Controlling Suburbs
Where civic pride and organization promote intelligent efforts in a city to control real estate speculation, unregulated building and congestion, it often happens that the area just outside the city accepts all the evils cast forth by the city. A factory or plant, pushed to the outskirts where a suburb is quickly developed by land speculators to meet the new housing situation, may easily, and does often, become the center of a community totally without plan and where the evils of congestion appear in their most exaggerated form. In some cases, civic leagues of men and women are forming to prevent suburbs coming under such influences, as the city, to which they are neighbor, agitates for the removal of its factories to the outskirts.
Attention has been directed to this serious matter, and some suburban planning started in time, by Mrs. Rollin Norris and others in the suburbs of Philadelphia, organized in the Main Line Housing Association.
The work of this association doubtless had its effect on the legislation in Pennsylvania which provides metropolitan planning districts for the cities of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Scranton, in order that they may control developments at their borders for a radius of twenty-five miles. Other states—six of them—have made a similar attempt to prevent unwise expansion at the rims of cities, but Massachusetts now leads with city planning by its recent law providing for city planning commissions throughout the state for towns and villages. It is interesting in this connection to observe how well women have worked in Massachusetts on the problems of housing and allied questions which are vital elements in this planning.
At present these schemes and ideals for suburban planning are in the stage of agitation only and have not been concretely applied on any extensive scale. A private achievement of notable worth has been obtained in Roland Park, Baltimore, but it is a high-class residential neighborhood. The Roland Park Civic League, an incorporated association of the citizens of this district, maintains a controlling interest in the Roland Park Roads and Maintenance Corporation and elects nine of the twelve directors. They prohibit certain nuisances, the erection of any building for other than residence purposes and the submission and approval of all construction plans. Women are members of the Civic League and share equally with the men in the government of this residential district which is comprehensive enough to include: tax collection and expenditure, labor employed in the sewerage system, the repairing and cleaning of roads, care of hedges and sidewalks, removal of ashes and rubbish and other services. It is a marvelously beautiful place. “Woman suffrage is in action in Roland Park.”
Forest Hills Gardens, the New York suburb built by the Russell Sage Foundation, financed by Mrs. Russell Sage, is also a beautiful middle-class residential district, with the same restrictions that safeguard Roland Park.