Chap. IX.] AVENUES AND HOUDEVAKDS. 133 



it cannot be denied that the disposition of our cities is a disgrace 

 to any civilized race. Why, without touching at all upon the 

 most crowded and Hlthy parts of London, one may see in a walk 

 from the Strand to the Kegent's Park such a reeking mass of 

 mismanagement as may be found in no other European capital ; 

 and yet London is the " richest city in the world ! "' 



It is a city of commerce, and we cannot afford space or money 

 to remodel it, say some ; but apart altogether from questions of 

 salubrity and appearance, it is worth considering how much 

 material loss occurs from mere want of room even in our leading 

 thoroughfares. In many cases they are almost impassable except 

 to those compelled to force their way through them. All real 

 improvements would result in a clear gain to the business of the 

 city ! But the space ? " Land is too dear ! " This is really not 

 a great difficulty in London. There is no city which could be 

 pierced with free, open roads and boulevards more cheaply and 

 readily. In its very centre there are acres covered by shallow brick 

 buildings, which have not cost nearly so much as closely-packed, 

 tall, stone houses in interior parts of Paris, that are cut through 

 every day almost as freely as if they were made of pasteboard. 

 Whole regions of London, most important and well situated for 

 business purposes, are covered by the veriest shanties. In such places 

 houses to accommodate thrice the number of persons might be 

 built, while the streets might be as wide again, and therefore have 

 purer air and more light. Wide tree-planted avenues might lead 

 from the embankment out towards the suburbs, and would act as 

 veins of salubrity to the regions they traversed. The increase in 

 the value of property along such main arteries would repay for 

 the outlay. If land be so valuable, why occupy it with such 

 trifling and unprofitable buildings ? The fact is, the objection as 

 to space, which is usually urged as the greatest, is a groundless 

 one. Half occupied and sometimes waste ground without the 

 margin of the city, and square miles almost worse than waste 

 within, attest this. 



A change for the better would probably involve the adoption of 

 the " flat " system, which, some say, our people have a great 

 objection to. In houses constructed well in this way, and 

 with many modern improvements never to be found in the 

 miserable and fragile structures now everywhere to be seen, the 



