his seems to me a g that cannot he ,_ _..ieef on . very Partial U> ~· . _.. of a plan, and it rests upon ,._ ld f View ot tht! ctiO. of -. o . ashioned fUD -"'le separatio space and tune Bull.J•and now UJ!lellg,., d d . =gs and ...., ues an o ~en spaces o not merely . . structure aJ1 d ... 811 • • • ....

•'_,_ 6Xl8t lD spa-. •'-• to the c1vic 1Cu.ue, i.aey t~e place at - ....... y n.let JJl some time• e ,. timelyjind orderly sequenof sueh b uildln' and lo achieve "' 1 ~... .,_, c:r part of a ~Ian as to secure their correct 1 . g is as e$58JlULL& • ocation and disa part . pa61'tiOJl. Tixne •pl• • • m the matters of allotment. baildmq, opeoillg, cano~g re~amng, renewing, and destruction of all the visible strUctures a city: hence a time-chart of public worb. in order to secure at ~ most advantageous moment the land needed and the public fun ls to develop it in correct relati.onahip to need and demand. sho ~ be an essential complement to every Mas1e:: plan; without it the Ian is only half-done.

Priority Schedule

p of such a

plan, then. I must emphasize ~ mportance of the · Fe element. A good city plan not merely rest~ JJX1fl an historic se se of the city's development in the past. bat Ii assig)'UI to each ne project its desirable order in time. PremaiI:rn de7elopmenls are expensive developments. Retarded. de,,.e!o;:,ments. such as th belated provision of schools or playgrcuncis clter land has rise to a value which makes its acquisition c:li bot Impossible, are e nsive developments. To achieve ecrn-.o:ny m City design means ot merely to invest the municipalit-/s capitco 111 the right sort of tructure, but lo provide for its bui1d.iJl(;; at tr..: rlght 11.me. Not m rely must there be a systematic stl..-dy of tr,-" t:me!y arrangemen of urban projects, but there must be a pnor-.7 . &:hedu!e in ter111s f social value. Without such a prlo:ity ule, Public tnonies forever in danger of being quickly expenaeo Uf.iOn :he simpler d more obvious fonns of urban reconsiru(;UOn. :hi!P. more import t ones. because of their difficulty or becaUSi! i.lletha total cost olve-d. are Indefinitely postponed while e.11.s Up and qriev ces become more deep-seated. ~Uy, it sh be the province of the Proiect Di.~,_n1> ~-sly to Board of \~ 0.J.:> a ~~ form , with the assistance of the !he ;xu,-er Qbd a of planning: he should also hcr,e m1•h0l"· Ila,tmprovements and. where no eidsling ~ in the preparati

sch:-~

63

l tc itY is competen f u1j the case o P In . de more oty h ul and controI s o

undertake them, to supervise their cons tru . . th e collaboration of ctlori· ·c projects involving 0 ne o ib . ents, the major respons ility for coordina r 110n rest with the Project Director.

Democracy's Altemative

The broad po ers I have outlined seem to me essential to the develo~ ent of the city of the future. They are de1n ecODOmic j • th . ati nal d • 0C. racy's responsiblE alte.mative to ealsur do an .irresp011Sible rocesses of diet orship. They are o emocracy s alternative ~ the log-rolling, the wire-pulling, the ineffectual jockeying, Cll1d the massive me mediocrity of American municipal politics, aa practised in most cities up to this last generation. The imPortant changes which ust be instituted cannot be achieved m<>J9 cheaply. We c ot remain in our old groove without sinking 1 deeper. It require an act of political imagination and courage to achieve anythin like the organization that is needed today to cope with the pro ems that the disorderly and incompetent development of the rican city have raised.

Whe ther Honol u has the type of leadership necessary to create such an office and to give it the necessary understanding and support, I do not ow. Possibly, as yet, no one knows. But this, one may safely : if the right lead is given and if the respon· sibllity is accep t , there is perhaps no place better situated than Honolulu to achi e favorable results.

Reorg4

· 16 , ation of the Park _

Cotlunissio

F

OR THE bette Commission organJza1km. · (I) The P1annm hands of an Exec lions now perfo

adrninfslratton of e folloWi.ng rec the Pctrks, I SUblll.lt n ommendauons for Ilo the Park tsOWn re. an d developrneni tive-Commlsstoner WHJc ahan be entirely ln the by the Present. Coe shQ)J Perfonn the fun 188 actual admlnistr e decision shol! rest 1on Chafnnan, b: shall have the se lees of on orohit ntlre!y In his hands H ec I, o lcrnds · e d th gardener, an o technicians as may be r cope arah!t9Cl, a opmenl program ubJect to the budget eqUlred for the develCommission. ary control of the Parle (2) The Park Co mission shall become Ii q PO CV·makin,;r bod - ,.._ Ex ti The ecu vtr\...N ssioner shall consult with th Coouni y. to Iha general lines: f policy to be Putsued· and ine fsston as · hall · case o disagreement s sign. The Commission sh.all als -.....s serious · functi ons o th , o t=11onn the routine Ortzation and financial review. The Commission shall exer e no control over the day-to-day operations of the Park system; or shall it, except in general terms of Policy. determine the sp fie solutions wotJced out by the ExecutiveCommissioner and technical assistcmts.

