New York City cleaning policies are meant to keep the city streets clear of garbage and refuse, however, the policies only work in theory and do not eradicate all waste. This results in garbage pile-ups and dilapidated conditions in the poorer, underdeveloped areas of the city. During the medieval period, sanitation policies were developed largely because of the Black Death (plague), which caused millions of deaths in medieval England. Many of the medieval English health problems stemmed from a lack of sanitation and running water. New York City’s sanitation system stands to learn from Medieval English sanitation because Medieval sanitation sought to quickly address issues of odors and refuse in city and town streets in order to improve public health; New York City cleaning policies are slow to address the unsettling amounts of refuse and health issues associated with the growing population and unsanitary conditions. The following literature reviews will help support my thesis.
Medieval waste management was developed to improve overall public health. Sanitation and
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M. Jorgenson’s thesis, “Private need, public order: Urban sanitation in late medieval England and Scandinavia.” In her study, Jorgenson investigates “medieval sanitation technologies.” She focuses primarily on the effectiveness of sanitation policies and the much-needed collaboration between city inhabitants and government on public health issues. Similar to my argument concerning the needed improvement of New York City sanitation efforts, Jorgenson highlights how medieval sanitation was developed through the critical interactions between the conditions of society and the social systems. That is, progress in sanitation existed only when the complex social systems and government worked together harmoniously and sought to improve the poor physical conditions of their city—a necessity
Ultimately, the week of the Broad Street outbreak impacted the ways cities organized themselves. Solutions for problems such as cholera helped urbanization in advancing sanitation standards. The Great Stink of 1858 forced authorities to confront the
During Europe’s boom in trade more advanced ways of cargo shipping and sea travel were developed, but with this advancement also came the transport of disease. The most deadly of these new diseases was the well-known Black Death, which starting in 1347 took its toll on Western Europe. Throughout history, when faced with hard times, the true side of humanity can be seen; during these times humanity often reverts back to their roots whether those be the barbaric or the amiable. During the Black Death civilizations did just that; the chaos stricken communities of Europe responded in various ways some more righteous and beneficial, and others negative and barbaric.
In the summer of 1854, London was coming out as one of the most modern cities in the world. With nearly 2.4 million people living in the area at the time, the city’s infrastructure itself was having a hard time providing for the basic needs of its residents. The biggest problem existing within the city at that time was its waste removal system, or for better terms, its lack of one. Human waste was piling up everywhere, from people houses to the rivers and drinking water. This situation was the perfect breeding conditions for a number of diseases, and towards the end of that summer, one of the most deadly of them all took over. It took the work of both a physician and a local minister in order to discover the mysterious cause of the
During the 1800’s the way people lived was not quite how we live today. Although some may argue that the way they lived back then was so much easier it actually caused a lot of humans to perish. Not only did they die from diseases, but also because there was a lack of sanitization. “Industrial growth brought with it a host of environmental pollution problems”, (Document 3). Imagine living in an environment with trash and waste just being dumped into the streets, compared
The Roaring Twenties, a time of great change in America. Literature from that time really represented what was going on in the world, as The Great Gatsby and “A Rose for Emily” prove. Writers frequently used different literary elements F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” both used foreshadowing, point of view, and characterization to show living in the past can cause problems.
Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, as the country grew and trade flourished, periodic epidemics struck regions of the nation as population density increased. Outbreaks of influenza, cholera took over the nation, and in the south, one of the most prevalent was yellow fever. Due to these diseases, a lot of public health policies were either created or changed to better suit the new issues arising. In this essay, I will argue that the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878 brought upon many changes in the health realm in terms of public sanitation. In order to prove the epidemic s place in the history of health policies, I will be discussing the creation of the new sewer system, waste disposal techniques, and other projects created.
It is hard to imagine in the twenty first century the level of filth that was experienced in the 1830’s on a daily basis. Sanitation, public health and sewer systems were problems that gripped the nation throughout the ninetieth century (1830-1860s), encouraging popular debate and proposal of changes. The growth of population and increase in the industry
During the pandemic of bubonic plague sanitation was at an all-time low. Cities suffered the greatest, with the disease spreading quickly. The lack of a safe system for waste disposal in these areas allowed for the disease to spread rapidly. The use of chamber pots was an example of the poor waste disposal. Chamber pots were small to medium sized bowls used for holding excretion. The contents of the chamber pots would then be tossed into the streets. Both sides of the streets were lined with trenches that would hold the human waste and other garbage; this became the perfect opportunity for disease to flourish. “Almost everyone used privies or chamber pots, which were emptied into open sewers that typically fed into streams, creeks, or adjacent rivers” (Streich). Not only was the filth repulsive in smell, but it also carried other airborne diseases which weakened the immune system thus a more catastrophic impact on the peasants.
Public health may have remained a pool of disease was it not for the reforms made in the middle ages Though the town authorities tried their best, London was probably the most unsanitary town in England. Slowly, however, rules were made and enforced. In 1301 four women butchers were fined for throwing the blood and guts of slaughtered animals into the street. By 1370, 12 teams of 'muck' collectors combed the streets for animal and human excrement - money could be made out of it by selling it to local farmers (which helped further spread the various diseases…)
Public health can be dated back to the Romans whom understood even during this time frame that proper division of human waste was a necessary tenant of public health in urban areas. Even dating as early as 1000 BC, the Chinese developed the practice of variolations
The answer lies in the climate fostered in Victorian England. It was one of unparalleled progress due to exploding industrialization of cities with modern factories, production processes, and advanced engineering. This exciting era also brought momentous discoveries in Geology, Astronomy, and the sciences. Discoveries like electricity and vaccines made a huge difference in the citizen’s quality of life. However, even though there was much advancement, the unsafe sanitation
Waste Management, Inc., incorporated in 1968, had become a leader in the industry of waste management services ranging from industrial operations to curbside collection. This company had become synonymous with many different kinds of disposal services that allowed for the company to grow and grow with a solid base over the course of twenty-eight years. Finally in 1996, the company reported total assets of almost $20 billion with net income close to $200 million. However, even with this growth and solid base, the company was feeling competitive pressures and net income was on the decline.
The Roman Empire provided a healthier place to live than the Roman Republic because of its superior sanitation. According to the textbook, poor sanitation due to factors such as insufficient drainage had been a serious problem in Rome during the Republic but was reduced substantially during the Empire (164-165). At any time, public hygiene is an issue that affects the quality of life for everyone, including the “average” citizen. Poor sanitation can lead to the rapid spreading of diseases, which usually results in
At the same time, Britain became more industrialized, towns started to grow and became over populated especially factory towns. Houses in these factory towns were close together, and because of this the living conditions in these houses were overcrowded, damp and dirty. People ate, slept and cooked in the same places. There were no sewers so there was human waste everywhere, because of the
In the early 19th Century the vast majority of housing for the working class was in a terrible condition, which were mainly due to overcrowding, poor ventilation and unsanitary environments. These issues lead to outbreaks of cholera on a number of occasions between the years 1813 and 1865. The Public Health Act was introduced in 1848, which required all local authorities to provide towns with hygienic sewage disposal and clean water supplies. Due to the presence of disease in slums, the Sanitary Reform Act was introduced in 1866. The act gave local authorities powers to inspect the cleanliness of homes in their district. (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). As stated by Berridge, Martin and Mold (2011), the Sanitary Reform Act aimed to address the problems with sewage, household waste and contaminated