PARKS AND OPEN SPACES 131 



open space and planned unit residential development and help sup- 

 port more than normal level of park development where local com- 

 munities want to help pay for it. At present, because of limitations in 

 legislation, it is impossible to do this. 



It also seems possible to implement some of the things Mrs. Jacobs 

 has suggested in the past. This might include the ability for com- 

 munities to be able to develop an open mall. 



Second, I think we need under Urban Renewal Administration 

 authority the ability to collect rooftops together. 



Now this may sound silly in some small towns, but in the big town 

 where you do not have groundage you have a tremendous amount of 

 roof area. There are unique opportunities to develop these for rec- 

 reational purposes. 



Third, we need State legislation which would reduce taxes on pri- 

 vate country clubs, as a public purpose. It would also apply to pri- 

 vate plazas, the sort of thing where you have private, open space. 

 The legislation would also allow the city to have first option in acquir- 

 ing that land if they ever should plan to sell it, and it would allow the 

 city to buy it at an open space value rather than at an increased value 

 based on the value of whatever happens to be around it. 



Fourth, it seems to me that the suggestion this morning of an urban 

 design center could be used to enforce or achieve the rudiments of 

 good design in public parks. 



My last point is that I think the Federal Government should some- 

 how or other insist that agencies like the Army Corps of Engineers 

 have somebody with design orientation assist them when they develop 

 flood control facilities. These now look like the devil and have no 

 relationship to public open space. 



DANA L. ABELL. I have one suggestion and one question. The 

 suggestion is directed to Mr. Simonds. 



I would like to suggest that he take charge of a project of pre- 

 paring two primers on landscape appreciation, one for urban land- 

 scape appreciation and one for rural landscape appreciation. His 

 ability to express these things is unmatched in this country. Such a 

 primer could be sent into the schools and start the children off with 

 the kind of appreciation that Mr. Simonds has. 



The question is directed to Mr. Eliot. 



As a recent refugee from suburbia and it does not matter what 

 suburbia it is, as it is the same everywhere I could not protest more 



