From the Academy: A House on Reynolds Square

What with the dismal sprawl and social disintegration of Megalopolis, there is talk in this land of grand schemes for New Towns, in which thousands—eventually, hundreds of thousands—of people could be settled, to begin civic life with a perfectly fresh start. Private undertakings of this sort already have commenced—most notably, Reston, outside Washington. There will be increasing pressure for governments to take a hand.

Despite the attractiveness of such proposals, performance so far has been disappointing. Already Reston and similar communities have their troubles, too complex for discussion here. Earlier “model” cities, of which Hershey, Pennsylvania is the best known example, often are in difficulty because of technological and social change—the growth of shopping centers on the outskirts, the parking problem, the triumph of the automobile and the drift of the affluent to suburbs, and all that.

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Russell Kirk

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What with the dismal sprawl and social disintegration of Megalopolis, there is talk in this land of grand schemes for New Towns, in which thousands—eventually, hundreds of thousands—of people could be settled, to begin civic life with a perfectly fresh start. Private undertakings of this sort already have commenced—most notably, Reston, outside Washington. There will be increasing pressure for governments to take a hand.

Despite the attractiveness of such proposals, performance so far has been disappointing. Already Reston and similar communities have their troubles, too complex for discussion here. Earlier “model” cities, of which Hershey, Pennsylvania is the best known example, often are in difficulty because of technological and social change—the growth of shopping centers on the outskirts, the parking problem, the triumph of the automobile and the drift of the affluent to suburbs, and all that.