26 COMMISSION ON BUILDING DISTRICTS 



been applied to the office and loft buildings, great loss would have been 

 prevented. All agree that the Tenement House Law accomplished a most 

 desirable reform in the interest both of owners and tenants in establishing 

 regulations as to height, area covered, yards and courts. In exclusively 

 residential blocks in certain of the more intensively developed sections light 

 and air conditions have been standardized and property values stabilized by 

 ensuring that each owner shall make a reasonable contribution to the light 

 and air of the block. 



Only by a complete districting plan can the mutually advantageous 

 principle contained in the Tenement House Law be applied to all kinds of 

 buildings, in all parts of the city. There must first be a partial segregation 

 of buildings according to use, and second, a gradation of height, court and 

 yard provisions, particularly as affecting residential buildings, in accordance 

 with the present and prospective intensity of use in the various sections of 

 the city. 



The intensity of building development appropriate for each district is 

 dependent on the character of occupation and use in that particular district. 

 Certain trades and industries require structures of unusual size and shape. 

 A comparatively high degree of concentration is important for the facilita- 

 tion of business in an office district. The demand for housing varies with 

 the differing tastes and necessities of the inhabitants of the city. There is a 

 demand and a need for single-family dwellings, as well as for hotels and 

 apartment houses. 



In building a city it is sometimes assumed that we should start with 

 a certain model type of residence and seek to make that type universal. 

 If a density of not exceeding eight families to the acre is desirable, build- 

 ing regulations should be devised to prevent a greater density. The problem 

 is not so simple. The problem of housing accommodations and desirable 

 densities cannot be profitably considered without reference to a par- 

 ticular city, with a known topographic, transit, commercial and social 

 organization and an assumed probable rate of increase in population. We 

 cannot annihilate time and space, and as long as these factors are appreciable 

 the problem of the appropriate intensity of the use of land must always 

 remain relative. There can be no absolute standard. 



Most men in choosing a home in a large city must weigh various diver- 

 gent considerations and strike the balance that gives a maximum of satis- 

 faction. They have to sacrifice a desire for open space and isolation in 

 order to save time and money and avoid great personal inconvenience. 

 Many families prefer Manhattan apartments for social reasons or because 

 of proximity in time and space to clubs, hotels and theatres, or because 

 of nearness to place of business or work. In choosing a home the business 

 man who works from 10 A. M. to 7 P. M. at his office, and the laborer 

 who works in a Manhattan factory from 7 A. M. to 6 P. M. are both likely 

 to sacrifice the numerous advantages of a suburban villa for the convenience 

 <'t" a Manhattan apartment or flat. 



