Some notes on the housing question in Finsbury : being a preliminary report ordered to be printed by the Public Health Committee of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury / by George Newman.

  • Finsbury (London, England). Public Health Committee.
Date:
1901
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Licence: In copyright

Credit: Some notes on the housing question in Finsbury : being a preliminary report ordered to be printed by the Public Health Committee of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury / by George Newman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    ]00 The London County Council has since 1897 made various attempts to secure further action on the part of the railway companies, and amendments to the Cheap Trains Act. It would appear that the County Council is the proper authority to undertake the administra- tive duties relating to inter-communication, but whether that be so or not, it behoves the Borough Councils of Central Districts to do their utmost to secure cheap and rapid transit by train or electric tram from their centres to the outskirts of London.® I am strongly of opinion that with improved means of communication the evils of overcrowding in Central London become capable of cure. Without such improved means other proposals will be impracticable and ineffectual, and therefore I think there is evidence to show that improved locomotion is one of the primary steps to be taken in order permanently to relieve congested districts.! Such action would not remove all difficulties but it would be a step forward. As Mr. Charles Booth says, “ Many other wants would follow, many problems would remain; the utilizing of existing open spaces for public benefit, and the provision of others in the vicinity of growing populations; the widening of thoroughfares and the opening up of courts; the war with dirt and disease and premature death; the closing of houses not fit to live in; the supervision of new buildings ; the clearing away of old slums and the checking of new ones—all would be made more easy of accomplishment. Easier, too, would be * P'or an interesting discussion of this question see a Paper bj‘ Mr. Charles Booth, entitled “Improved Means of Locomotion as a cure for the Housing Difficulties in London.” MacMillan & Co., 1901. f Some experienced authorities have advised that in seeking a solution of the housing problem independent enterprise should be relied upon for the supply of houses, and metropolitan, central and local authorities should carry out clearance schemes, supervise building, and enforce sanitary law. Whilst there is evidence to show that such a policy would not always be practicable, there is ample room for such co-operation in relation to distribution of the population. If by improved means of transit dwellers in Central London migrate to the outskirts, house accomodation for them on the outskirts might be provided by private enterprise, acting in response to the law of supply and demand. In this wa’ municipal action would facilitate transit, and private enterprise would supply iiouses, con- forming to the requirements of the various .Acts. Such a co-operation does not seem unreasonable, and by its means the burdens of the problem wouid be shared without the serious financial responsibilities which would be inc irred by a Borough Council attempting to provide all requirements.
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