KNIBBS, THEORY OF CITY DESIGN

THE THEORY OF CITY DESIGN.
G. H. Knibbs, F.R.A.S.,
Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales for 1901 35 (1901):62-112.
When he delivered this long and detailed paper before the Royal Society of New South wales on September 4, 1901, the author was Lecturer in Surveying at the University of Sydney. Little is known about the early life and education of George Handly Knibbs (1858-1929) before he joined the New South Wales public service in 1877 and received an appointment a year later as a licensed surveyor. Becoming a member of the N.S.W. Royal Society in 1881, he later served as its honorary secretary and editor of its Journal and Proceedings as well as being elected its president in 1898. He was also president of the N.S.W.Institution of Surveyors in 1892, 1893, and 1900.
As a teacher in the engineering school of the University of Sydney from 1889 to 1905, Knibbs lectured in geodesy, astronomy, and hydraulics. In 1905 he was appointed acting professor of physics, serving in that capacity while also holding the office of N.S.W. superintendent of technical education. In 1906 Knibbs became the first Commonwealth statistician to head the new Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics. It was under his administration that the first Australian census was taken in 1911 as well as the special war census of 1915. During the First World War and immediately thereafter Knibbs sat on several committees and commission before becoming in 1921 director of the newly created Commonwealth Institute of Science and Industry. Knibbs received many honors, being elected an honorary fellow of the Royal Statistical Society, a fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, an honorary member of the American Statistical Association, and several related organizations in France, Hungary, and the United States. His knighthood was conferred in 1923.
His paper on city planning was doubtless inspired by the provision in the just adopted Australian constitution for a new capital city. This stimulated a great deal of discussion on the matter throughout Australia, a conference of professionals was held in Melbourne in 1901 to consider the subject, and proposals for designs began to appear. In the competition begun in 1911 for the design of the new city a number of the contestants submitted plans with the majority of the streets angled at 45 degrees from the cardinal points of the compass. Although Knibbs was not the only authority to advocate that practice on grounds of public health, his detailed statement on this points almost certainly influenced the Australian contestants whose designs incorporated that feature. However, his prescriptions for the ideal city went well beyond matters of sunlight exposure and public health, as the outline with which he begins his paper demonstrates.
1. Introductory.
2. General idea of a city.
3. Radial Street-system.
4. Position of radial centres.
5. Combination of radial and rectangular street systems.
6. Curved streets.
7. Cardinal direction of rectangular streets.
8. Width of streets.
9. Localisation of the various types of street.
10. Grade and cross-section of streets.
11. Engineering features of streets.
12. Size of blocks between streets.
13. Height of buildings.
14. Theory of aspect.
15. The aesthetics of design.
16. Sites for monumental buildings and monuments.
17. Treatment of streets from the standpoint of aesthetics.
18. Public parks and gardens.
19. Hygienic elements of design.
20. The preliminaries of design.
21. Conclusion.
1. Introductory--The duty of designing and setting out an important city,⁽¹⁾ is one which, in the near future and in the ordinary course of things, will be cast upon the Commonwealth of Australia. An elaboration of the principles which should govern the design of such a city, and a statement of the several matters which call for systematic consideration in connection therewith, is therefore not inopportune. Neither is it of small moment. Such an office as the creation of a capital city, practically unhampered by any conditions of existing settlement, and limited only by the topographical features of any selected site, is a unique one in the history of a country: the manner in which that office is discharged is of an importance which can hardly be overstated. A capital city, its general design, its utilitarian and aesthetic features, constitute an enduring index of the intelligence and foresight, the nobility of the sentiment, and the dignity of the artistic idea of the people creating it. The achievement must necessarily depend mainly upon two things, one the state of technical preparation, the other what may be defined as the moment of our aesthetic consciousness. Faultless technical knowledge is not in itself sufficient. It is, as it were, merely the instrument necessary for the proper realisation of the higher element; and if a city is to awaken in the beholder a distinct impression of its beauty, if it is to be in this respect one of the silent, subtle, but none the less high and powerful influences on the people who create it, and their descendants, then the artistic apperception, and the recognition of the dignity of the task, must be correspondingly vivid, and the outlook broader than would be dictated by mere utility.
The question of the normal elements of motivity I do not, of course, propose to discuss. The beauty and magnificence already realised in some cities are sufficient to remind us that no poverty of conception or present limitation should operate to make it forever impossible to create a beautiful city. It is therefore all-important that the city-designer shall take cognisance of what has already been attained, and further that as far as his instinct of prescience will allow, he shall anticipate the requirements and probable developments of the far distant future.
What I do propose to discuss, are those things that must necessarily command technical attention by way of preparation for what lies before a people when called upon to create a capital or other important city; and shall assume as given, a suitable site or sites, with its sine qua non, an abundant water-supply.
2. General idea of a city.--In order that the concentration of human activity, which is the essential feature of the aggregation of human beings in a city, shall be of the highest efficiency, it is necessary that the lines of intercommunication between the buildings, forming as it were the real theatres of that activity, and also between them and the lesser centres of outlying territory, shall be the shortest possible, and therefore the most convenient. This is nothing more nor less than the affirmation that all systems of roads and streets should provide the greatest possible number of "short cuts" from place to place, and thus economise as far as can be, human effort in the transaction of business, and in all other features of city life. The other element of importance is the appropriate localisation of the various types of industrial and other activity, so that the necessity for intercommunication itself, shall be reduced to a minimum. These two elements, viz., the street arrangement, and the determination of the purposes for which the blocks so formed shall be available, are the most fundamental in the development of a city- design. It is at once evident that both are greatly influenced by the topography of the site; a general disposition of streets and buildings which might be most suitable for one site, might be wholly unsuitable for another with different topographical features: any discussion of principles therefore can lead only to general results: these must, in any application, be taken as a general guide, to be modified as occasion demands. It is of course impossible to produce in detail an ideal design applicable to every site
3. Radial street-system--If one glances at any territorial map shewing towns and the roads leading therefrom to other similar aggregations of settlement, it becomes at once evident, that the lines of communication are on the whole radial, that is they tend to occupy the direct lines joining any one centre with those surrounding it: if diverted therefrom, it can be only because of topographical difficulties, or through the arbitrary interferences of the boundaries of real estate, or else from mere caprice. Any four centres forming, say a quadrilateral figure, would be united, not merely by the lines constituting the boundaries of the quadrilateral, but also by the lines forming its diagonals; at least unless some element existed to hinder this. It is obvious from what has been said that the rectangular system of roads and streets so much in vogue in the States of Australia, is inconsistent with what may be properly called, not merely the natural position, but also the position of maximum efficiency; for to travel by any but the shortest way except for some adequate reason, is to waste effort.
Given a number of streets radiating from a centre, the shortest system of lines for connecting them one with another will be such as make equal angles with each radial pair: consequently the scheme of cross-streets, necessary to complete the radial system proper, will form a sort of ring-system, or else a polygonal system, like the lines on a geometrical spider's web.⁽²⁾
. This is not identical with a diagonal system, properly so called, as a reference to the illustrative figures hereinafter, Figs. l to 5, will shew. A definite numerical comparison of the relative merits

