1919 NZ planning - Garden suburbs, Planning rules and Kurralta Park example
My notes on Germany 1648 to 1806 , Germany 1800 to 1840s , Waikato the golden age 1840s to 1850s , Waikato 1860s , Gentry & Speculators , The beginning of modern planning: Water, Sewage, Housing, Transport, City Centre, Markets and Zoning, 1890s: Introduction, Dwellings & Lots, Reason for Zoning, Horses, Cyclists & road deaths, York, City beautiful & genesis of motorways, Garden City, Dresden 1903, Chicago 1909, 1910s: Hamilton, Columbus, Rochester and Seattle, Newark, Berkeley, Bridgeport, Walpole, Genesis of housing crisis, Hamilton's 5 leg intersections, 1919 NZ Planning: Urban country, what planning adds & racism,
The pages referenced are from the First New Zealand Town Planning Conference and Exhibition, Wellington, May 1919
The issues addressed are: 1a) NZ, an urban country; 1b) A real town planning problem; 1c) What planning can add; 1d) A racism problem; 2a) Garden suburbs; 2b) Planning rules; 2c) Example Kurralta Park; 3a) Root cause of problem; 3b) Cost of living; and 3c) Cost of home ownership.
2a) Garden Suburbs - (also called Colonies, by Mr Seager) were a repeated theme at the conference. In Mr Seager’s presentation (p.115-128) he highlights the desire for nearness - ‘the disadvantage of forming garden suburbs only—that is, residential areas—apart from the working areas is that workmen have to pay railway and tram fares and waste much time in travelling’ (p. 118). Mr Seager refers to a Committee and presents the Colony as an agreed proposal where ‘a system of tenancy was preferable to one of ownership ... Under a system of tenancy a man can move from one holding to another with the least possible inconvenience and expense ... We believe that, speaking generally, occupying ownership is a real impediment in the way of a man who desires to rise’ (p.121) and ‘there should be a resident director on each colony’ ... ‘The Committee gave very close attention to the very important questions of co-operation and the disposal of produce. For this purpose collective marketing is essential’, here the Committee was inclined to think over time the colony members will be educated to have ‘perfect loyalty to one another and the subordination of selfish interests to the good of the whole society’. To relieve the top-down approach, ‘we [they] do not recommend that the small holders should be compelled to dispose of their produce through the depot’ (p.122-123). On the layout of the Garden Suburb, Mr Seager states ‘Unquestionably it should be on the radial principle, following the example set at Carlsruhe’ (p.124). I have been to Carlsruhe [Karlsruhe]. On paper it is interesting, but at street level, the radiating streets provide no advantage over a grid or old town layout with a ring road. This is simply marketing or “propaganda” as *Caroline Miller calls it. *Town Planning in New Zealand 1900-1933 Thesis by Caroline Miller, Ph.D.
2b) 1919 planning rules – It was undisputed that it was not necessary to provide large sections; a section of 337m2 (p.9, 143, 214, 237, 293) was regarded as ample for residential sections: ‘The experience of the garden cities of England has shown that an exceedingly high standard of health can be maintained, and convenient dwellings built with attractive surroundings, when there are ten [410m2] to twelve houses [337m2] on an acre ... hence it may be observed that the outcry against eight [506m2] houses on an acre was quite unjustifiable’ (p.214). For width and depth of allotment, the Public Health Act of 1910 (p.51) had restricted lot frontage to not less than 40 ft [12.2m] (p51, 73, 97, 191, 214, 233) and at the conference it was mentioned that ‘sections must not be too deep. Two chains [40m] was deep enough for a section’ (p.191). From 1875 Mr. C. O'Neill, M.P. for Thames, Plans of Town Regulation Bill (p.46) legislated that where new towns or new suburbs were being created ‘at least 10 per cent of the area to be subdivided shall be allotted or reserved for public open spaces, not only in residential suburbs, but also in the industrial areas - Modern town-planning principles require that within half a mile [800m] of every dwelling there should be a public reserve for the recreation of every citizen and his family’ (p.237). It was stated that the size of reserves should not be less than 4,856m2 (p.72), but it was also suggested that half an acre [2,023m2 or 0.2 hectares] would be sufficient to provide a pleasant, sheltered (when planted) space in which mothers and little children could rest without interfering with the games of the bigger children (p.154).
2c) Example: Adelaide, Kurralta park subdivision, was laid out as proposed by planner Charles Reader. Here he changed the tee intersection to a right angle. In New Zealand, subdivisions should have done this from the start as the ‘law required that every street had to be laid off at right angles’ (p.91). The location of a park which doubled as a flood plain was added and 5 acres [4% of 120 acres] was transferred as reserves free to the council (p.54). In New Zealand the law was 10% was to be park / reserves (p.46). Mr Reader added detail to the location of shops and train stations. Today, using Google maps, nothing came of the rail line, rail station and chosen location of the shops. Kurralta park statistics - Link