The aim of this rganization is not to reduce the Importance of the Commission but to limit its actions to tho11e provinces where ill contributions have erit and point. At the same time, ii propoua to relieve the preae t Chairman of the burden of havlnq mponaibility without auth rity; and to provide him or bis succauor with the means of execu q a broadly conceived park i:,wgiam.

1 . ation, I am aware In suggesting eventual reorgaruz p k that Com am perhaps putting pon the present members ~.e :d in th~ mission the rare du of acting as the old feudal ~ ;~eqation 0 reorganization of J . But although this kin: ~ : . put forward is more usuaily fore by some outside au: the Park eommts· 1:¥ intental consent, may be that in the c the change. No better sion there is sufficie public spiri1 to effect zatton of the munfclpal 9 X<nnple could be se for the larger reorganich an act as this.

9 ovenunent. now so d.ly needed, than su

;:u"

oi

65

· 17 · Conclusion and s~~ary N THE course of this report I have pu1 fo ard a number of 1!Pocific suggestions for both tbe improve nt of ihe parks of the City and County of Honolulu and for th qeneral development of the city as a unified whole. Each of St:, proposals may h(, criticized and evaluated by itself; but under ing them Is somelhino more important-certain broad views principles os :o the nature of modem city development in rel on to the spec1ol looal problems of Honolulu. Let me attempt to s up these :nore fundo, mental matters.

The first ia that we are approaching the ra of stabilization and that the time for long-range planning an for systematic coordinated planning is already upon us. We now abou1 to aac.de the pennanent framework of the city. Wl~bt,e ver is done towwd urban improvement should be done well. I should be done not by mere rote and hablt, ai cheaply as possib , as eonTentionally era possible. It should be done rather out of th fullest inqujry into the best contemporary city p]anning methods and out of the full"1 determination to achieve the sort of politi organimtlon that is necessary to put such projects through. nolulu's pcub. for ex, ample, are already, despite the short te of their development. well abreast of the past generation's best ork. in many departments. They have now, like the city itself, t be more fully adapltd to the new needs and the new plans th are characleristlc ot twentieth century practice.

The second basic principle is that park annlnq is a woadlnate branch of city planning. There can be no ffective park planning on ~ 9MDd scale without workinc;, out a Ullll;fi1ed attack upon Honol~u ~ city planninc;, problems as a whole: newed of its bli;btad districts, the replacement of its alums, the O nine;, up of Us middl• class suburban •ubdivisiona, and the re ·ction of a ~ and uneconomic suburban developmenL

I

The third principle ia that a compreheukra park system. like 0 COlllprehenaive Plan for the city as a wh , must be work.td Qllt

66

c~:::eds

'

I' ~.

eJJJOUC foshiOD, It must be. based upon a &liberate survey needs and opportunities. Il must pr vide 'or de 1 - space and time. And it must be established in ac· of reso~ both 111ent In ,rith a social scale of values which tnll put the ma, of the population first and be en ~ly free from soCI to respond erratically to local press es and sporadic tendenc:Y • ell ·dual suggestions, 111; fourth principle I would emphasize la one that applies par.

IICUlarlY to the Park Cornrnlsslon: In the devel ment of the city, the park prOOfGDl remalna the very core of a m re social conce~ t!on of city development. The Park Commls1l Itself, thenfore, has a verr urqent responsibility to aaeume the 1 adenhlp here, to mtroduce to the community as a whole the m e comprehen.sJve desiQDB for parks, parkways, and neighborhoo developmenta. It has the duty of taking the Initiative In furtherin~ pular education aa to what plan and design may mean in life: t. by bringing all of Its present structures up to the htgh standard f excellence that two or three of them have already achteved: an second. by interpreting the nature of such plan and design to community at lmQ9. City design is a field of effort that sho d enlist the best talents of this generation. Here is something ~ should call into d dreams of the quickened activity the hopes and resources young, the experience and fortitude of the old. ut of the shabbi· ness and messiness of the present city, a new o er may emerge; and out of its natural charm, a maturer beau - more deeply humanized, more friendly to human desire-m be constructed.

Only two things are lacking: not the power of xecution but the lmagjnatton to conceive and the courage to d iJl ,yst

Lewi. MWDford A111&nla, New York i s ~ber 1938

a:;