REPORTS OF THE PANEL CHAIRMEN 637 



tures and areas, through revision of income, inheritance, property, 

 and admission taxes. Local taxing bodies should also review policies 

 which penalize property owners who maintain their properties in a 

 decent fashion. 



Any survey of taxation policies should consider a broad range of 

 possible tax actions which would encourage business and private 

 citizens to maintain properties in orderly and aesthetic fashion. 



The planting of shade trees must become a paramount objec- 

 tive of all those who would improve the appearance of cities. A 

 prompt start should be made to improve and coordinate the tech- 

 nical process of large-scale mass moving of big trees and the reduc- 

 tion of the costs of such operation. 



American cities should profit from the British example and 

 make better use of forest lands or large estates in or near cities as 

 a source of trees for replanting in small neighborhood parks as well 

 as along streets and boulevards. 



Tree planting programs should proceed within the broad con- 

 text of the previously recommended urban design plan, as part 

 of the comprehensive planning process. 



The urban highway is often cited as the worst defiler of town- 

 scape, and the principal reason why it seems so difficult to develop 

 and maintain any semblance of order and beauty in cities. 



Yet the panel believes the highway can contribute measurably 

 to a higher order of beauty in metropolitan areas, if it is carefully 

 planned, designed, and controlled. 



Most important, highways must be planned within the total urban 

 design context of the metropolitan area, rather than as something 

 apart, designed strictly for moving numbers of people, in cars, from 

 here to there. In this context, highways can be an important ele- 

 ment for unifying the diverse components of vast metropolises, and 

 can serve the city's people in beauty as well as efficiency. 



Parks and Open Spaces 



The Chairman, Mr. SIMONDS. 

 /. Federal action 



1. The Department of the Interior, HHFA, URA, and other 

 related agencies should undertake appropriate research and prepare 

 manuals and bulletins providing: 