of the various systems in respect to shortness of path of travel from place to place, may be readily obtained, and will serve to fix our ideas. The two squares, Figs. 1 and 3, and the three circles, Figs. 2, 4, 5, have the same area, the length of the side of the square therefore being ½, when the diameter of the circle is unity. In each figure therefore the same area is commanded by the series of lines, which may be taken to represent streets. The two elements of importance are, (a)) the total length of street to be provided, and (b) the mean distance of travel from all points to the centres, which are denoted by the letter C. The following table gives the results absolutely, and also in percentages.

I.--Mean distances of Travel and Total Length of Street
Fig.	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
Mean Distance	.443	.446	.378	.348	.381
Total Length	5.317	5.142	7.824	7.142	6.142
Mean Distance %	100, say,	100.7	85.4	78.6	86.0
Total Length %	100, say,	96.7	147.1	134.3	115.5

ring

rectangular

approximation

In order to shew more clearly the relationship between mean distance and total length of street to be provided, Table (II.) is computed, shewing absolutely, and also in the form of a percentage as compared with the rectangular system, the ratio of the total length of street to the mean distance of travel to reach the centre C.

II.- Ratio of total Length of Street to Mean Distance to Travel

Fig	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
Absolute	12.00	11.52	20.69	20.51	16.12
Percentage	100.0	96.0	172.4	140.9	134.4

4. Position of Radial Centres.--The first point to be decided in elaborating a design for the streets of a city, is the position of what may be called its chief radial-centres, and its main lines of street. A concrete idea of what is meant by chief radial centres, would be reached by regarding such centres as the Capitol and the White House at Washington; or the Arc de Triomphe at Paris, between the Avenue de la Grande Armee and the Avenue des Champs Elysees. They may be defined as the centres round which either particular types of, or even general activity, will tend to concentrate, or they may be centres of aesthetic or intellectual interest, and it is obvious therefore that they should, as a rule, lie on the leading lines of communication between one place and another: in fact the lines joining the centres, and the prolongations of such lines, ought to be the main arteries of traffic--the leading streets of the city. The position both of the centres and the main streets, are consequently dependent, partly on the topographical limitations of the site, partly on the position of outlying centres and the existing or potential roads and railways thereto, and partly also upon the suitableness of certain localities within the site for the special purposes or activities, for which provision must be made. The selection of the position of the chief radial-centres, requires therefore not only a comprehensive view of the administrative, educational, industrial, residential, military, and other needs of a capital city, not only a due regard for its communication with the outer world and for all the contingencies both in times of peace and war, which that communication involves, it requires also a nice appreciation of the topographical adaptabilities of the site, so that in the design the interdependence and mutual influence of every element shall be fully estimated and the general arrangement made the most convenient possible, and therefore the most economical; and further that it shall be such as will admit, without detriment, of that expansion which the future will certainly require. Upon an accurate perception of the best treatment of the site, the economy of the creation of the city will largely depend; and it is but proper that one should desire to have as perfect a result as possible for any given expenditure. This is a point to which we shall later return.

The grouping of activities having many points of contact, or common features, and the locating of one or more groups round a suitable point, as round a radial-centre, is so obviously desirable as to need no advocacy; and when a city can be designed without the embarrassments created by preexisting occupation, there can be nothing to prevent such grouping, in any form conceived to be desirable.

Thus the housing of parliament, and of the great departments of official administration, might very properly be grouped around one centre, those having most frequent need of intercommunication being the nearest together: a university and its affiliated colleges might create another centre: technical and high schools still another: an aggregation of great commercial institutions yet another: and so on. Then again the industrial occupations which would develope, might with advantage be relegated to one quarter of the city, the large commercial houses to another, while the environs would normally constitute the residential sites, variously disposed according to the classes of residence allowed to be erected. The study, in the original design, should embrace all possibilities of extension for even remote periods, so far, at any rate, as they can be foreseen; and the control of settlement should also be sufficient to ensure the possibility of ultimate conformation to the first ideal, even if for any sufficient reasons it be temporarily abandoned

5. Combination of radial and rectangular street- systems.--A rigid conformity to the hexagonal-radial system for the streets of a city, would constitute them three series of parallel lines, intersecting one another at an angle of 60, and dividing the whole site into equal equilateral triangles, while the rectangular system consists of two sets of parallel lines intersecting at 90, and dividing the area into squares. The greatest distance to be travelled in passing from any one point to any other, cannot in the former case be greater than the direct distance multiplied by the secant of 30, nor in the latter than the direct distance multiplied by the secant of 45. Calling the direct distance 100, the maximum distances of travel are

Direct distance 100.00

Hexagonal system 115.47

Rectangular system 141.42

It might be thought therefore that the advantage in favour of the hexagonal system is so pronounced as to exclude the adoption of the rectangular altogether. It has always been felt, however, that the rectangular system, has from the point of view of building construction much to commend it; it gives too, a better sense of orientation in regard to travelling through a city; hence it may very well be combined with the hexagonal and other forms of the radial system. Again it may often happen that the convergence of only six roads upon one point is inadequate. For example, in Paris at the Arc de Triomphe there are no less than 14 avenues or streets converging, at the Place de la Bastille 10, at the Place de la Nation 9: in Washington at the Capitol there are 11 long convergent streets, and 8 and 10 in other places in the same city. When therefore a centre is of more than ordinary importance, it may be as the site of some great establishment or monument, or as the theatre of intense business activity, the number of convergent streets may be increased from say 6 to 12, and such a centre properly constitute a focus both of the radial and rectangular systems combined. The City of Washington is an illustration of the rectangular combined with the radial system, the former preponderating, see Fig. 6. (See Fig. 9 for polygonal radial system.)

When it is considered that the importance of securing the full advantage of shortness in path of travel from point to point diminishes as the total amount of traffic in any street diminishes, it will be realized that as long as the radial system is sufficiently employed for reducing the distance from all parts to the principal centres, and for bringing into prominence such aesthetic features as great public buildings and monuments, the substantial benefits of the system will have been secured. The adoption then of the rectangular system for the balance of the design, modified only under the compulsion of meeting topographical difficulties, will admit of the advantages of that system being also fully exploited.

