Tenement Living Essential Questions: 1). What was tenement life like for immigrants? 2). Who was Jacob Riis and why was he so influential?

What is a tenement?

What is a Tenement? Apartment buildings in the slums, or poor, rundown urban areas No running water in most Little to no regulations Many people shared/lived in each room

Room in a tenement, 1910

Bio of Jacob Riis Born in Denmark in 1849 Comes to the U.S. in 1870 No work suffers poverty but stays Becomes a police reporter in 1877

Bio of Jacob Riis Believed poor people were victims and did not choose their fate Used flash photography to capture immigrants’ living conditions Used his photos during lectures and to inform middle-class Believed the power of images over words

Outcomes of Riis’s Work Advocate for the urban poor Tenement housing reform Better sanitary conditions More parks Availability of schools

How the Other Half Lives Riis’ book published in 1890 Very popular book

New York City cc 1870s 1873- ¾ of population living in tenements Large influx of immigrants = rapidly growing city = rise in tenements Tenements: Large rooms chunked into smaller rooms Little light Lack of proper ventilation

Some Dangers of Tenement Life DEATH Children perish due to lack of fresh air Cholera No fire escapes Overcrowding Dark staircases Lack of water and proper sanitation

Floor Plan of a Tenement

Activity Time Refer to the hand out