Page:John Nolen--New ideals in the planning of cities.djvu/96

NEW IDEALS IN THE PLANNING OF of the American Institute of Architects, 191 8. The writings of Lawrence Veiller, Secretary and Director of the National Housing Association, are of outstanding importance.

Broadly speaking, city land, from the point of view of city planning, may be put into three main classes, namely: land for industrial use, land for retail and wholesale business, and land for residential purposes.

The subdivision of land for industrial use varies so much with the different requirements of industries that it is not possible to set down any rules for its laying out except those that are common to all planning that has to do with land. Some industries can be well accommodated on an ordinary city lot, while others require hundreds of acres, portions of it in large blocks undivided by public streets. It is more and more evident that economic and other advantages, especially in the case of large industries, follow from the location of such establishments away from the densely built-up sections of cities.

Retail business property also varies in its requirements as to land, but not to so great an extent as property for industrial use. Except in the case of new cities, laid out in advance of settlement, city business buildings usually occupy land that was originally laid out for residential use. The business districts of our cities grow naturally by extending more and more into surrounding residential neighborhoods. It is this fact which makes important the reasonable adaptability, if need be, of residential property for business purposes. As a general rule, business has much less choice than industries and residences in the selection of localities In which it may be successfully established. The locations for business are determined largely by the street and transportation system, by street widths and grades, and