RURAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT 111 



In consequence of such conditions as these great areas of land 

 nearest to our large cities are withheld from production, farms are 

 made useless by being broken up into small lots, either occupied by 

 occasional small shacks or held by unknown owners; sanitary 

 arrangements cannot be provided because the buildings are too widely 

 scattered, the township authorities lose rather than gain in revenue, 

 the workingmen who build have to travel long distances to their 

 work, children are too far from school, thousands of vacant lots 

 nearer to the city are unoccupied, and in some cases there is general 

 paralysis of the whole neighbourhood. 



In three cities in western Canada there is an average of less than 

 three people to each acre within the city boundaries. A healthy and 

 economical density of population would be ten or even fifteen times 

 that number, but even with the three to the acre there is overcrowding 

 in spots. In the same cities the number of vacant lots is estimated 

 at an average of 84 per cent of those sub-divided. At the rate of 

 40 persons to the acre these cities would occupy a combined area of 

 4,500 acres for their aggregate population. This being one-sixth of 

 the total area sub-divided, and partially improved, we have 21,500 

 acres in these three cities alone, largely withdrawn from agriculture, 

 in immediate proximity to the market, paying taxes on a building 

 value they do not possess, and creating a burden on all the surround- 

 ing resident population. In addition to the 21,500 acres, there is 

 from twice to three times* as great an area of farm land within 

 and immediately adjacent to the city boundaries, which is not being 

 properly farmed because of the expectations of the farmers that they 

 will be able to dispose of their lands for building sub-divisions. There 

 are serious effects arising from this condition of affairs on the cities 

 themselves which will be dealt with in the urban report, but there 

 are also the deplorable effects in reducing production in respect of 

 the areas which could be put to economic use as agricultural land. 



NEW SETTLERS AND SPECULATION 



Land speculation stimulates the kind of tendencies which we 

 want most to suppress in a new population. The average immi- 

 grant needs to be helped to become a permanent citizen to be made 

 to look upon Canada as his adopted country and not as a place of 

 temporary residence. He may come with the idea of making money 

 and then returning to his native land, or he may come with the inten- 

 tion to remain; but, in either case, the influence of his environment 



* The actual areas of the cities referred to is over 74,000 acres. 



