Chapter 7, section 2

The Challenges of Urbanization

When immigrants came, they tended to live in the cities

Why were our cities growing?

Because farming was becoming more efficient, we didn’t need as many. Many former farmers moved to the city to find a job.

Why con’t

Black people moved to the cities to get away from racial discrimination, political oppression, and poverty

Why con’t

Urban Promblems

Tenements – like an apartment within a house

Usually had 2-3 families in a single-family residence

Housing options and problems

Minimum standards for plumbing and ventilation were passed

Each tenement had to have a window and an air shaft for each room

-( But people dumped garbage into the shafts and it started to stink)

-( To keep out the stench, people started nailing

the windows shut)

Housing con’t

San Francisco and Richmond built trolleysBoston and New York built subwaysChicago built the “el” or elevated train

Transportation

The problem came from trying to repair old systems and built new ones fast enough to meet the growing demand

Transportation con’t

Most homes didn’t have indoor plumbingThere were faucets on the street that people will use to fill up bucketsDiseases like cholera and typhoid fever spread They started filtering the water and chlorine

Water

Horse manure piled up on the streetsSewage was in open guttersThere wasn’t regular garbage pick-up so people threw it in the street

By 1900 most cities had sewage lines and created sanitation departments

Sanitation

Biggest problem was pickpockets and thieves

Crime

Causes- lack of water- buildings made of wood- using candles and kerosene heaters

Solutions- professional fire departments- automatic sprinklers- buildings made of brick, stone, or concrete

Fire

Burned for about 36 hoursEstimated 300 people died100,000 people were left homelessMore than 3 sq. miles of the city, including 17,500 buildings were destroyedProperty loss was estimated to be $200 million

Great Chicago Fire, 1871

Lasted 28 seconds, but fires burnt for 4 daysEstimated 1000 people died200,000 people were left homeless5 sq miles, including 28,000 building were destroyedProperty damage estimated at $500 million

San Francisco Earthquake, 1906