66 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



lar plan of the farms in Canada lays the foundation of the rectangular 

 plan of the city, so the irregular rural development of the British coun- 

 try side helps to lay the foundation of the irregular city growth. In 

 Germany, the small and narrow farm freeholds around the cities have 

 always influenced the street and building plans. To get over the 

 difficulties and inconvenience caused by these small ownerships, a 

 law* was passed in Frankfort-on-Main to compulsorily adjust and 

 re-arrange the boundaries of the separate parcels of land to fit in with 

 the street plan. 



The influence of the rectangular plan of rural territory in the 

 development of the city plan is seen in Penn's plan of Philadelphia, 

 (illustrated on plate VI), which was prepared in 1682. Thomas 

 Holme, the Surveyor General of Pennsylvania, who prepared 

 this plan under Penn's direction, showed that he was probably 

 influenced by the square system of subdividing the farms. The chess- 

 board system is the natural and easiest to follow when the townships 

 and farms form the basis of the town plan, and when it is necessary to 

 consider how to provide for the largest number of building lots with 

 interference to the least number of owners of farms. It will also be 

 seen that the rectangular divisions in the Penn township had no rela- 

 tion to the diagonal roads which formed the means of communica- 

 tion from the city to the surrounding country, and they had still 

 less relation to the physical features of the land. 



Although these are urban developments, and will therefore 

 require to be dealt with more fully in the urban report, it has been 

 necessary to refer to them here so as to show that it is while territory 

 is still under the control of the rural municipality that the 

 framework of the plans of cities and towns are determined. In the 

 schemes now being promoted to establish new towns for the workers 

 in new pulp mills, certain choice positions have to be selected, as 

 the mills require to be comparatively close to timber timits, 

 and must have water-power and facilities for transportation. 

 Plans for all such new development should be prepared by competent 

 persons and should be approved by the government authorities. 

 The object of such plans should be to provide healthy 

 conditions for the workers in the factories and mills, together with 

 convenience of arrangement to secure the most efficient methods of 

 carrying on the industry, and not merely blind conformity to mean- 

 ingless division lines of a rectangular division. 



A plan of a new town which is proposed to be developed is illus- 

 trated in figure 19, and an alternative plan for the same area, showing 



* The "Lex Adickes" passed in 1902. 



