CAMDEN Despite efforts to revitalize urban centers, Americas cities confront a mass exodus of residents and workers. But in late 18th and 19th century Europe, the urban problem was quite the opposite: a massive influx of people that caused expansion in some cities by 1,000% or more.
In a new book by a Rutgers UniversityCamden history professor, co-written with his historian wife, the multifaceted role of the city is examined during this crucial period in Europe, where challenges of sudden growth due to the industrial revolution and national unification, were met with often creative solutions.
Andrew Lees, a professor of history at Rutgers-Camden, and Lynn Hollen Lees, a professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania, are the authors of the new book Cities and the Making of Modern Europe, 1750-1914 (Cambridge University Press, December 2007). Their first co-authored book, the husband-and-wife history team address why the expansion took place, how it occurred, and what the consequences were for dozens of cities primarily in Britain, Germany, and France, but also elsewhere in Europe and in European colonies overseas.
Although there are a lot of books on individual cities, and there are some books that deal with the city going back to ancient Athens and Rome, we saw that there wasnt really anything that dealt with what seemed to be a take-off period in the development of the urban sector in Europe, says Andrew Lees.
The extreme growth in cities caused a multitude of difficulties, including large scale public health problems, slum housing, lack of clean water, political tensions, and protests. Yet what fascinates Andrew Lees is that from these stressed situations arose remarkable initiative for the public good. Philanthropic housing was built by concerned citizens or employers. Members of the middle class worked to advance the cause of adult education through vocational classes and general education classes. Public health movements motivated the populace. And a more efficient municipal government that managed public parks, transportation, and utilities was born.
According to Andrew Lees, a strong social consciousness by those considered privileged implied a moral obligation to reach out to others in need. They understood that social disorder could be harmful for everyone - bad water would pollute whole cities, not just neighborhoods, Lees points out.
He notes that Americas cities of the 21st century can learn some lessons from Europes cities of the industrial revolution. Civic involvement is crucial to the health and vitality of any city, regardless of the era stresses the Rutgers-Camden historian.
True urbanites, the Leeses have lived in Philadelphia since the 1970s, but have traveled to more than half of the cities they studied. Most recently, they have called London, Berlin, and Munich home.
When asked what makes a city great, the Rutgers-Camden scholar emphasizes the need for more than lots of people. A great city also has to have history and tradition. Great cities dont spring up overnight. They need citizens who are concerned about where they live and participate in urban affairs, he adds.
The historian team has collaborated on previous research, co-editing the series of books The Rise of Urban Britain 1837-1914. A specialist in the social and intellectual history of 19th and 20th century Germany, Andrew Lees is the author of the books Cities Perceived: Urban Society in European and American Thought, 1820-1940 and Cities, Sin, and Social Reform in Imperial Germany. Lynn Hollen Lees is co-director of the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management and International Studies at Penns Wharton School. The author of the books Exiles of Erin: Irish Migrants in Victorian London and The Solidarities of Strangers: The British Poor Laws and the People, 1700-1948, she researches European cities, their social organization, and their welfare institutions.
Cities and the Making of Modern Europe, 1750-1914 is part of the New Approaches to Modern European History series published by Cambridge University Press. The featured books are written by top researchers for other scholars, students, and general readership.
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