6. Curved Streets.--On an undulating site, strict adherence to any general and supposed ideal scheme for the system of streets is, as just indicated, often impracticable, because of the resulting severity in the gradient of some of the streets. Conformity to the fundamental design should therefore not be inflexible. If modifications of, or departures therefrom, will avoid the difficulty, there can be no valid reason for hesitating to make them, and such positions for the streets as would give uniform gradients might very properly be selected on conical hillsides, and round the heads of small valleys. This selection will involve the introduction of a curved form for the streets, and it may be occasionally, even the adoption of the zig-zag form. The use of curved streets is to be regarded not only as proper means for the alleviation of gradients, but also as an element in the design, capable of enhancing its merit as regards variety and artistic effect; especially in situations where traffic considerations are of less than average moment. The rigid adherence to straight streets and a rectangular system, characteristic of towns in the States of Australia, is a signal defect in the prevailing ideas of city-design: and its abandonment in favour of an independent treatment of each site, and an adoption of a radial-rectangular system would be distinctly beneficial even for villages. But to return to the question of curved streets. In situations where traffic is concentrated, where too, street rail and tramways are required, and where moreover the necessity of ameliorating the grade does not exist curved streets are a disadvantage. Where a lengthy street view is effective, as bringing into prominence a great public building or monument, curved streets should also be avoided. It may here be noted on the other hand, that in an hexagonal radial system, if "ring-streets," as they have been called, are used to connect the radial lines (e.g. Fig. 5), there is a distinct advantage over a system of hexagons of the same area, the mean distance of travel to the centre being 8-25% more for the latter, Ring and curved streets may consequently be advantageously introduced, at any rate occasionally; and there can be no doubt therefore that they should form, if not a marked, at least a minor feature of any future design for a city.

7. Cardinal direction of rectangular streets.--The cardinal direction of streets, and for the orientation of buildings, is a question which must be studied in relation to the latitude of a site, and to the particular purpose to which buildings are to be applied. Between the tropics, the sun will occupy at some time of the year and day all points of the compass; his northern aspect for the whole year preponderating for places south of the equator, and his southern for places north thereof. Since in that zone his meridian altitude is great, and the meridian shadows are therefore short, the merits of a particular aspect have to be decided on somewhat different grounds to those which apply in temperate regions, where, as we depart from the tropics, there is a great disproportion between the whole lengths of the midsummer meridian-shadow, and the similar shadow in midwinter, and where also the sun at noon is not at one time north of the place of the observer, and at another time south.

With a view to more clearly illustrating the nature of solar shadows on a horizontal tract of land, Fig. 7 has been prepared, for the nearest 5th degree of latitude to that of this city (Sydney), i.e., for latitude 35 S. The laws of position of the shadow of a vertical line may be thus defined for the temperate zone. For any one interval of time before or after apparent noon (i.e. the crossing of the sun over the meridian of a place) the terminals of the shadows on different days are points in a straight line which, produced, passes through a point defined by drawing a line from the elevated pole of the heavens through the top of the vertical line till it meets the ground(supposed a horizontal plane at the bottom of the vertical line), the point P in the figure. For successive hours of the day, i.e., before or after noon, the terminals of the shadows lie on the corresponding straight line meeting at this point. At the equinoxes, the successive positions of the shadow-terminal during the day lie on a straight line running east and west

through the point defined by the terminal at noon, the point F. in figure. At any other time, i.e., between the equinoxes and the solstices, the shadow-terminals on any day lie on an hyperbolic curve, whose vertex is defined by the position at noon, and whose asymptotes intersect at the equinoctial point E.⁽³⁾

In the frigid calottes, or zones as they are called, the curves may become ellipses. Turning to the diagram, suppose a vertical line or pole to stand at 0, Fig. 7, of the length, equal to ox, (i.e., 1 foot or metre, or 100 feet or metres, or any other unit length): this vertical will be perpendicular to the plane of the page. In latitude 35 S., let the line OP be placed true north and south: then the shadow of the south celestial pole will be the point P; and the noon-shadow of the summit of the vertical, say of the length of 1000 units, will reach the following points on the days indicated:--

III-Length of Shadows at Noon of a Vertical of 1000.

Summer solstice.	Dec. 22	O-S	204
	Jan.19, Nov. 24	O-J	262
	Feb. 19, Oct. 24	O-F	433
	Mar. 21, Sep. 23	O-E	700
	Apl. 21, Aug. 23	O-A	1057
	May 22, July 23	O-M	1446
Winter solstice.	June 22	O-W	1629

⁽⁴⁾

Referring to the diagram it will be observed that there are northerly shadows in the morning and afternoon, in the summer interval between the equinoxes, i.e. between the 23rd September and 21st March, but none northerly in the winter interval. The shadows are respectively west and east at approximately the following hours of the day, for the different periods of the year opposite each.

IV.-Solar Shadows East and West (approximate) lat. 35° S.

	Dec.22	Jan. 19	Feb. 19	Mar. 21
	Solstice.	Nov. 24	Oct. 24	Sep. 23
	h m	h m	h m	h m
A.M.	8. 30	8. 10	7. 10	6. 0
P.M.	3. 30	3. 50	4. 50	6. 0

V.-Length of Time Sun is South of East-west Line, in either Fore or Afternoon
Lat 35°

Dec. 22	Jan. 19	Feb. 19	Mar. 21
Solstice.	Nov. 24	Oct. 24	Sep 23
h. m	h. m.	h. m.	h. m.
3.40	3.10	1.43	0.0

effective

VI.--Duration of Direct Sunlight in Lat. 35° S., on each face of a rectangular building set S.E., N.E., N.W., S.W.

