464 PARKS 



sections of urban communities, the hope for constructive achievement in 

 city building lies in unbuilt-up sections within the incorporated limits of 

 cities and especially in suburban sections outside of city boundaries. Park 

 planning which is so essential a part of city planning is badly handicapped 

 unless the park authority has the power to go outside city limits. General 

 powers of municipality include the right to acquire and develop property 

 outside incorporated limits for such necessities as water supply and sewage 

 disposal. In order to leave no doubt about the legality of this power as 

 applied to park areas most park legislation now specifically includes the 

 right. 



Extraordinary Methods of Handling Extra Territorial Park Problems. 



When the metropolitan areas of cities outside the city limits contain 

 several or many different political divisions or extend into two or more 

 states, the problem of acquiring, developing and operating a system of 

 outlying parks and recreation areas may become too large a burden, both 

 financially and opera tively, for the local municipal park governing authority. 

 Various methods have been adopted to handle this problem in the vicinity 

 of large urban centers of population. Among these are the following: 



(a) Boston and environs. Within a radius of fifteen miles of Boston are 

 thirty-eight cities and towns (townships) forming the so-called Metropolitan 

 District of Boston and in this case including the city of Boston. Obviously 

 it was financially and administratively impracticable for the city of Boston 

 alone to undertake the planning, development and operation of a com- 

 prehensive system of outlying parks and other recreation areas, centers that 

 would inevitably be used by the people living in the region outside of the 

 city limits and by many people coming from other parts of the state and 

 from other states. Under the sovereignity of the state, through appropriate 

 legislation, a Metropolitan District was created under a special Metropolitan 

 Park Commission (now consolidated with the Metropolitan Water and 

 Sanitary Commissions), clothed with extraordinary powers to deal with 

 regional recreational problems. 



(b) New York City and environs. In the Metropolitan District of New 

 York City there has been no official unified, comprehensive, regional park 

 and recreation planning and administration as in the region of Boston. The 

 Regional Plan Committee, a private organization, has been working on 

 such a plan for several years, but in actual practice the regional park and 

 recreation problems are being handled by various existing political divisions 

 such as the city (within its limits), outlying counties, and the state. In that 

 part of the Metropolitan District of New York City lying in the state of 

 New Jersey the counties of Union, Essex and Hudson have established park 



