Book Review

Replanning Our Towns and Countryside, by Andrew Benko. T. Rex, and V. Lloyd. Published by W.E.A.. South Australia: price. 3s. 6d.

This booklet is produced from a series of twelve lectures delivered from April to October. 1948. at the University of Adelaide. It is an attempt to enlighten the layman concerning the purpose and scope of town and country planning. In 72 pages it tries to cover practically everything. After dealing with the history of planning, it attacks the problem in the town, developing from the neighbourhood unit to discussion on town problems such as parking, traffic, and their solutions. It then widens into regional planning—the relation of country to town: the final chapters deal with planning legislation and practical experience in other countries as well as in Australia. (In this last connection is mentioned the Te Aro Flat Exhibition of the Architectural Centre, Inc.) The booklet contains a good bibliography of books and periodicals and also a glossary of town-planning terms.

For the person who is already aware of the need for planning but who wants a. concise explanation of terms and some idea of contemporary application and legislation, this book is highly useful: but for the complete layman who needs to be convinced before he will accept this “planning business.” it would be insufficient. The style does not arouse interest. Subjects are covered with alarming rapidity and apparent lack of integration. The layman in Adelaide, who is probably as conservative as is his New Zealalnd counterpart, would no doubt find Corbusier's vertical garden city on stilts startling, to say the least. In fact, the whole production appears rather too technical and impersonal. Since planning must be based on sociological consideration to succeed, it is a pity the authors did not start from this idea—find out what constitutes a good life for the people, integrating points such as parking and open spaces from this basis. This would have made the relation of planning to people far more apparent.

In spite of these shortcomings, which no doubt are due partly to translating lectures into print and mainly to the lack of space, this book is a worth-while addition to literature on town planning for demonstrating that it is possible to bring planning to the people in concise, simple language.

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