Page:The law of city planning and zoning (IA lawofcityplannin00williala).pdf/10

vi for city planning in the United States soon became apparent. In fact it did not seem an exaggeration to say that the most important profession in connection with city planning was the law, and that the lawyer, at least for the time being, was the one most fundamentally concerned with its progress. While it is evident that city planning cannot be a one-man's concern, and that for the best accomplishment it must be the result of the united efforts of the lawyer, the engineer, the landscape designer, the architect, the economist and others, it is still true today that in most cases without the efforts of the lawyer the others would be helpless. And it will continue to be true until such time as that sound legal basis has become an accomplished fact.

City planning as a science and as an art has been taught for some time at more than one American University, but generally until quite recently the legal side of the question has not been given the prominence that is essential. It was this consideration that in 1915 suggested a course of lectures on city planning law in connection with the instruction in city planning at the University of Michigan, where one of the aims was to spread knowledge of the elements of the subject more widely rather than confine it to the students of any one department.

With this end in view Mr. Frank B. Williams of the New York Bar was invited to deliver a series of lectures at this institution. Mr. Williams was particularly well qualified to act as leader in this pioneering movement. As a student of city planning law his experience had been wide. He had founded and was Chairman of the City Planning Committee of the City Club of New York, he was director of the Municipal Art Society of New York, Member of the General Committee of the National Conference on City Planning, had been sent abroad by the City of New York in 1913, and again in 1914, to investigate and report on building regulation and zoning, and had drafted the New York City Planning Law of 1913. Mr. Williams accepted the invitation and was appointed non-resident Lecturer in City Planning Law in the Department of Landscape Design; the lectures were delivered