180 CONFERENCE ON NATURAL BEAUTY 



I urge, therefore, that the Bureau of Public Roads add to its 

 criteria, benefits and allowances for urban aesthetics in its highway 

 program. We have put the Interstate Highway Program to work 

 for America and have seen it fulfill much of its promise but its 

 fulfillment will be even greater when aesthetics become, in America, 

 a full-fledged partner with utility. 



Mr. RYAN. My colleagues will very ably deal with certain phases 

 of the design of highways from their respective viewpoints as mem- 

 bers of a design team. I will discuss the role of the landscape archi- 

 tect on the design team and outline certain items of landscape work 

 which should be considered in the design of most highways, be they 

 rural or urban. 



Man has long been aware of the beauty and appearance of the 

 roads and the regions he travels and literature abounds in references 

 to his observations on these subjects. That we Americans, probably 

 the most mobile people in history, should have a deep concern about 

 the appearances of what we see while traveling is a natural and 

 desirable thing. 



A major objective of the highway design team should be to assure 

 that the potential for natural beauty in and along the highways 

 is fully utilized. Beauty in the design of the highway must be 

 deliberately sought; it seldom comes about by accident. This applies 

 both to rural and urban highways. 



Having accepted this basic premise that beauty must be deliberately 

 sought, how do we achieve it? 



First, we must develop a concept of what we mean by natural 

 beauty. This concept probably should be a composite one rather 

 than the opinion of one man. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, 

 and you are going to have lots of beholders. One essential step in the 

 development of a concept of natural beauty is that we must recognize 

 and fully utilize the best of the local scenery, whatever it is, be it 

 mountains, deserts, farmland, or a city scene. 



Second, the highway design team should, in the earliest stage of 

 preliminary design, make an aesthetic inventory along the pro- 

 posed route of the highway. This inventory will include all those 

 natural features within a rather broad strip, which could contribute 

 to the making of a beautiful highway including possible views and 

 areas for essential landscaping. The inventory will also have a nega- 

 tive or nonaesthetic heading under which should be listed those fea- 

 tures or developments which will detract from the appearance of the 



