NEED OF PARKS FOR NEW LONDON 



city does not ordinarily proceed regularly year by year, 

 as the extension of the street system or sewer system 

 or school system does. So far as land takings go, it is 

 much more apt to move periodically. There are years 

 in which the park area of a city may be multiplied many 

 times. Such years may be followed by long periods in 

 which the park department is occupied mainly with the 

 development of the newly acquired property. This 

 method has proved sound in practice. In the first place, 

 it is more economical, as a rule, to acquire at one time all 

 the property that is needed in any particular neighbor- 

 hood. Secondly, the people of a city are more likely to 

 approve of important park additions if the different 

 neighborhoods are fairly represented in the proposed 

 takings. And, finally, as park lands and permanent 

 construction are an investment of city funds which give 

 increasing returns to future generations, they are usually 

 provided for by bond issues, and the question of bond 

 issues, especially if it requires a popular vote, cannot 

 readily be taken up every year. Therefore, it is con- 

 sidered good policy and, in the long run, economical to 

 map out periodically, say every ten or twenty years, ac- 

 cording to growth, somewhat large general additions to 

 the existing parks, endeavoring always to convert de- 

 tached properties into organic parts of a unified system. 



There are a few principles in the selection of lands for 

 parks, parkways, and playgrounds which are finding 

 increasing acceptance by city authorities. Briefly stated, 

 they are as follows: (1) to acquire those easily accessible 

 small tracts in different parts of a city which may most 

 cheaply be adapted to serve as local playgrounds or rec- 

 reation centres; (2) to seek also some moderately large 

 tracts, even though less accessible for the present genera- 

 tion, provided they are capable of conversion at rela- 



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