Time of Year.	Face of Building
	S.E.	N.E.	N.W.	S.W.
December 22	4.50-11.10	4.50-12.50	11.10-7.10	12.50-7.10
Jan. 19, Nov. 24	5.0-11.0	5.0-1.0	11.0-7.0	1.0-7.0
Feb. 19, Oct. 24	5.27-10.33	5.27-1.27	10.33-6.33	1.27-6.33
Mar. 21, Sept. 23	6.0-10.0	6.0-2.0	10.0-6.0	2.0-6.0
Apr. 21, Aug. 23	6.33-9.27	6.33-2.33	9.27-5.27	2.33-5.27
May 22, July 23	7.0-9.0	7.0-3.0	9.0-5.0	3.0-5.0
June 22	7.10-8.50	7.10-3.10	8.50-4.50	3.10-4.50-

8. Width of streets.--The width of street desirable or necessary in different parts of a city is a question depending on various considerations. From the standpoint of economy of construction and maintenance, and from that of mere convenience in the conduct of business, the narrowest street that will serve the purpose, without intense congestion of vehicular and pedestrian traffic, is the best. From the sanitary and aesthetic standpoints, on the other hand, wide streets are to be preferred; these too, do not subject pedestrians to acute danger in crossing, and the risk of vehicular accident is correspondingly reduced. If provision is to be made for future means of mechanical locomotion, street rail and tramways, greater width will of course be required, a fact which argues the desirability of seeing that the necessities of the future in this respect are liberally anticipated.

It is evident at once, not only that the streets should as a whole be somewhat narrower both in the intense business centres, and in the less important parts of the city and its suburbs, but also that the general character of the city must affect the question. Therefore in a Capital city the aesthetic requirements are rightly regarded as of commanding importance, and utilitarian considerations as secondary, and properly subordinated to the last possible degree consistent with the fact that the general arrangements must of course be really practicable ones. Speaking broadly, the towns of the Commonwealth have been designed with small regard to aesthetic features, and the idea of avenues constituting an ordinary feature is practically foreign to us,⁽⁵⁾ though not absolutely so. The magnificent example however of Paris suggests the propriety of the greater radial lines from the chief centres, forming boulevards. It may be questioned whether such examples as the Boulevarts[sic] Richard Lenoir, or de l'Hôpital, or the Avenues des champs Elysées, de la Grand Armee, or de Neuilly in Paris, the Boulevards du Midi, de Waterloo, du Regent, of Brussels, or the Unter den Linden in Berlin, can be lavishly followed. Still Australian experience has shewn that boulevards of considerable size⁽⁶⁾ are appropriate and advantageous, and greatly enhance the beauty of a town.

Coming to actual dimensions, it may be said that lanes or streets of less width than say 10 metres or 33 feet (1/2 chain) are extremely undesirable. Unimportant roads and streets, so situated that they can never become of importance, might be designed with widths of from 20 to 25 metres, or say from 66 to about 80 feet. Roads and streets of moderate importance, likely to require tram ways, cycle paths, central footpaths, and so on, might be of still greater width, viz., of from 30 to 40 metres, or say of from 100 to 130 feet; while still wider streets, set out with avenues of trees, flower-beds, etc., might have any width of from 50 to 75 metres, or say from 160 to 240 feet.⁽⁷⁾

With a suitable restriction as to height of buildings, such widths as have been suggested will not present any difficulties as to quantity of light, or as to suitable approach in cases of fire; while the abundant access of sunlight and the sufficiency of room for the planting of trees in the streets, makes it possible to ensure in the highest degree the fulfilling of the requirements of hygiene.

9. Localisation of the various types of streets.-- Whatever care is taken, or however rigorous the control of occupation in the creation of a city, it is hardly practicable to ensure such a distribution as shall conform absolutely to that which might, having regard to the ultimate appearance of the city, be permanently sanctioned: to attempt it would, as a rule, involve excessive scattering of the population, or other injurious features On the other hand any permitted departure from the distribution, deemed the best in the general interest, tends to establish itself, and there is the jeopardy that return to the original idea will be effectually resisted--a jeopardy that is by no means chimerical in a democratic community. This illustrates the signal importance of securing at the outset a disposition of the general settlement that shall practically accord with the ultimate intention, a result that involves not only the closest study of all the effects of the special localisation of the political, administrative, industrial, commercial, scientific, educational, residential, and military centres, but also an apperception of the reaction of each upon the other, and a clear recognition of the possibilities of every practicable variation of the general design. Since the localisation of occupation involves localisation of the general characteristics of the traffic, and therefore of the particular type of street required, a methodical-analysis of each possible variation of the design, in respect to its ultimate effect upon the health and appearance of the city, is essential in any attempt to guard against injury through the limitations of first or early occupation.

An important city is not mature even in a century; and the designer, if he is to leave a monument of the perfection of his work, in a general disposition which shall secure the possibility of it presenting permanently attractive features, must, while regarding everything from the standpoint of the remote future, regard it also in the light of present necessity, and only if his genius is equal to the task of harmonizing the two, will the result be satisfactory. During the first few decades it may he absolutely necessary, so as to suitably concentrate population, to allow development to proceed upon lines foreign to the ultimate intention, and to permit narrow streets to be substituted for wide ones. The design in such a case must contain an outline of such temporary modifications as cannot be avoided, in addition to the permanent features to which everything is finally to conform; and if settlement, on the lines of the temporary modification, be permitted only under clearly-defined and rigidly enforced conditions, ensuring return after a definite period to the original, no injury but on the contrary rather benefit will result, and one will not, as is so frequently the case, have to deplore the spoiling of the aesthetic possibilities of the site.

The interdependence of the types of occupation and of street, of settlement and of traffic, and the tendency of each to perpetuate itself without regard to the welfare of the city as a whole, involves, as we see, more than ordinary care in the arrangements of any city that is intended to be ideally beautiful, and no effort is wasted which has for its object the conservation of the higher interests in such a way as to involve a minimum of alteration with its attendant expense and difficulty.

Outside such comprehensive considerations as the foregoing, the element of localising types of streets depends solely upon their main function. For the leading lines of heavy traffic light grades are required, and widths proportionate to the ultimate magnitude of the traffic; special consideration is necessary to guard against inadequate provision at such points of congestion as depots and freight-yards of all kinds, railway stations, and similar places. If the city is to possess a military centre, ample provision must also be made to facilitate the mobilisation and despatch of troops, war material, etc. The lighter traffic of merely residential streets involves less attention to gradient, their character depending solely upon their intended surroundings. For example, streets leading to each class of buildings would be designed in agreement therewith, those to be adorned on each side by palatial buildings possessing a collateral magnificence, whilst streets leading to localities populated by the poorer classes would be less pretentious; though they, too, might well be made picturesque with foliage trees.

