“Thereis indeed no such boon to society as this familiar knowledge of citizen by citizen.” This is a statement by Plato. Leaving it for a moment, consider what opportunities exist for acquiring such a familiar knowledge today. We. go to work in trams or buses, united perhaps by the common bond of being packed like sardines in a vehicle designed to hold about a quarter. of the number of people who fight their way. on at rush hours. Our work brings us into contact with our fellow men, but as few jobs are a labour of love and most employers pay wages for services rendered, the opportunities' for social intercourse are limited.

We rush our food at lunch time to make the most of our precious hour of breathing space, coming into contact with those few people who habitate the same restaurant. We retire to our homes in the evenings to enjoy the company of our families, while at week-ends, what spare time we have left after assisting the tired housewife with her chores is generally spent in the garden. Now and again we go to the local cinema to seek some relief from our cares, but one cannot find overmuch communal life in the. two hours of darkness the cinema provides; and how much mental stimulus or intelligent interest does the cinema provide or demand?

Our unit of land sub-division in this country—generally the one-quarter-acre section—is probably just about as much as the average man can look after, devoting all his spare daylight hours to its care, leaving him with little time or energy for community pursuits. The unit of land sub-division spreads us out so thinly on the face of our portion of the earth that it is almost possible to exist year in and year out within the boundaries of our sections, without ever being bothered by anyone.

Confused Ideas of It

Of recent years a new catchword has infiltrated into the jargon of everyday speech: “Community centres”. What, I ask you, is meant by the words? Ask anyone what a Community Centre is! What sort of a reply do you get? “Oh, it's a—.” “Well, it's a—.” “Oh—you know —it's a place where—” It should be the centre of the community obviously, but what, in effect, does that mean? I propose to try to tell you something of what I think it means.

But first let us pay some attention to the origin of the contemporary Community Centre idea. Out of the horrid blackness left behind by the industrial revolution in England, when the effects began to be felt of the policy of “Produce, Produce, in the name of God—Produce” (oblivious of anything else but production) the necessity for some relief from the intolerable conditions of life in an urban hotchpotch became apparent to all. There was the Mechanics Institute. The first settlers brought it here.

Its English Origin

The terrifying increase in urbanisation of land in England resulting from the change-over from an agricultural to an industrial economy had all but obliterated any traces of the old community sense in the nuclei of the expanding towns. The aftermath of the 1914–18 war saw the rapid fringe development of housing estates around towns and cities, built at much lower densities than had applied earlier, with the result that the social wilderness was vaster in area than ever before. Whole new housing estates were laid out and developed without ever a thought of the possibilities of community life. Classes segregated themselves in their own areas, and studiously avoided any contact with other classes. Then with the advent of the war, bringing with it the terrible toll of devastation and waste, focussing attention on the need for re-building according to a plan, what had been merely an idea in the heads of a few of the more thoughtful planners was accepted as a basis for planning.

A new social concept of planning was born: the neighbourhood unit, approximating to some 10,000 people, being the average size of a group in whom the sense of community could be developed, and being as well a convenient size upon which to base the children's social unit, the school. To increase the physical demarcation of the unit, so increasing the social awareness, and to reduce the toll of death on the roads, arterial routes were planned to pass between the neigh-bourhoods, while the unit itself, though planned as a part of the whole, was to be in effect a self-contaiped social nucleus enjoying a life of its own. At the centre of the neighbourhood unit would be located the various shops, cinema, creche, library, community hall and the like as well as the schools, to provide a common meeting-place for the activities of the citizens, young and old, once more creating an environment cap able of bringing the opportunity for group activities to the people. Diagrams 1 and 2 show how the units are related.

