opening, with a total of 800 or 1,000 houses in all. The desirability of assembling these at one place and building one large modern town (fig. 1) is worthy of careful study. The magnitude of such a town would warrant such features as an efficient traction system, a suitable water supply, a sewer system, paved streets and sidewalks, a lighting system, better sanitary laws and regulations, garbage collection and disposal by incineration, salvages realizable by utilization of wastes, bigger stores, better schools, hospitals and cemeteries, a playground, amusement halls, a dancing pavilion, a theater, and more varied means of entertainment; in short, the advantages of a highly organized city as compared with those of a village; and

FIGURE 1.-Map of model mining town in Illinois.

as the company controls the construction of the town, if not the management, many city evils may be forestalled.

After the site for the town has been determined the layout of the streets and alleys and the size and arrangement of lots must be considered. For this reason a topographic map of the site should be made showing contour lines at not more than 5-foot intervals, if possible, all watercourses with high and low water levels, wet places. soil conditions, the name and diameter of all large or sightly trees, Government section lines, and similar information. With the aid of such a map a number of arrangements may be investigated and their relative costs and advantages may be compared, and when field inspections are made a more vivid and comprehensive mental picture

can be formed. The advantages derived from having a map of this kind will well repay the cost of making it.

STREETS, GUTTERS, SIDEWALKS, AND ALLEYS.

STREET SYSTEMS.

Even on a level area the rectangular street system is not adopted as much as formerly because of the many pleasing effects obtainable

FIGURE 2.-Diagram showing advantage of diagonal street for closely grouped cottages. Houses arranged as in upper view have more air, light, and sunshine, and better outlook than those arranged as in lower view.

with winding streets. Winding streets permit

Winding streets permit a larger number of houses to take advantage of such natural features as favorable

exposures and prevailing winds, and a greater variety of viewpoints is attainable, especially on the concave side of curves. Numerous parks and grass plats may be developed. On a hilly site contour streets are, in addition to these advantages, most economical; easy grades may be obtained with less cut and fill; culverts, bridges, surface drainage, and sewer systems will cost less. With this system the lot will slope toward the street, so that the ground line of the front of the house will be level, which greatly improves appearances. In some cases it may be necessary to crowd cottages closely. In such, more sunshine, better ventilation, and a better outlook will be afforded if the houses are offset by means of a diagonal street than if the regular perpendicular street system be followed (see fig. 2). In some localities the street system of the proposed town may have to be coordinated with the public-land system of roads, in which case some streets must run north and south. In the main business part of the town practical purposes may be better served by straight streets.

WIDTH OF STREETS.

In the average mining town the vehicular traffic in the residential district is not heavy, so that a narrow well-surfaced street, with an effective gutter and paved sidewalk, provided the building line is well back from the street, suits conditions better than wide streets and poor sidewalks. As a fire-protective measure streets have been made very wide in some mining villages; hence it is evident that the water-supply system will affect the width of the streets.

NAMING OF STREETS.

The streets should be named not only on the maps in the engineer's office but by signboards in prominent places. This is a thoughtful improvement and costs very little. It goes without saying that the town should not be designated by a numeral in correspondence or referred to in conversations as a "camp" or or "patch."

CONSTRUCTION OF SIDEWALKS AND GUTTERS.

The following directions are often followed for making cement sidewalks. The ground is leveled off about 10 inches below the finished grade, and if necessary is well settled by ramming. A 5-inch foundation of coarse gravel, broken stone, or coal ashes is placed and rolled. A 3-inch layer of concrete, made from one part cement, two parts sand, and three parts stone and mixed dry, is laid on this foundation and covered with a 1-inch surface coat made of one part cement and one part sand. The sidewalk should drain toward the gutter, with a slope of 1 in 10, and should have expansion joints every 5 or 6 feet.

Well-paved sidewalks are recommended for comfort and cleanliness. They do not have to be as wide as city sidewalks. There is perhaps more comfort in using a well-paved sidewalk 2 or 3 feet wide than one of much greater width less carefully built.

In case there is no underground sewer system the street gutters should be designed with a view to removing house wastes, such as kitchen slops and wash water, as well as surface drainage. For this reason they should be made of concrete, box shaped, and smooth surfaced with rounded corners.

ALLEYS.

Alleys, preferably narrow ones, should be provided, as they make a lot more private and are convenient. In a well-administered model town none of the notorious evils of the alley need be allowed to develop.

Some town planners disapprove of alleys because the expense of fences is increased, more paving is required, and the alley is apt to become unsightly."

DIMENSIONS OF HOUSE LOTS.

Where there is plenty of suitable land each cottage should have a large yard. It is generally better to apportion this area by depth rather than frontage, in order to reduce the cost per lot for street improvements. However, the houses should not be crowded together; there should be sufficient distance between them to insure good light, ventilation, privacy, and fire protection. This distance depends to some extent upon the height of the house. One-story houses may be spaced closer, if necessary, than two-story houses, and conditions may be relieved somewhat by alternating one and two story houses.

SITUATION OF HOUSE ON LOT.

Better lighting often may be effected by varying the distance between the front of the house and the street line, in which case twostory houses should be set farther back than one-story houses for the purpose of equalizing the street view. Similarly it is a good plan not to build the houses on the two sides of the street directly opposite one another. If the houses are staggered, better circulation of air and more interesting outlooks will be furnished. (See fig. 4.)

If there are to be no front fences and if the houses are practically on the street level a greater distance between the street and the house is necessary than if the reverse be true. Most advantage may be taken of a necessarily small distance by laying the sidewalk adjacent

a See remarks of Morris Knowles, The Proceedings of the Third National Conference on Housing, Dec. 3, 4, and 5, 1913, p. 111.