10. Grade and cross-section of streets.--Ordinarily a grade of 1/2 % in the longitudinal section of a street will suffice for surface drainage; for localities subject to tropical downpour this might be slightly increased, and where the rate of fall is unusually light slightly diminished. For vehicular traffic a grade of 10 % may be treated as a maximum, and that design which avoids heavy grades on the main lines of traffic is of course the best in respect thereof. In commercial and industrial, and even in residential parts of the city, the level of the streets may, with advantage, be 1 or a 1/2 metres, say 3 to 5 feet, above the general level; on the other hand, in suburban residential localities, the street level ought to he the lower. The usual cross-section, viz., a carriage or roadway with raised footpaths, would, of course, in the case of the wider streets, be departed from. In the widest streets of all one part of the roadway might be devoted to heavy, and another to light traffic, these being separated from the side walks by a row of trees on each side, while a central avenue or footwalk, with foliage trees on each side, would complete the section. Where there is little heavy vehicular traffic, strips forming garden or grass plots, lying between the footwalks and the roadway⁽⁸⁾, might constitute a feature. These could be graced also with shrubs of various kinds, and the centre of the street formed by a line or lines of ornamental trees, with or without footwalks. Roads and streets of less width would permit of a single row of trees on each side and next to the footwalks, or a single or double row in the middle. Cycle paths might well be introduced in many of the streets, in such positions as involve a minimum of interference with other forms of locomotion.

11. Engineering features of streets.--The necessity for some official control of the different of the different classes of occupation, which a regard for the general appearance and welfare of a capital city not only justifies but imperatively demands, permits its development to proceed on lines that obviate frequent changes in the constructional features of the streets; for these can all be thoroughly considered at the outset. The mains, conduits, tunnels, etc., required for water, gas, electric, or various forms of power-supply, for sewerage systems, for telephone and telegraphic services or for underground communication of any sort, can be located so as to involve the minimum disturbance of traffic, and the least expense for maintenance and repair; and the characteristic breaking up of, and injury to well-constructed streets, in order to reach such mains and conduits, can thereby be rendered an unknown element. Were it publicly realized how dearly we pay for our stolid ignorance and want of foresight in municipal arrangements generally, the constructional features of streets would perhaps be very different to what they are. In future city-design, the opportunity undoubtedly exists for avoiding that continual waste of resource, which, turned to advantage in more lavishly equipping public institutions, and in making the city ornate, can be so much better expended. Similarly, an exhaustive consideration of the treatment of each street in regard to the necessity for tram or railways, will admit of the construction being developed on lines that avoid waste through the undertaking of various useless works, or injury to necessary ones. It will be a wise economy also to make the foundations of all streets thoroughly, and in no way to stint the means for so doing.

The scheme of lighting to be adopted, is an element in which decision antecedent to the development of the design is also requisite. Inasmuch as electric lighting does not involve, except at the generating station, any consumption of oxygen, and as the light itself does not produce those deleterious gases formed in the burning of coal gas, it is to be preferred wherever a start may be made ab initio.

More generally, it may be said that the predetermination of the whole of the engineering or constructional features for the streets is essential to the design being so elaborated as to reduce the expense to an absolute minimum, and it is only through the initial location of such features that everything dependent thereupon can be consistently and harmoniously adjusted and the best results attained.

12. Sizes of blocks between streets.--If in any site, the relation between the total area, and that to be occupied as streets, be antecedently assigned, the problem of ascertaining the size of blocks becomes numerically determinate, as soon as the general scheme for the streets is decided. In Paris the streets cover an area of about 1/5 of the total: in Washington the ratio is still greater. With increase of street area, however, the construction and maintenance becomes correspondingly costly. The following suggestion as to suitable dimensions will sufficiently indicate the idea of general proportions:-

	Metres.
Public institutions, large factories, and large establishments generally	100 x 200
Large suburban residences with grounds	80 x 160
Larger business sites, city residences, etc.	60 x 120-160
Smaller establishments	40 x 80; 30 x 60-90; 20 x 60
Workmen's dwellings	10 x 30

13. Height of buildings.--Apart from the impossibility of adequately dealing with fires breaking out in very high buildings, and the consequent jeopardy to property generally, and apart also from any consideration of the aesthetic defects of such buildings; a certain height may be regarded as injurious, as unduly limiting the sky-line, and as preventing sufficient access of direct and diffused sunlight to the properties in the neighbourhood. The following table shewing the lengths of shadow when the direction of the sun is 45 off the meridian, and the directions and lengths when it is three hours off the meridian, will afford the data from which a judgment may be formed as to the limits that may be considered reasonable, in restricting the height of buildings.

VII.--Lengths of shadows 45° and at 3 hours off the meridian, Lat. 35° S vertical 100.

Date.		Jan. 19	Feb. 19	Mar. 21	Apr. 21	May 22
	Dec. 22	Nov. 24	Oct. 24	Sep. 23	Aug. 23	July 23	June 22
45° off	27(a)	35(b)	59(c)	100(d)	155(e)	276(f)	350(g)
3 hrs. Off	86	90	107	141	197	273	314
Direction	86°	81 3/4°	71 1/2°	60 1/4°	51°	45°	43°

a, b...g

If a street have buildings immediately abutting on it, equal in height to its width, the maximum angle of sky transversely to the street is 53 8', and the minimum 45.⁽⁹⁾. A skyline higher than 45 is clearly too high, hence as a maximum limit, the facade of any building abutting on the street should not be of greater height than the width of the street. The facades will be better seen with a less angle, a two-thirds limit would, therefore, be preferable, i.e., the height to be not more than two-thirds of the street width. Buildings standing back from the street frontage could be correspondingly increased in height. This element will be further considered in dealing with the aesthetic elements of city design.

14. Theory of aspect.--The most favorable form for picturesque effect in a site would be a gently undulating surface, surrounded by commanding hills, constituting a sort of semi-amphitheatre.⁽¹⁰⁾ The desirable aspect in relation to the cardinal points will depend very much on local peculiarities, such as the climate, the prevailing direction and character of the winds, and similar meteorological factors. Consequently it is hardly possible to generalise in respect thereof.

So far as mere sunlight is concerned, eastern slopes are cooler than western, and northern than southern; consequently northwestern slopes are to be preferred where heat is desired, and south-eastern when the opposite is the case. These effects may, however, be greatly modified by other factors.

In a city set out on the rectangular-radial system almost every possible orientation in respect of individual blocks exists, and if the site be also undulating, choice of aspect in such a system can offer no difficulty, because of its multitudinous variety. So that whether industrial or other requirements demand the presence or absence of direct sunlight, those requirements are easily met. Buildings in which it is necessary to secure the maximum penetration of solar rays, so as to benefit by their heat in winter, and the minimum penetration so as to avoid the heat in summer, should so far as the geometry of solar shadows is concerned, have their long axes east and west in southern latitudes and their windows on the north face of the building. Since, however, the temperature reaches a maximum after noon through the cumulative effects of the sun's heat rays, the axis should, theoretically, be rotated slightly, so as to turn a little to the north on the east side, therefore a little to the south on the west side. The amount of this rotation can be ascertained by taking account of the difference between the apparent noon and the times of maximum temperature; the differences between the noon and maximum temperatures, and the latitude of the place considered, the discussion extending over the changes for an entire year, so as to properly integrate the effects, and hence deduce their mean. The necessary rotation will, however, not greatly modify the E. - W. position for the axis. The designer must, it is evident, take account of these necessities, and for buildings of a large size, and requiring spacious grounds, where aspect is important--as for example hospitals, sanatoria, etc.--provide suitable blocks.

