Page:John Nolen--New ideals in the planning of cities.djvu/113

CITIES. TOWNS AND VILLAGES

There are two ways of considering the cost of city planning. The first would be merely the cost of making city plans, which is relatively a small sum, even for the largest cities. There is an urgent need to provide an appropriation sufficient for the preparation of a comprehensive city plan of a general character for all cities. In fact, it should be extended to towns, and even villages. There is a need also for a permanent city plan office which would do the routine work of city planning after a comprehensive city plan had been prepared. Such an office would keep the plan up to date, and would also continue regularly the collection of the fundamental data upon which good planning should be based.

The other way of considering the cost of city planning, however, is that involved in connection with the carrying out of public improvements. Of course, the cost of most of these improvements must be provided, with or without comprehensive planning. City planning does not necessarily involve an increase in these expenditures. In fact, the figures for a long period, assuming that the same standards are applied, would usually show a decrease in the cost of carrying out public improvements under a city plan, as against carrying them out without such a plan. City planning really pays.

With the physical growth of a city there has not always been a corresponding development of a financial plan to