Charles Reade (town planner)

Charles Compton Reade (4 May 1880 – 28 October 1933) was a New Zealand town planner who supported the garden city movement of the early twentieth century.

[citation needed] Extensive academic study of the life and work of Charles Reade has been conducted by Associate Professor Christine Garnaut of the University of South Australia.

[3] His affable personality and strong work ethic soon brought him to the attention of the Association's officials, and he was chosen, along with W. R. Davidge, for a promotion tour of the new garden city planning movement to Australia and New Zealand in 1914.

[4] In Australia, the general enthusiasm for the Garden City movement began with John Sulman's idea that planning should be about 'convenience, healthfulness and beauty' rather than ad hoc.

[7] He shocked audiences with examples of the claustrophobic squalor of the slums in industrialised Britain and warned that without implementation of planning law, Australia could also develop these horrific conditions.

[8] Reade spoke of the importance of constructing proper housing for the growing population, the evils of unplanned subdivisions outside the city, demarcation of industry and commercial property and planned open spaces.

However, the Legislative Council of South Australia did not pass it, because of both the war and strong opposition from those making profitable investments from no restrictions in place on the use and development of land (Reade 1921, p. 158).

[11] Reade was interested in Adelaide primarily because of Colonel William Light's '"brilliant skill and ability in selecting the site and planning the first great city of the reform era in Australia"'.

The design consisted of many complementary elements: separation of commercial and residential uses, designated recreational space; proximity to existing public transport and provision for an anticipated extension of the tramway; account of the winds and drainage problems; use of a road hierarchy and curvilinear streets to direct traffic away from residential land; appropriate location of schools, aged homes and facilities for returned soldiers; open spaces with many trees and flowers for greater aesthetic appeal and greater width and setbacks on properties to allow for privacy and maximum visibility.