The Greek City

Now returning to Plato's statement: what sort of place, if any, was provided in his day that would encourage this “familiar knowledge of citizen by citizen” he speaks about. The answer is to be found in the agora or town centre of the Greek city, such as Priene illustrated in Diagram 3. The Greek city was much the same as our own is today. It had its houses, its streets, its public buildings, its theatres and shops. Unlike our cities it possessed a wall for its der fence, and unlike most of our cities it page 100

An “ideal” diagram of neigh-bourhood units related to road layout of the town.

A sketch layout for a small town illustating the principles in the “ideal” diagram.

An “ideal” diagram of residential units making up the neighbourhood and local shopping centres.

A sketeh Iayout for a neighbouhood unit with-its residential units and illustrating the principles in the ideal diagram.

page 101 possessed an obvious and designed town centre, which was at, the same time the community centre; the agora or public square.

In it would be-found the shops which attracted the daily attentions of the in-habitants. In the shelter of its collonade would walk the aged taking their mild exercise. In one corner, perhaps, the student would be engaged in earnest debate with the philosopher. At some point in its open space would be placed the shrine of the City's God. Adjacent to it would be the ecclesiasterion or Senate house. Because the newspaper was unkown, the populace could get the latest news from the agora in conversation with others. In short, the agora was the community centre, the centre of the community, the town centre—whatever you like to call it.

Applied To New Zealand

If it is true that the city is the people, then any town-planning programme must fall to the ground if it does not Pay proper regard to this fact. From what has been said earlier of the neighbourhood unit as a group of some 10,000 people it will he seen that this figure would approximate to the population of the average New Zealand town.

It would be correct in New Zealand to think of the community centre as that part of the town where people from all parts of the town gravitate to enjoy the stimulus of group activity. This becomes the town centre, the real community centre, where, as in ancient times, people are brought together to a common meeting-place to do their shopping, to see a film, to have a cup of coffee in pleasant surroundings, or even just to sit in the sun and watch the world go by. Here the local council offices should be housed, the art gallery and museum should be located to enable the habit to be formed of dropping in. They should not be put in some imposing but inaccessible spot.

So here we are in New Zealand just emerging from the pioneering phase, during which a strong community sense was engendered-through having to carve a home out of the bush and being glad to know that assistance from one's neighbour would be forthcoming if required. But the bush has now gone, and the necessity for pioneering has passed away, and with it the erstwhile community spirit. The planner's problem therefore is to revive that community spirit. How can it be done?

A sketch of a Greek colonial town of 330 B.C. showing the agora or town centre located on the platea or main street.

Can the Community Spirit Be Revived?

Certain activities demand a group to perform them. Football brings together a number of people; Brass bands another group; the attendance at the Plunket rooms unites mothers. There are play-readings; the gymnasium; the swimming bath and so on. The community centre, as I think of it, must make facilities available for the pursuit of all these activities, placing them in intimate relationship. While mother does the shopping the younger children can play happily in the adjacent sand pit. When father goes, to Brass band practice, mother may go to the Thespians nearby. The adventure of shopping can be undertaken in the quiet of the shopping precinct without fear of life and limb from traffic. Provision must be made for car-parking. The housewife can have her shopping burdens made easier if she can use the family car, parking it in a convenient spot. The same parking provisions must apply to cinemas and theatres. After the picture or play, facilities for a cup of coffee in congenial surroundings must be available. Most important is the provision of space for-the crowd of people who would be drawn to this spot, and for space for the citizens, on municipal occasions, to hear an address by the mayor from the balcony of the town hall.

Routes from all parts of the town should flow naturally to the community centre, where presumably the main route in and out of the town will be. Here, too, should be the bus depot, so that the visitor is introduced to the place at its community centre and can find his way readily to all the facilities. The loosely applied term “community centre” must of necessity mean something more than just a building catering for a combination of needs, while at the same time it should include that very thing among its component parts. The real problem is one of re-integrating society and environment so that both may interact, to produce the New Zealander of the future, not as the rugged individualist of the pioneering age, but as the urbane product of an urban environment which caters for the social needs of its people, and promotes Plato's “familiar knowledge of citizen by citizen.”