Life in the Emerging Urban Society

1. Life in the Emerging Urban Society a

2. Industry & the Growth of Cities • Living with the industry • Since the 19th century, urbanization had increased to a large-scale commerce • Cities were dirty, congested , and unhealthy • Walking was the only transportation available due to the packed cities • Infectious diseases spread throughout the town, constantly killing people • It was impossible to improve the living conditions due to poverty & over population • By 1800, more & more factories were built along countryside • It facilitated transfer of coal to the other towns

3. The Rising Population • As industry grew, so did unhealthy, overpopulated cities • A dramatic increase in population occurred in 1801-1891 • Wales population went from 1.5 million to 15.6 million by 1891 • People worried how this could affect the condition in their cities as a result of urbanization • People were condensed into houses and building • They were as small as possible in order to accommodate the over-growing population • Up to 10 people lived in a single room • They lived in unhealthy, unsanitary conditions • The government did little to improve the towns

4. Public Health & the Bacteria Revolution • Edwin Chadwick was a good Benthamite – a follower of radical philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) • Chadwick believed that • Disease and death caused poverty Ex. A sick worker was an unemployed worker; an orphaned child was poor child. • Disease could be prevented by cleaning up the urban environment (sanitary idea) • He also collected information from local Poor Law officials on the “sanitary conditions of the laboring population” and published his findings in 1842 • The widely published evidence proved that disease was related to the filthy environment conditions which were caused by • Lack of drainage • Sewers • Chadwick solved that problem with a cheaper method using iron pipes and tile drains to carry off fecal matter (excrement) from communal outhouses

5. Continued… • In 1848, Chadwick’s reports and studies became the basis of G.B.’s first public health law • G.B.’s health law created a national health board & gave cities the authority to build modern sanitary systems • United States, France, and Germany supported the public health movement from the 1840’s and on • Gov’ts accepted the responsibility for the health of all citizens • By the 1860’s & 1870’s, European cities made good work at making adequate water supplies and sewer systems • City dwellers (citizens) began to reap the reward of good health

6. Medical Achievements • Miasmatic Theory of disease was the belief that people contracted disease when they breathed the bad odors of decay and putrefying excrements. • In 1840’s & 1850’s doctors and public health officials pinpointed that bad drinking water transmitted disease. • This suggested that contagions were spread through filth which weakened the miasmatic theory. • Louis Pasteur (1822-1895), a French chemist began studying fermentation in 1854 at the request of brewers • he later developed pasteurization- the suppression of activity of these organisms by heating the beverage. • In 1870 Pasteur and other researchers discovered the connection between germs and disease. • In 1865, Pasteur showed that the air was full of bacteria

7. Medical Achievements…Continued • English surgeon Joseph Lister(1827-1912) found that his antiseptic principle worked. • Chemical disinfectant applied to a wound would “destroy the life of floating particles(germs).” • 1880’s German surgeons developed the practice of sterilizing not just the wound but hands, instruments, clothes and everything in the operating room. • Over the years the bacterial revolution achievements doubled w/ the public health movement. • By 1910 a great silent revolution occurred and death rates dropped dramatically.

8. Urban Planning and Public Transportation • Prior to 1850, urban planning was practiced very little • Ex. 1/3 of a city’s 1 million inhabitants would live in a central city the size of about two New York Central Parks • Few open space, People Lived in close quarters • Cities were highly polluted • Diseases were very common • Public Transportation played a very small role in society (Most walked) • The key to improving the quality of urban life was through urban planning

9. Napoleon III (r. 1848-1850) • Napoleon III • Wanted to promote welfare of all his subjects through government action • Believed that improving (rebuilding) Paris would increase employment, improve living conditions, and show off power and glory of his empire • He hires a guy named baron Georges Haussmann to rebuild Paris • Georges Haussmann (1809-1884) and his team proceeded to improve the city • They constructed neighborhood parks, and open spaces throughout the city • Designed new structures in the sewers, allowing double the amount of fresh water coming into the city • New streets promoted construction for better housing • Cleared out old buildings for boulevards

10. Continued… • Boulevard: a broad avenue in the city, usually having areas at the sides or center for trees, grass, or flowers • They were designed to prevent easy construction and defense of barricades by Revolutionary crowds • Allowed traffic to flow freely • Enabled glorious views of the city • In 20 years, Paris was transformed • It was now the model for Urban Planning for countries around Europe • Helped spread urbanism all over Europe

11. Public Transportation • Before (1890s) • Most people who had transportation would usually ride a horse-drawn carriage – usually wealthy • 1890s European countries adopted the electric street car • Electric Street cars were cheaper, faster, and more dependable • Public Transportation was improved dramatically • By 1910 electric street car systems in four countries were carrying 6.7billion • Public transportation was being used four times as often as before