NEW PLANS FOR OLD TOWNS

By JohnW. Reps '43. National Resources PlanningBoard, Region 1, 1942, Federal Bldg., Boston, Mass., Publication No. 69, 39 pp. Freeupon request.

The National Resources Planning Board published this study because, as Mr. Victor M. Cutter 'O3, Chairman, states in the Foreword: "Few communities are built, from the start, according to a plan. But everywhere people are coming to realize that the town with a plan is the town with a future. No two towns are or should become exactly alike; no single plan can fit all towns. But within a section like, for instance, northern New England, conditions of geography and economy are so similar that a general pattern of development is capable of easy adaptation to individual communities.

"With this in mind, Mr. John W. Reps, Senior Fellow at Dartmouth College, used his Senior year to make a case study of Hartford, Vermont, which can well serve as a handbook for other towns, particularly in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, in shaping their own future policies and procedures."

After a chapter describing how and why the history and use of land in Hartford has changed and the chapter describing the present economy, Mr. Reps shows the steps that a town should take to achieve suitable planning goals. Among the many suggestions are the need for and how a planning commission may be organized, methods of collecting facts, and mapping town features. Need for interpretation of facts by a professional planner, aid of zoning laws in carrying out planning goals, the necessity of having an up-to-date town map and how planning commission can help in the war effort. The need for a plan that considers all phases of life in the town and the necessity of adjusting the economic life of Hartford to its surroundings in New England are stressed. An outline suggesting the Scope of a Town Plan and a bibliography on town planning is attached to the report.