15. The aesthetics of design.--A study of those examples of architecture which impress the human consciousness with a sense of beauty, has revealed the fact that their general proportions, and the mutual relationship of their details, conform to simple numerical ratios and to an harmonious scheme. These ratios, spatially realized in the cube, square, the plane or circular equilateral triangle, the 3, 4, 5 triangle, the sphere, cube, pyramid, etc., are geometrical forms that constitute, as it were, a skeleton on which architectural features are developed, in symmetrical grouping, with however such relief in detail as to obviate too cold and severe an effect, or what may perhaps be called an appearance of excessive symmetry. The proper subordination in the various parts of structures of their mass effects is also essential to awaken that impression of stability and repose which, together with grandeur of form and beauty of outline, and the grace of harmonious ornament, constitute the ideal of architectural design. Although these matters require the immediate and intense attention rather of those charged with erecting the buildings of a city, than of those whose function it is to design its streets and general arrangements, the latter can by no means neglect them. A knowledge of, and attention to aesthetic laws are absolutely necessary in studying a design, for as the eye passes over the contoured plan of a proposed site, the artistic possibilities of every feature must array themselves before the consciousness of the designer, if his work is in any way to exhaust them.

Outside the aesthetics of Architecture proper, the designer requires moreover to consider, in general, the picturesque effect of masses of foliage, the perspective appearance of monumental buildings and monuments from the points of view where they will be prominently seen, the grouping of buildings and classes of buildings, the effective position for parks, gardens, etc., the spatial provision necessary for the proper viewing of all features of interest, and so on; for it is by attention to such elements of city design that the possibility of beauty is created, and the picturesque capabilities of a site are exploited. Thus eminences and concave surfaces, both of which lend themselves to striking effects, should be exhaustively studied in relation to the general scheme.

16. Sites for monumental buildings and. monuments.--The two classes of site that give the necessary prominence to monumental buildings are the summit of hills and the centres of amphitheatres: the one bringing a building into relief against the sky, the other shewing it in relation to its surroundings. In both cases the preservation of space about the building greatly enhances its effect, by ensuring for it a sufficient distinctness. Remembering that a considerable time must elapse before any great city can be completed,⁽¹¹⁾ the reservation of sites for future public buildings and requirements generally, and for extension of buildings as the necessity arises, should always be on a most liberal scale, as this not only avoids the need for costly resumptions of land, but also enables the aesthetic effects to receive that adequate consideration which they rarely do if the element of cost is serious.⁽¹²⁾

The spatial provision for monuments, intended to be of noble proportions, therefore, would be appropriately located at prominent radial centres, while that for those of lesser size would be relegated to more unpretentious positions. It is, of course, important that the magnitude of monuments should harmonize with their surroundings; and as the form they may be expected to take depends very largely upon the contingencies of the future, the spatial provision should be liberal. The essence of the whole matter is that all conspicuous or prominent sites should be appropriated for those great public buildings and monuments upon which a people may be expected to lavish its wealth and artistically express its national feeling.

In order that monuments of all kinds may be properly seen, an unobstructed area must be preserved immediately round about them. For viewing detail, an onlooker would stand at a distance from the monument about equal to its height; to see it as a whole, at a distance about twice its height; to see it with its background and immediate surroundings, at say three times its height;⁽¹³⁾ and to see it with its general surroundings at a still greater distance.

It is necessary, therefore, that about every monument the unobstructed space should be between a distance equal to its height, and that equal to at least three times its height. Similar monumental buildings of noble proportions should stand back a sufficient distance from the street to admit of their being favourably seen.

17. Treatment of streets from the standpoint of Aesthetics.--Owing to the fact that great lengths of street, especially when unvarying in width, of similar section, and fairly level, produce on the beholder a sense of wearisome regularity, the introduction of spaces for monuments, large street fountains, water-jets, foliage squares, etc., at such points as relieve the view, is a desirable corrective. It is hardly possible to lay down any rule as to the length which may be unrelieved, because so much depends upon grade, width, and general treatment in other respects; a length of from 15 to 25 times the width might be taken as a general indication. Tiresome uniformity can also be avoided by subjecting each street to independent treatment, so that each may possess some characteristic Even alteration of width is preferable to excessive symmetry, and may be introduced to counteract its unaesthetic effect.

The undisguised presence of telegraph wires, telephone cables, etc., besides being unsightly, is a menace to public safety in cases of fire. Overhead electric wires in a tram-system although perhaps less unsightly, are inconsistent with a fine effect, and might well be transferred to underground conduits, as has already been done in some instances.

It has been said that monuments, so too, foliage masses, may be employed as a relief to street uniformity: they may also be introduced to obviate the ugly effect which arises from the disappearance of buildings etc., over the summit of streets crossing a ridge, for in no case should such effect be unrelieved: their proper situation is of course central, the traffic passing on either side, on a sufficient space provided therefor.

If monuments be erected in curved streets, the concave⁽¹⁴⁾ is the proper side, forasmuch as it has the greater area of visibility, and moreover the concave side forms an effective background, as is evident on viewing figures in niches. The convex is less effective than even a flat background, to say nothing of the reduction of the area of visibility. Hence spaces for monuments are desirable on the concave side in effective localities.

The lighting arrangements of a city are also susceptible of artistic treatment, and lamp-posts or candelabra could be so designed and arranged as to greatly enhance the beauty of streets. The necessity of occasional illumination might, with advantage be systematically considered, and such permanent installations made as would admit of its more frequent use. This applies no less to the illumination of buildings than to streets, and the expense of permanent constructions would be scarcely greater than the cost of individual illuminations. In streets planted with trees, the effect could be made very pleasing, and the somewhat wanton injury to this formation, common on such occasions, wholly avoided. All these matters may easily be taken account of in the development of the design; they should not be an afterthought, however. The same remark applies to the form and position of drinking stands, pillar boxes for letters, telephone fire alarms, conveniences, letter-boxes, and other furniture of modern streets; all need to be considered in the design, so as to be made harmonious with their surroundings.

