THE NEW SUBURBIA 447 



Increased density permitted in selected areas will do several things. 

 It will: 



1. Balance out the economic factors. 



2. Meet the real need for already too short land supply for 

 development. 



3. Help create compact, varied, and more viable communities. 



4. Preserve large areas of open land. 



Because land is held in small parcels with property lines which do 

 not reflect or respect physiographic or landscape wholes, logical 

 development of a community will continue to be difficult. Planned 

 unit development techniques are attempts to encourage larger area 

 planning by one or more owners jointly. As beneficial as these 

 efforts may be, they are still piecemeal and not large enough. 



We shall need new entrepreneurs and development corporations 

 which will have resources enough to stay in the development process 

 for a long period. And, as any other large corporation, there should 

 be a strong research section attached to the organization to determine 

 market and human needs and to develop better housing more effi- 

 ciently, economically and more beautifully. 



Despite the many deficiencies of the British new towns, the ven- 

 ture has been unparalleled in altruism and boldness as a physical 

 and social experiment. We need equal experimentation in building 

 new communities in the United States. With the talents and re- 

 sources available, we should look with anticipation to the exciting 

 prospects. 



Lewis Mumford is quite correct when he states that autos are the 

 real architects of our cities and countryside. If we want to build 

 compact and varied communities, we shall need to encourage a 

 balanced transportation system and minimize the divisive effect of 

 sprawling highways and parking lots. Because it is not economical 

 for developers to build parking structures until the land is some- 

 where near $6 per square foot, some method of mandatory regulation 

 or of public subsidy becomes necessary. Perhaps it might be well for 

 the Federal Government to consider not removing the excise tax on 

 autos, but diverting it so that it becomes a tax on auto users to pay 

 for public garages. 



The open land, freed because of concentrated development, should 

 be used not only to preserve the various natural amenities, but also 

 to give continuity and structure to the design of the community. As 

 Mr. Philip Lewis mentioned this morning, landscape features and 



