In the fall of 1924 the morning paper serialized excerpts and adaptations from a Department of Commerce pamphlet on zoning.
 |
| A Zoning Primer |
Back in 1922 a committee appointed by Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover published "A Zoning Primer."
 |
| October 3rd, 1924 |
After a couple of years it and its issues registered strongly enough for the morning paper to serialize it in the "Better Homes" Sunday section. You may recall that the Realtors had started discussing and advocating for zoning in the early fall of 1924.
The Commerce Department committee did not hit the theme of "undesirable citizens," as the Realtors felt free to do, and instead focused on equality, "applicable to all." The leading theme was stabilization of property value, which even if you didn't own property still applied, at least theoretically.
 |
| October 26th, 1924 |
 |
| November 2nd, 1924 |
The second installment touched on transportation in the sort-and-separate scheme. They didn't quite get it right.
 |
| Nov. 2nd, detail on transportation |
Alas, separation did in fact mean greater distances for workers to travel, and the concentration of uses did not reduce the amount of all transportation.
 |
| November 9th, 1924 |
It not surprising to see the emphasis on "expert advice." Hoover was an engineer, and the early 20th century is full of the professionalization of the production of knowledge.
 |
| November 16th, 1924 |
 |
| November 23rd, 1924 |
 |
| November 30th, 1924 |
After the series concluded, they published one last plug: "Millions are enjoying benefits" of zoning.
 |
| December 7th, 1924 |
That Hoover deserves a good bit of blame is confirmed in a 2023 HUD symposium, published in Cityscape.
 |
| Cityscape, Vol. 25, No. 3 |
To assert "It's not only Hoover's fault" is to admit it's a lot of Hoover's fault!
As the debate continues in 1925, we'll return to this series and its themes.
No comments:
Post a Comment