County of London Plan

Abstract

SELDOM in the history of Great Britain can such a gigantic scheme of land reclamation have been put forward as a practicable proposal ; seldom can such a-case have been made out for powers to alter the-physical environment of a great population. The book of the County of London Plan is first and foremost a quite remarkable essay in public relations, in the right kind of publicity for the special aspect of democratic action which we call ‘town and country planning’. Published at a price which must be suited to the purchaser rather than the promoter, beautifully set-out and illustrated, and finely printed, with large coloured maps, descriptive photographs, and a host of diagrams and line drawings, the book is the best ambassador to the public that the plan could have. Neither Moscow nor New York were surveyed so ably and in so popular a format, and only Amsterdam can claim to have produced anything comparable to it. It is not possible to read it without becoming deeply interested in the future of London, as in its past ; and in a world of war-time restrictions, this achievement of authors, publishers, printers, illustrators and engravers is, in itself, a matter for congratulation.

County of London Plan

Prepared for the London County Council by J. H. Forshaw and Prof. Patrick Abercrombie. Pp. xii + 188 + 59 plates. (London: Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1943.) 12s. 6d. net.