Among places admitting of decided improvement as regards the usual treatment, may be mentioned street intersections. Where the blocks have acute angles, a sufficient cut-off to form a façade, or a suitable rounding off; greatly enhances the appearance, and even the intersections of rectangular streets are markedly benefited by similar treatment. The customary right angle is far from satisfactory aesthetically. The cutting off of corners increases of course the diagonals at the intersection, and since the sidewalks or footpaths follow the outlines of the blocks i.e., are equidistant from the building lines) increases diagonally, also, the roadway proper. This enlargement leaves room for street ornamentation at the intersections of the centre lines. By making the cut off of corners adequate, provision may be made for small square, a monument, clump of foliage, or small garden. A still greater cut-off will permit of a central square, circle or ellipse of finer proportions, with roadways round it, and which may be utilized for a more pretentious central feature, and the independent treatment of every intersection will produce a gratifying result.

In addition to those at street intersections, spaces are also desirable in front of, and in some cases even on three sides of, certain types of public buildings, especially those in which the architectural elaboration would not normally be restricted to the front, as, for example, museums, theatres, churches, etc. Arcades and approaches thereto are features which, since they can be made very effective in appearance, ought to be provided for in the design; and further, sites should be indicated for those fine pieces of sculpture or architectural art which the artistic sentiment of any cultured people will eventually require. Since all artistic elements must stand in harmonious relationship to one another and their distribution be such as to give them a maximum efficiency in relation to their influence in beautifying the city, they ought all to be considered in the original design, so that the necessary provision may be made. The usual practice of either entirely neglecting, or inadequately regarding these matters, and then doing the best possible with the sites that chance to be available, can never be satisfactory, as is obvious when one contemplates the all too common hopeless disfigurement of what were originally ideally perfect sites.

18. Public parks and gardens.-- Public parks and gardens are not only an ornament to a city but a necessity to its people, if their health is to be regarded, and considerations of health and beauty may at least have weight in important cities.⁽¹⁵⁾ Hence we are justified in making liberal provision for public gardens, irregular surfaces are to be preferred, as giving the landscape gardener greater scope for displaying his art, and as possessing intrinsically greater charm. In selecting areas for public gardens therefore, the irregular tracts would always be chosen, provided other parts of the design could be made to accord therewith, and provided also that the positions lent themselves to good effects from every point of view. Whole blocks, or even double, triple, or quadruple blocks, containing suitable features might therefore be devoted to the purpose, the distribution over the entire site being made fairly uniform, but adapted to the general character of the surroundings.

Besides these gardens and smaller parks, in the city proper, large parks also are necessary for its environs. The Bois de Boulogne, and the Bois de Vincennes of Paris have each an area of over 2,000 acres, and similarly liberal provision for every important city is to be desired. Parks like these would constitute recreation or picnicking grounds for the peoples of the cities and their areas ought to be ample for the probable ultimate population of the city. The creation of artificial, if there be no natural, lakes, especially for cities not on the sea- shore, would be advantageous and if the water supplied to them were, on its passage, passed through large fountains of many jets, not only would the feature be very attractive, but the water itself would also be well aerated. By suitably selecting the path for the conduits conveying this water, it could in some cases be made to serve either all or most of the fountains of the city, passing by gravitation from one to the other, subject only to the loss by evaporation at each fountain

I may be here excused for repeating a suggestion made to me in conversation by the Commissioner appointed to report on the sites for the Federal Capital.⁽¹⁶⁾ If the parks were thickly planted with trees whose foliage was beautiful, and whose timber at the same time was of value, then when the demand for the fuller use of the parks arose, necessitating clearing, the trees would have become a valuable asset, and the income from the timber available for removal might be made to materially assist in the more elaborate development of the parks. Another suggestion made by the same gentleman is that the parks might to some extent illustrate the types of timber to be found scattered over the face of the earth, not by individual specimens, but by creating small forests of such type.

19. Hygienic elements of design.--It is not only in the choice of a site that the elements conducing to health need to be studied. However wisely the choice may have been made in respect of climate, of the nature of the surface and subsoil, of the condition of the discharge of surface waters, and the position of the ground waters, of the possibilities of adequate water-supply and efficient drainage, there still remains a need for a hygienic as well as aesthetic control of the localisation of settlement. And since this reacts upon the whole question, it is not possible to omit the hygienic elements in elaborating a design that is to be as perfect as our knowledge will allow.

The first great requisite to general health is the prevention of all settlement on those parts of a site where undesirable hygienic conditions prevail. For example, neither residences nor factories should be allowed to be built or established in depressions or other places where the moisture is excessive, or where water is liable to accumulate in heavy storms. A complete defence against the liability to misapplication of such areas is the converting of them into parks, and planting with types of vegetation that make a maximum demand upon the available moisture. By planting and draining, an area can be quite transformed, both in character and appearance, as the history of the city of Washington, U.S.A., so well demonstrates, and an unsightly feature may be converted into one of beauty.

A second requisite is that so far as possible variations in the design permit, those should have weight which lend themselves to convenient and efficient drainage systems, both for storm waters, and domestic, industrial, and other polluted drainage; and the outlines of the scheme for this should therefore be fully considered when the design is being developed, and not afterwards.

The third requisite is that the total quantity of breathing space provided in the design should be large, the vegetation made abundant; and when the building stage is reached, the necessary sanitary provision enforced for every structure, overcrowding being prohibited by requiring a sufficient number of cubic metres of space to each inhabitant.

And among the most important of the hygienic elements, I would place that of ample provision for play or recreation grounds in connection with every school, college, or other educational establishment; i.e., a complete abandonment of the present niggardly notion of what is a reasonable provision in this respect. That the recreation of a people should be under pleasant and healthy conditions is always important, and never more so than in the case of the young, so that the school-grounds of a beautiful city should in themselves be a source of attraction, and exhilarant in their reaction upon those who use them.

Similarly hospitals and sanitoria should have bright surroundings and pleasant aspects, for the cheery and tonic effect of these is by no means the least potent of the remedies available to those charged with the care of our health.

The suitable location of industrial occupations which are either noxious or unpleasant, even in a minor degree, is a matter of importance in enhancing the merits of a city, and in dealing with those occupations as they arise, all provisions for diminishing their mischief should be enforced. For example, since a smoky cannot be a beautiful city, at any rate in the highest sense, all smoke in factories ought to be consumed. Where industries are such that they cannot be ameliorated, they can be excluded from the city proper. Therefore provision for abattoirs, and similar establishments are preferably omitted. These and similar malodorous occupations, can be concentrated at some convenient but sufficiently distant point, for though they may not directly create sanitary mischief, their reaction upon human beings is able, and they are therefore undesirable.

