124 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



no small plans but the most sweeping plan achieves little while it 

 stays on paper. 



First, we must set our sights on objectives which have a reasonable 

 chance of achievement. Excuse my being parochial in the choice of 

 an example but the suggestion is constantly being made in New York 

 that the City should condemn for park purposes small, temporarily 

 unoccupied, parcels in the midtown area. Now the cost of acqui- 

 sition of these parcels would be likely to run as high as $400 per 

 square foot if there were the chance of a snowball in hell that the 

 most enlightened park administrator would propose and the most 

 sympathetic budget director approve the expenditure of such sums 

 for purposes which, except during a very few months of the year, 

 would give the greatest benefits to adjacent property owners. 



( Incidentally, the best thing that could happen would be the de- 

 velopment of a new breed of budget directors who would concen- 

 trate on seeing that public funds were spent wisely rather than in try- 

 ing to block expenditures altogether. But following my own ground 

 rules I won't set my sights on Utopia. ) 



To achieve this type of open space I believe we will for the most 

 part have to await redevelopment and, depending on the type of 

 sponsorship, rely on zoning restrictions or "bonus" incentives to en- 

 sure adequate and appropriate open space. Effective legislation 

 and administrative procedures should prevent the disposition of land 

 now in public ownership until it has been conclusively established 

 that it is not needed for park purposes. Land in public or quasi- 

 public ownership or the air rights above them should be eyed greedily 

 for open space use. 



The auto which has done so much to make the hearts of our cities 

 hideous should be made to repay some of its debt to us. Rather 

 than being permitted to preempt park space for parking, even though 

 it may be only for the period of garage construction, garages and 

 parking lots should be made not only to stand on their own feet fi- 

 nancially but should contribute open space. For example, in the 

 newer housing developments, major parts of the open space around 

 the buildings are used for parking; for as little as $4-$5 a square 

 foot, these could be covered with light concrete decks. Not only 

 would needed sitting or play space be achieved but the outlook from 

 the buildings would be immensely improved. 



Again, in the planning and construction of our urban expressway 

 systems, land taking should be adequate to ensure not only land- 



