Show in t U GW E L L T SIS BORN NE of prof rexford guy ONE 0 Tug wells principal utopias is now open for business and some say its good and some say its bad at any rate the first families have moved into greenbelt md it model town of the resettlement administration formerly headed by tugwell and perhaps we shall one day see just how effective the cooperative era tive slum less community I 1 Q 4 can be A year ago this time greenbelt was the target of much criticism concerning high costs waste and venture of the federal government into collectivism communism and other horrible social and economic isms iams which during the heated days of the last presidential campaign were grouped under one general head bead Tugwell ism friends of the project usually had defenses for these charges what you believe is probably greatly influenced by the trend of your politics the important thing today is that the experiment is definitely under way and is soon to be followed by counterparts in other sections of the nation greenbelt with its housing units rests on a aresi crescent cent shaped pla plateau 12 miles outside washington D C standing sentinel over the town is a belt of green trees from which it gets its name mirroring it is an artificial lake of some 25 acres here families handpicked hand picked to give the project the greatest chance of success will find homes at rents varying from 18 to 41 a month their local government will be run by an ultramodern ultra modern city manager under the first city manager charter to be granted by the state of maryland all the business will be directed and conducted by a rochdale rockdale Roc hdale operative cooperative co which was sponsored by the late edward A filene boston merchant settlers who buy shares in the consumer distribution corporation will receive rebates at all the stores in the community inhabitants carefully selected it is not easy for a family to be admitted to life in greenbelt the resettlement administration has taken every precaution in selecting the tenants and purportedly political pull mean a thing first all persons with incomes ot of 1000 0 to 2100 who were interested were e asked to register with RA giving givin 9 name residence income and other information hundreds were dropped immediately on an the basis ot of this preliminary data those whose applications survived were asked tor for more detailed information about themselves and this was checked by officials the candidates were IN then visited in their homes their character and andr credit ratings investigated and their references verified the final selections were made on the basis of a summary of all these findings it if greenbelt is to succeed the durability of its buildings must be matched by the integrity and sincerity of its inhabitants these tenants will be living in the roost most completely planned community in america where they may have lived in city slums with poor environment for their children they are now set down in the rolling green hills of maryland where fresh air is plentiful where there is a good school where their budgets families start moving into hous e s of model community built by resettlement administration at greenbelt md 4 1 u J M 40 Q 51 A V saki greenbelt md as seen from the air here the first of Tug wells visions may be realized will allow them to live as well as their much wealthier city neighbors greenbelts Green belts citizens can go to and from work in the city if they like by bus at home in the evening after the days labors they can putter around in a garden they will have a real share in the community life the opportunity to enjoy lake sports and free range of several thousand beautiful acres of town land the houses are white with ensemble grouping and harmonizing architecture the drive and walks are flanked with trees most of them still young there are as few traffic hazards as possible with very imaginable agi precaution for safety having been taken all highways are crossed by means of underpasses under passes so that the children who attend the two schools will not find it necessary to watch out for automobiles queer at first do greenbelts Green belts houses appear to the uninitiated for the front doors are at the back it if that is not taxing the readers logic in other words they face on the open space at the rear rather than on the street they are durable and attractive but not ornate foundations are of concrete and roofs rods of tinted slate broad casement windows assure plenty of sunlight and plenty of air in this climate the summers are likely to be hot but ceilings of poured concrete reinforced with steel rods keep the rooms cool brass capped door sills combine with copper weather sheathing to banish drafts foundations and walls have been built to last a hundred years but they have not been foolishly planned to outlast the coliseum in rome closets are of knotty pine and oak is used on stairways only where they are most likely to be trod upon kitchens are sensibly modern kitchens are modern compact economical but not faddish there are metal cupboards with deep shelves and smooth easy dusting doors sinks are of enamel and bathroom walls are covered with inexpensive waterproof paint all fixtures are sturdy and in good taste greenbelts Green belts business and community center at the head of the residential crescent includes a mercantile building a municipal garage a firehouse fire house a town inn a restaurant and a school the latter is perhaps the most remarkable build ing gray concrete pilasters pi lasters flank its sides like inverted flying buttresses there is a chiseled frieze of cubist characters interiors are the ultimate in scientific design the buttresses support the walls of 0 a spacious gymnasium light brown walls and great expanses of white plaster help to diffuse the plentiful sunlight which enters corridors and school rooms through windows and glass brick panels built into the walls students keep their belongings in individual lockers the outer wall ot of each classroom is ot of transparent glass stretching almost the entire height ol of the room conditions such as these are about all a teacher could ask for all commercial operations are conducted by the consumers corporation po ration two per cent ot of the gross revenue will be turned over to the federal government as rent any remaining profits will be returned to the customers as dividends operated on this plan win be a general merchandise store a drug store a food and meat market a motion picture theater a barber shop a beauty parlor and a garage and service station when and tt if the community decides that it does not like this 7 5 P 4 J 1 I roosevelt center visits greenbelt prof tugwell is at his right system it may adopt a new one there are no churches in greenbelt but free land is available tor for them it if community groups desire to build them Greenb elters are given plenty of opportunity to contribute their share toward the beautifying of the town anyone may secure the head bead gardeners advice at any time free of charge trees or bushes for landscaping may be obtained free from the town nursery to which they were transplanted when the land was cleared this Is Tugwell town greenbelt epitomizes professor Tug wells philosophy he said its aim was to obtain a large tract of land and thus avoid the complications ordinarily dina rily due to diverse ownerships in this tract to create a community protected by an encircling green belt the community to be designed primarily for families of modest incomes and arranged and managed so as to encourage a family and community life which will be better than they now enjoy but which will not involve subjecting them to coercive or theoretical and untested discipline the dwellings and the land upon which they are located are to be held in one ownership preferably a public agency to which the federal government will transfer title and which agency will rent or lease the dwellings but will not sell them a municipal government to be set up in character with such governments now existing or possible in that region ordination coordination co to be established d in relation to the local and state governments so that there may be provided those public services of educational and other character which the community will require and finally to accomplish these purposes in such a way that the community may be a taxpaying participant in the region that extravagant trava gant outlays from the individual family income dicome will not be necessary and that the rents will be suitable to families of modest income to develop a land use plan for the entire tract to devise a system of rural economy coordinated co with the land use plan for the rural portions of the tract surrounding the suburban community and to integrate both the physical plans and the economies of the rural area and the suburban community whether or not the model town can be regarded as the answer to the low cost housing program even it greenbelt succeeds as a happy prospering community depends on how bow you look at it it has been pointed out by opponents that the project cost far too much and that there were too many delays allegedly attributable to government efficiency in its construction what sponsors contend only families may be housed in greenbelt opponents point out yet the cost is or more than a house the governments estimated net return on the investment they say is less than A 14 of 1 per cent even if interest were waived it would take years to repay the cost against this the sponsors reply that it is unfair to prorate pro rate the cost among the houses alone for it includes the business buildings landscaping and many other things presumably surn ably their answer would have been the same it if the cost had been regarded per family a western acer union rt |