HOUSING EEFOKM — FORD. 747 



Where people live in apartments there is also concentration of pop- 

 ulation and hence much traffic in the neighboring streets, which keeps 

 the air full of dust and noise and thus renders apartment living un- 

 desirable. The sounds from neighboring apartments frequently make 

 rest and quiet impossible. True privacy and solitude, though very 

 important to the moral growth of the individual, are difficult to 

 obtain. 



For the family with children the apartment is still less desirable. 

 It becomes impossible for the mother of a family to choose the asso- 

 ciates for her children, to prevent her child from coming in contact 

 with children or adults of unwholesome character who may reside 

 within the same building. The tenement mother can not supervise 

 the outdoor play of her child. In general the atmosphere of the 

 tenement or apartment house is one destined to create a race of adults 

 that are unhealthful, puny, and socially highly artificialized. 



In the cottage, however, it is possible to obtain all necessary pri- 

 vacy for true home life and personal development. The reduced dust 

 of suburban communities and the larger penetration of sunlight make 

 cottage homes healthier living places for infants and growing chil- 

 dren. The mother of the family, while at work in her kitchen, can 

 supervise the play and the associates of her child in the garden. The 

 adults of the family, if so inclined, can profit in health at least — and 

 sometimes in economy — by cultivating a garden outside of working- 

 hours. The children gain the advantage and education that come 

 from daily contact with the things of nature, especially through the 

 garden. It is probable, therefore, that, at least for families with chil- 

 dren, the suburban home is preferable to the tenement. 



It is, however, impracticable to house the population of large cities 

 in cottage homes unless such homes can be constructed to rent for a 

 price (including both the cost of land and of the daily transit to and 

 from work) no higher than the same family would pay for an equal 

 number of rooms within the city tenement. Furthermore, families 

 working within the city will not live in the suburbs if a too large pro- 

 portion of their working day is consumed in transit to and from such 

 residence. If any working meml>^' of such family is employed for 

 10 or 12 hours a day in the heart of the city, the residence should not 

 ordinarily be placed more than one-half hour's ride from the place 

 of business. To secure cottage homes, therefore, for the working 

 classes of our cities, it is essential to have rapid and cheap transit, 

 serving satisfactorily all of the possible outlying residential section. 

 It is equall}'' necessary to have an abundance of cheap land and to 

 make possible the cheap construction of cottage homes. 



One means of encouraging cottage construction is to discourage 

 tenement building. If. for example, we require tenement houses 



