Town Planning
| Published date | 01 September 1924 |
| Author | I. G. Gibbon |
| Date | 01 September 1924 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1924.tb02186.x |
The
Journal
of
Public Administration
Town
Planning
BY
I.
G.
GIBBON,
C.B.E.
[A
Lecture arranged
by
thr
Institute
of
Public Administration
in
co-oprrah'on
with
the
London
School
of
Economics and Political Science,
17th
January,
1924.1
THE
L
s.
D.
OF
TOWN
PLANNING
PROPOSE
to deal, and that but briefly, with two only of the crowd
I
of questions concerning town planning. In the first place, the
L
s.
d.
of town planning. To-day at all events, when economy is upon
a
pedestal
and sacrifices have, rightly, to be made on its altars, not least by those in
the service of the Government, bread and profit must come first. Pro-
posals are not likely to receive much practical attention unless they come
with the hall-mark that they pay commercially. This point has particular
bearing, and benefit, for town planning because, contrary to the old notion
in this country, the gains of town planning are highest for business
;
and,
in my opinion, its immediate future depends especially on the degree to
which men of business take hold of it.
We are told, and sometimes somewhat contemptuously told, that the
man of business can look after himself, that he can be trusted for the good
of his own pocket to place his factory or workshop where production can
best be effected and transport facilities are most convenient. Whatever
truth there may be in this contention for the very largest businesses, and
it is by no means wholly true even for them, it certainly ignores the
manifest facts for businesses of moderate size, the businesses on which the
prosperity of this country
so
largely depends. It is as true
of businesses as of individuals that they do not live to themselves alone.
The advantages which any business concern may obtain for economical
production depend not solely upon itself but upon the grouping of
industries. Not only individual foresight but also group foresight
is
required. In this way alone can it be assured that, for instance, an
ordinary factory
or
workshop or warehouse will be provided with those
facilities of rail, water, and road
so
essential for that cheap transit which
may make all the difference between prosperity and troubled survival.
Even more than group facilities are required. Business men may find,
as
already in many a town, that the land which is eminently adapted for
industries has already been appropriated for housing or other contrary
purposes, and may thus be available only at prohibitive cost. The
elementary precautions which are in consequnnce needed to provide
The issue is not one of intelligence, but of opportunity.
288
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