Urbanization

Jacob Riis Wrote about ‘How the Other Half Lived’, in New York. Wanted to show the conditions of the poor in the U.S.

One problem with city growth is lack of adequate housing One problem with city growth is lack of adequate housing. As a result, tenements sprang up. A tenement is a multi-family urban dwelling.

Slum Living

In 1879, NYC passed a law that set minimum standards for plumbing and ventilation. Landlords started building airshafts that provided outside window for each room.

Since garbage was collected infrequently, soon these shafts filled with garbage which attracted vermin. To keep out the stench, people started nailing the windows shut.

Problems with growth of cities *Lack of safe drinking water. *Houses seldom had indoor plumbing. *Residents had to collect water in pails from faucets on streets and heat it for bathing.

Problems continued.. *Necessity to improve water quality to control diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever was obvious. *Filtration introduced in 1870s and later chlorination introduced to make city water safer.

Problems continued Horse manure piled up on the streets, sewage flowed through open gutters, and factories spewed foul smoke into the air.

Problems continued.. People dumped their garbage on the streets. “Scavengers” were hired to sweep the streets, collect garbage, and clean outhouses, they often did not do the jobs properly. By 1900, many cities developed sewer lines and created sanitation departments.

Fires broke out due to limited water supply and wooden dwellings, which were kindling waiting to be ignited. Use of candles and kerosene posed a fire hazard. At first, firefighters were volunteers. By 1900, most cities had professional firefighters.

As cities grew, pickpockets and thieves flourished As cities grew, pickpockets and thieves flourished. Although NYC organized the first full-time salaried police force in 1844, it and most other city law enforcement units were too small to have much impact on crime.

Skyscrapers Because there was no way to expand New York City outwards, the builders had to go up. Singer Building NYC - 1902 Woolworth Bldg. NYC - 1911