THE TOWN SCAPE 87 



to spend that money except for Mr. Bacon here who wants to plant 

 those 2,000 trees. He will accept that in a minute. 



We have to have urban beautification programs that talk about 

 plans for tree planting and the creation of the plazas and the build- 

 ing of fountains and the building of the malls and the restoration of 

 river fronts and waterfronts. No city really has this now. This 

 kind of an over-all beautification plan has to come out of the city 

 planning commissions. It cannot be a hit-or-miss proposition. It 

 really has to be a comprehensive approach to this problem. 



Finally, the third prong of this program is the community develop- 

 ment organization. There has to be some organization that is con- 

 cerned with coordinating the things that are done within an urban 

 space. 



We have example after example of what I call sibling strife among 

 departments in a city where each department designs its own signs 

 and its own lamp posts. These are then jumbled together (I guess 

 "assembled" is a better word) with no relation to the over-all design. 



We have to design areas as a unit, and there has to be an organiza- 

 tion within the local government that has the authority to see that 

 these areas are actually designed, not just assembled. 



In summary, it seems to me that the city, the town, the urban 

 county has to have a three-pronged positive program, an urban de- 

 sign plan, an urban beautification program, and some kind of local 

 organization that really will see that these areas are designed. 



Mr. GUTHEIM. We have met in recognition of the unsatisfac- 

 tory appearance of American cities. They are today the homes of 

 most Americans, and here will be raised and formed the future 

 generations that will make our civilization. Our concern must be 

 to create urban environments for the Great Society. 



Too many American cities look alike. To this monotony we must 

 add the large scale of our cities. This standardization and imper- 

 sonality of scale is largely a product of industrial circumstances which 

 we have not yet tamed and redirected to humane ends. Until such 

 redirection is accomplished, the quality of our cities will not only 

 continue to destroy their visual character but their social character 

 as well. 



Before turning to the practical steps to improve the appearance of 

 our cities, let us acknowledge that the basic conditions of urban life 

 in the United States today prevent any sentimental return to the 

 simpler patterns of earlier days. We must start with big industrial 



