ABEL WOLM AN 151 



consumption standards and new patterns of settlement and life. He 

 does a service in focusing discussion upon the impact of this be- 

 havior on resources, particularly upon water, air, energy, floods, 

 wastes, recreation and relaxation, and land use. In virtually every case, 

 this impact means higher costs. 



Where he reaches the crux of the problem, namely, "what can be 

 done about it?" he and most other contributors to this scene fail us! 

 No one is so naive as to believe that there is a slide-rule answer to 

 this question. It is undoubtedly true that answers will be geologically 

 slow in time, fumbling, and lacking in perfection. 



Perhaps it would be useful to drag out from beneath the pregnant 

 philosophical proposals Dr. Gulick so wisely presents, some of the 

 missing links in action which past experience discloses. Every conser- 

 vationist, planner, and observant citizen needs to take these to heart 

 in programming next steps. 



One of the striking features of the past twenty years is that gen- 

 eral planning in urban sprawl is just too slow to keep up with the 

 tempo of action on all fronts. It may be unfortunately true, as some 

 cynical observer has recently said, that "planning is catching up with 

 the inevitable!" If it is even partially true, perhaps the force of the 

 planner might be greatly strengthened if his emphasis were on the 

 broad guidance of growth and less on the detail; if perfectionism were 

 less a restraint and more of an ultimate goal; if intrusion into the 

 action group decisions were more persuasive, more militant, and less 

 abstract. Unless these moves and shifts in perspective are prompt, and 

 some are almost already too late, the developments in highway con- 

 struction, housing, zoning, urban renewal, and mass transport will 

 bring a long train of sadness in their wake over the next two decades. 



A similar dilemma confronts us in the development of the neces- 

 sary political structure for managing the resources requirements and 

 uses in metropolitan areas. The struggle between two schools of thought 

 is also apparent here. The perfectionist seeks all-purpose government. 

 The opportunist moves to ad hoc improvisation for those functions 

 most easily consolidated, without hurdling the antagonisms, jealousies 

 and fears of disparate groups. It must be confessed that those who 

 wait for the millennium of all-purpose government are likely to be dis- 

 appointed. More important, in the meantime they fail to influence 



