NYC in the 1800s

Population in the big cities of U.S. grew in a remarkable amoung in the late 1800s and early 1900s, This happen by the urbanization, industrialization, and immigration of the time. Employment in industry increased in a tremendous rate by 400 percent from 1880 to 1920 while 14 million people immigrated to U.S. in the same period.

In New York City, there was an amazing population increase every decade from 1800 to 1880. The population would double every decade because of these buildings that were single family dwelling were divide into multiple living spaces.

The conditions in the first tenements were very poor and people lived in enormously crowded situation. When the first tenements were built there were almost no law regulations. Therefore housing didn’t have lighting or air which people need to survive.

An old-law tenement was typically 25 feet wide by 100 feet deep and six stories tall. Build to accommodate 26 families in 325 square-foot apartments.  Often these apartments had no windows, apart from the living room, which often was window looking out to a tiny light shaft or if not just another room in the same apartment. They would live like this which was unhealthy to people living there specially kids this is why kids would die in higher rate than any other category or any age type.