20. The preliminaries of design.--Imperfect as is the statement given of the elements to be considered in any real attempt to properly design an important city, it will nevertheless be sufficient to indicate that a preliminary topographical and contour survey of the whole of the site is an essential. Such a plan perfectly represents the surface, and if supplemented with geological information as to the depth at which rock is found, the nature of the rock and of the material from the surface down thereto, it would constitute the necessary prerequisite for thoroughly discussing the design. Obvious as this seems, (and it must be equally evident that even in regard to the engineering details alone, the cost of obtaining such information would be far more than compensated by the aid it would lend to economy of construction) it has not been the practice in the Australian States to obtain it. The time lost in so doing is gained in the end, and it is only by such systematic procedure that satisfactory results can be achieved. I am well aware that those who have not thoroughly studied this question, are under the impression that what is called the common sense of well educated people is sufficient for the task of designing. That is not the opinion of those who have seriously given the matter their professional attention. If evidence were wanted of the calamity of indifferent design, it is to be had in our own city and suburbs. The topographical features of Sydney would have permitted it to be, if not the most, at least one of the most beautiful cities of the world. No word-painting could too vividly, or with too high a colour, express the magnificent opportunity that once existed for the people of this land to create a city of almost unparalleled beauty: that opportunity has been hopelessly lost through the ignorance, and want of apperception of those whose duty it was to avail themselves of it, leaving at the same time a monument of the dignity of their ideas. And the reason of failure is that no great scheme for the creation of the city was ever heartily entertained. Like Topsy it has "growed." And any other city that grows by chance will equally exhibit great imperfections and fail of its possibilities.

21. Conclusion.--The treatment of the subject of this paper, is by no means exhaustive, and may be taken rather as a general indication of its scope, than as a systematic and complete presentation. In concluding I may be permitted to express my indebtedness to the paper by Herr J. Stübben (Baurath, and Assistant Burgomaster of Cologne) on the same subject, and to that by Mr. J. Sulman, read at the Melbourne meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science, more than ten years ago (1890). Both advocate the radial-ring system. As to the adoption of the radial element there can I think be no question; and I have shewn the great advantage of the ring system. This system may in my opinion well form a feature relieving the uniformity of the rectangular, but since all three can be employed with advantage, it ought not to be dominant. A complete and final abandonment of the present practice of lightly regarding the matter of city design, and a really exhaustive study from every possible point of view of any selected site, as a preliminary qualification, is what is desired. Given this, we shall have in each case a noble and far- seeing design, and the cities of the Commonwealth will bid fair to be all that we could wish, so far as the art of city building is concerned. And unique among -them should be that which will be known as the Capital of Australia.⁽¹⁷⁾

[Added 12th Sept.] Since writing the above my attention has been called⁽¹⁸⁾. to an article on "City Plans" by Horace Bushnell, D.D. Essay V. in his "Work and Play."⁽¹⁹⁾ He affirms that there can be no absolute plan for cities, each must be designed by itself. The essay is an exposition of the subject from the standpoints of convenience, health, and artistic development. Although the scheme, of treatment greatly differs from that just given, and although on minor matters there is some slight difference of opinion the fundamental ideas are as nearly as possible identical, making allowance for the fact that certain elements now require attention, which did not exist when the essay was written (1864), and that experience has accumulated since then. I am reminded also⁽²⁰⁾ that Karlsruhe might have been quoted as affording an example of the radial-ring system of streets. Lastly, I wish to

make it absolutely clear that the ideal design must be founded on the radial element, the rectangular, and ring systems, and curved or zigzag streets being combined therewith, so as not merely to suitably conform to the topographical features, but to do so in such a way that in respect of convenience and of imposing effects, the city will be as perfect as possible. In Fig. 9 above, I have given an existing example of ring or polygonal streets; it is part of New Orleans.--G.H.K.

Note: the published proceedings include sixteen pages of discussion (here omitted) that followed the presentation of this paper.

NOTES

1. The Federal Capital.

2. This system was advocated by John Sulman, F.R.I.B.A., at Melbourne in January 1890. See his paper on "The Laying Out of Towns."--Aust. Assoc. Adv. Sc., Vol. II., pp.730-736. In particular, p. 732. It has also been advocated by J. Stübben, Baurath Assistant Burgomaster of Cologne, in a masterly discussion of the question.--Das Handbuch der Architektur, Darmstadt 1890. See also Trans. Amer. Soc. C.E. Vol. xxix., pp. 718-736, 1893.

3. The declination change being disregarded, at least for each day.

4. Measured of course by the unit height OX.

5. There are of course exceptions to this.

6. E.g., Sturt Street, Ballarat.

7. The streets of Washington are from 80 to 120 feet, the avenues from 120 to 160 feet.

8. Or, as in Washington strips may be left between the side walks and the property boundaries.

9. Max. = Observer in middle of street. Angle=2 tan^-1½, i.e., 538'. Min. = Observer at side of street. Angle = tan^-1, i.e., 45

10. See report by Messrs. Mansfield, Vernon, Barlow, and the writer, p. 28 of the report of the Commissioner on Sites for the seat of the Government of the Commonwealth.

11. It will, for example, be many years before Australia will be wealthy enough to erect truly monumental buildings. It would be well to commence however, on permanent lines, whenever we do start the substantial buildings.

12. The penalty paid, over and over again, in the States of the Commonwealth, for want of foresight in the matter of public requirements, is not merely a most serious financial loss: the possibility of adequately meeting those requirements has practically vanished.

13. Angles 45, 26 34, and 18 26' respectively.

14. That is the side of greater radius.

15. The antagonism of interest between the estate vendor and the public good should be guarded against. The price paid for cupidity on the one hand and ignorance on the other serious.

16. Alexander Oliver, Esq., M.A., President of the Land Appeal Court, State of N.S.W.

17. May I add that it would be easy to introduce and familiarise the people with the metric system, which must inevitably be adopted, if all the measurements, dimensions, etc., are given for the Federal Capital in that system.

18. By Mr. J. H. Knibbs.

19. Lond., Alex. Strahan & Co., 1864.

20. By J. Marden, M.A., LL.D.

Selected, scanned, edited, provided with headnotes, and formatted as a web document by John W. Reps, Professor Emeritus, Department of City and Regional Planning, West Sibley Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA. Tel: (607) 255-5391, Fax: (607) 255-6681, E-mail: jwr2@cornell.edu

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