With this issue, we begin an occasional series called "From the
Archives . . . " In it, we pull a piece of writing from our
80-plus-year history that we feel illustrates an old approach to a new
problem, how little things change or how much they do; or is just
plain interesting.
From Regional Plan News, October 1930.
A great city planner once said "Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men's blood, and probably themselves will not be realized". A little later he added : "Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us". To those sons and grandsons who will be part of the 21,000,000 residents in the New York Region in 1965, we owe an obligation of foresight which we cannot escape. The Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs is no little plan. It has already stirred men's blood and given them a vision of what the Region in the future may become. Boiled down to its essence, it is simply this:
All important functions of business and industry should be advantageously located, where they may function most effectively, freed from the handicaps that now hamper them and curtail the benefits they might confer.
The people in their homes and working places and in the leisure hours should be freed from the evils of congestion that now sap their vitality so they may, in spite of their increased numbers, lead healthier, happier, safer and more comfortable lives and have greater access to the bounties and beauties of Nature than do the city dwellers of today.
Fortunately, these two great ends are attainable. There is ample room in this Region for every purpose. The primary need is to provide for a more intelligent utilization of land areas within the Region and to link them up, one with another, by highway, air and water transit into a logical plan of transportation, a co-ordinated system of metropolitan loops and radials. These are the objectives of the Regional Plan. The program of the Regional Plan Association is designed to bring them about by ---
I. Better Land Utilization
A. Port and Industrial Development
B. Community Development
C. Parks and Parkways
D. Pure Water and Sanitation
II. Better Transportation Facilities
A. Regional Highway System
B. Belt Line Railway System
C. Airport System
Strong committees on each one of these seven major planks in the program will soon be organized to work in co-operation with public authorities towards these ends. Already a remarkable record of progress has been made. The Association needs:
Will you be one of those who in the future can tell their children that the had a part in this great adventure for the betterment of mankind?
From Regional Plan News, October 1930.
A great city planner once said "Make no little plans: they have no magic to stir men's blood, and probably themselves will not be realized". A little later he added : "Remember that our sons and grandsons are going to do things that would stagger us". To those sons and grandsons who will be part of the 21,000,000 residents in the New York Region in 1965, we owe an obligation of foresight which we cannot escape. The Regional Plan of New York and Its Environs is no little plan. It has already stirred men's blood and given them a vision of what the Region in the future may become. Boiled down to its essence, it is simply this:
All important functions of business and industry should be advantageously located, where they may function most effectively, freed from the handicaps that now hamper them and curtail the benefits they might confer.
The people in their homes and working places and in the leisure hours should be freed from the evils of congestion that now sap their vitality so they may, in spite of their increased numbers, lead healthier, happier, safer and more comfortable lives and have greater access to the bounties and beauties of Nature than do the city dwellers of today.
Fortunately, these two great ends are attainable. There is ample room in this Region for every purpose. The primary need is to provide for a more intelligent utilization of land areas within the Region and to link them up, one with another, by highway, air and water transit into a logical plan of transportation, a co-ordinated system of metropolitan loops and radials. These are the objectives of the Regional Plan. The program of the Regional Plan Association is designed to bring them about by ---
I. Better Land Utilization
A. Port and Industrial Development
B. Community Development
C. Parks and Parkways
D. Pure Water and Sanitation
II. Better Transportation Facilities
A. Regional Highway System
B. Belt Line Railway System
C. Airport System
Strong committees on each one of these seven major planks in the program will soon be organized to work in co-operation with public authorities towards these ends. Already a remarkable record of progress has been made. The Association needs:
- Regional branch offices strategically located.
- Greater facilities for meeting the rapidly growing demand for service and counsel, both technical and general.
- A sustaining membership of at least three times the present number.
Will you be one of those who in the future can tell their children that the had a part in this great adventure for the betterment of mankind?
@RegionalPlan