By combining automobile transportation with urban sprawl, we have created in the United States vast assemblages of dwellings that rarely meet the standards of sound ecological communities. The central cities of most American metropolises are crime-ridden and most suburbs are terribly inconvenient. The mass confusion of commuter traffic simply emphasizes the lack of relevance of suburbs to central cities. The 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. city becomes the 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. jungle.

The answer to many of these problems lies in the biological structure of man himself. Our cities, if they are to be meaningful to man, must be physically scaled to him. This does not mean that the size of a walking city cannot be extremely variable since two or more residential neighborhoods can mesh with non residential districts. Even a megastructure city of a million people can be planned so that it meets the environmental requirements of each individual.

The central problem that we must deal with in future city planning is to develop a viable human community that satisfies the ecological requirements of man and that is at the same time compatible with the technical, business, and industrial components of the city. But in creating modern cities, we must consider more than the juxtaposition of the various components. We must also deal with the problem of moving people back and forth between the various parts of the city, and between the city and the surrounding suburbs.

The present solution is to accept individual vehicles as the standard means of transportation, yet in most of our cities this is being done at great expense both to individuals and to the community. As a consequence of our dependence upon individual vehicles for city transportation, mass transit in most American cities is in a decline with poor service, inadequate schedules, and rising costs.

The development of high speed mass transportation and the reorganization of residential neighborhoods and business and industrial districts so that they are convenient for people would go a long way toward alleviating traffic and pollution problems of the cities. Our future cities will have to include well-designed transportation corridors that will link the neighborhoods to each other and the city to the suburbs, and do so in a way that will not force urban dwellers to live in a nightmare of noise, filth, and fumes.

If they are to function in harmony with man, every human community must provide individual privacy and public security; the community must have observers and the means to observe; the community must accommodate all social, economic, and age groups; and above all, the community must provide everything required for day-to-day maintenance. These goods and services must be easily accessible to resident and visitor alike.

With cities arranged for walking convenience, man should live a healthier, more satisfying life with more time for leisure activities. The proper physical arrangements of the city would tend to discourage street crimes, and with the public areas of the community under public scrutiny, collective security would be enhanced.

The creative spirit of all men will have ample opportunity for development, for variety of interests, design, and activities should be part of the ideal walking city. Before the paintings were added to the Luscaux cave it was just that—a cave. After the walls were decorated, it became one of man's ennobling achievements.

There is no reason why the future development of American cities cannot combine modern technology with an environment fit for man. To develop such cities sound ecological principles must be applied.

Delay will not bring the total collapse of the city—ecological systems are self-correcting. But the vast energy and resources can be oriented now for the development of ecologically sound communities for man in our cities. The processes of change are resolute and irresistible. Without changing very much of what goes on in the city these energies and processes can be harnessed for the commonweal and the commonwealth.

—Theodore W. Sudia