If you’ve never seen them, old ideas feel new.

At the dawn of the American community planning movement, the founding generation of American planners attempted to optimize the configuration of new neighborhoods with careful attention to integration of land use, building type and street position, with an eye beyond property lines.

In “The Road to Good Houses”, Survey Graphic, v. 54, May 21, 1925, planning pioneer and landscape architect Henry Wright urged comprehensive siting beyond lots with an eye to light, air and view; provision of public institutions, recreation facilities and local commercial and convenience facilities “in the right places for community uses”; the location of industry to facilitate efficient transportation of goods and people; provision of parking and waste disposal with little disruption; an emphasis on the interplay of public and private lands, with attention to the grouping of buildings and collective service provision; and the allowance in housing for a variety of income groups and family sizes.

Here he compared the ordinary with the ideal: