Cities and the industrial revolution 1 I

Cities and the industrial revolution 1

I. Trends that underpinned* the industrial revolution The agricultural revolution: As early as 1650, Holland pioneered* new techniques such as heavy manuring*. New breeding* techniques were also developed. These improvements* were soon taken up in England elsewhere* in Europe. Enclosure, which occurred* in the second half of the 18 th Century, was particularly influential in England: large fields were divided into privately controlled plots* of land. Community access to these fields was restricted*. as early as: dès to underpin: sous-tendre trend : tendance to pioneer: ouvrir la voie manuring: fumage breeding: élevage / reproduction improvement: amélioration elsewhere: ailleurs to occur: avoir lieu 4 Population growth: France: 18 million inhabitants in 1715 to 26 million in 1789 Italy: 11 million in 1700 to 16 million in 1770 England: 5 million in 1700 to 9 million in 1800 plot : parcelle to restrict: restreindre increase: augmentation This increase* in population was accompanied by high levels of urban to rural migration. 2

II. Factors that influenced the spatial organisation of cities Population growth 4 An increase in the production of goods*: goods : biens This was obviously due to technological progress. But population to boost: augmenter, renforcer growth also contributed to boost* goods production by generating shift: changement, modification more demand for different types of goods. Shifts* in patterns* of employment: Workers who had traditionally been self-employed in rural areas pattern: motif, structure factory: usine outskirt: banlieue, périphérie moved to cities: their status changed as they often became employed by large factories*. In England, most of these new railroad: une voie ferrée industries were located within the city, not in the outskirts*. toll: un péage Infrastructure improvement: - A major expansion of railroads* thanks to the iron industry. - New roads financed through tolls*: Turnpike roads and trusts. - Canals 3

III. The industrial city Spatial Structure A closer look at Middlesbrough 4 Middlesbrough’s population rose from 5, 000 in 1840 to 75, 500 in 1891. Its iron production was exported all over the world. “One of the striking* features* of the development of many town The river Tees, North of the original city centre, stopped the city centres in the UK during the 20 th century was the substantial* from expanding northwards*. Therefore, a new centre had to be planned* further South. increase in buildings and areas devoted to* municipal A new city hall* (civic centre) was built. In many ways, this new administration and culture: the move from single ‘town halls’ to building was erected to reflect local pride*. The Mayor of entire ‘civic centres’”. (Larkham, 2004) Middlesbrough is reported to have said « we are proud of our smoke » (1887). iron: acier to stop (sj. ) from (vb+ing): empêcher. . de. . northwards : vers le nord striking: frappant planned: aménagé feature: caractéristique pride: fierté substantial: important city hall / civic centre: mairie devoted to: dédié à civic centre: mairie northwards : vers le nord courtroom: tribunal library: biblothèque 4 fire engins: camions de pompier

Liverpool: Neath: Birmingham: Working class housing (green) is located next to* the docks* (blue). Wealthy* people lived peripheral areas. Some people managed to* The industrial zone (green) is located along* the river (light blue*). The boundary of the built up area in 1828 is shown in red. escape* the central areas, but often lived in a “transition area” (red) Working class* housing (dark blue*) is on the other side of the Black areas are major industrial concentrations. Housing is found until they had enough money to move further out*. railway* (red). all around* the factories, in the central area of the city. boundary : frontière around: autour along: le long de working class: classe ouvrière railway: voie ferrée light / dark : clair / foncé next to: à côté de docks: docks (port) wealthy: aisé to manage to: parvenir à to escape: s’échapper further out: plus loin 5

IV. The consequences of urbanisation The main consequence of urbanisation was overcrowding*. “In the first half of the 19 th century, the answer was all too often by subdividing existing property and cramming* more accommodation* into backyards*. Cities became more densely packed*, creating dead-ends* and foul* alleys*, and damp* cellars* offered miserable accommodation. In Liverpool, about a quarter of the population lived in courts* in the early 1840 s, and perhaps ten per cent lived in cellars. ” (source) overcrowding : surpeuplement to cram: entasser accommodation: logement backyard: arrière-cour packed: bondé dead-end: cul-de-sac foul: immonde alley: allée damp: humide cellar: cave courts: cour narrow: étroit Back to back housing (uncontrolled) 6

Hygiene Because of overcrowding, hygiene problems became widespread*. Of particular concern were the regular cholera outbreaks*. John Snow was the first to identify the link* between water supply and cholera, as shown below. Using maps*, Snow found that the number of deaths was highest around water pumps. widespread : répandu oubreak: éruption link: lien map: carte 7

Poverty In 1902, Charles Booth published a groundbreaking study*. Life and Labour of the People of London threw light on a worrying issue*: over a third of the capital’s population lived in poverty at that time. By pioneering survey* techniques, Charles Booth made a major contribution to social sciences. Similar studies were undertaken* in other cities, particularly the one led* by Seebohm Rowntree in York. His findings* were a groundbreaking study : une étude a worrying issue: un problème inquiétant identical. survey: enquête to undertake: entreprendre to lead / led: mener finding: résultat (d’une étude) 8

Urban sprawl* From the second half of the 19 th century, public transport networks* were improved and extended. The world’s first underground* opened in London in 1843. This allowed* people who could afford* new suburban housing to move out of cities. This trend obviously* encouraged speculation. Developers* used public transport as an argument in their adverts*. urban sprawl: l’étalement urbain network : réseau underground: (ici) métro to allow: permettre to afford: pouvoir se permettre de obviously: évidemment developer: promoteur advert: publicité 9

IV. The Political context According to* André Maurois, the industrial revolution paved the way for* a political revolution. According to many specialists, the 18 th and 19 th centuries were characterised by laissez-faire. In a paper published in 1969, Gordon E. Cherry identified three factors that contributed to the development of town planning: (1) the growth* of towns (2) the concentration of urban problems, (3) the uneven* development of industry. (4) Most importantly, he argued that until the early 1830 s, the according to: d’après to pave the way for… : ouvrir la voie à… growth: croissance uneven : inégal to realise: se rendre compte to act: agir to reverse: renverser (5) situation in most towns could be referred to as “municipal (6) anarchy”. (7) Despite this, officials realised* they needed to act* in order to (8) reverse* these trends. 10

“ Traditional local government bodies were concerned* not so much* with town improvement and the provision of social amenities* as with the management of properties and the regulation of privileges. The inherited system of poor relief had not been designed to cater* for the casualties* of an industrial urban society, while predominant philosophy of individualism generated a deep suspicion of government intervention. ” (Gordon E. Cherry) (Poor relief was the system which provided social security in England From the 16 th Century until the Welfare State* was to be concerned with: être concerné / interessé par not so much with…as with… : pas tant par … que par. . . to cater for…: pourvoir aux besoins de… casualty: victime Welfare State: Etat Providence established In the early 1940 s. ) 11

one-way: à sens unique “ […] The process of reform is never a one-way* influence of Ideology upon* practice* or the empirical ‘pressure of facts’ upon ideology, but a continuous interaction between the two, in which both are continually modified. ” (Perkin, 1977) “Victorian governments, experimenting in new forms of regulation, […] had granted* to officials […] very general and loosely defined* authorities to make laws* or to judge cases and had permitted officials to develop and apply* their own standards* and interpretations of the public interest* […]. ” upon: sur practice (noun): pratique to grant: accorder loosely defined: vaguement défini law: loi to apply: appliquer standard: norme Numerous* ad hoc bodies* were set up in the 19 th century to tackle* numerous: de nombreux specific problems. a body: (ici) une organisation During the 19 th century, some services (water & electricity) were ‘nationalised’ and their management* was passed onto local authorities* (municipal ownership*) to tackle: s’attaquer à (un pbm) management: gestion local authority: municipalité 12 ownership: propriété

V. Early legislation Housing / living conditions in Victorian* cities have generated a huge* amount* of literature in the past couple of centuries*. The works of Charles Dickens are probably the most famous* Victorian (adj. ) : de la période Victorienne (1837 -1901) ones. In England, the first pieces of legislation dealing with cities huge: énorme focused* on housing* and public health*. amount: quantité century: siècle famous: célèbre to focus (on): focaliser housing: logement public health: santé publique Steps 2 and 3: Step 4: Step feet for 8 houses, at - Yard width: at least 151: - standards were raised further and included - Entrance 25 feet be minimum 5 feet least should for 18 houses minimum widths for at least 15 feet back lanes - -Yard’sminimum area: 150 square feet Yard width should be 13

VI. Utopian experiments Several industrialists* attempted at* creating successful new communities* from the late 1800 s. Robert Owen was the first person to implement such a project. The village he built in New Lanark provided* quality housing for his workers. New community: a new settlement, a new village or town industrialist : industriel (nom) to attempt at: tenter de to provide: fournir, pourvoir 14

Port Sunlight, built by the Lever family. The plan is influenced by continental projects: it features* wide* A number of other projects followed*: boulevards lined with* chestnut trees*. Houses are built as cottages, in short rows* (terraces*) or as semidetached*. Density did not exceed 20 dwellings per hectare whereas* in neighbouring* areas, it could reach* 50 dpa. to follow: suivre to feature : (ici) être doté de wide: large row: rangée terrace: rangée de maison (terraced housing) Saltaire, built by Sir Titus Salt (1851 -1876) semi-detached house: maison mitoyenne whereas: tandis que neighbourhing: avoisinant to reach: atteindre 15

legacy : héritage Garden Cities : The legacy* of Ebenezer Howard is often referred to as a town planner*. In fact, he was a shorthand writer*. His book, To-Morrow: a peaceful path to real reform, was originally Published in 1898. It was then published a second time as Garden Cities of To-Morrow in 1902. Today, Garden-cities are primarily* associated with a certain type of planning, architecture and design. At the time when they were devised* however, they reflected a wider* project that also took governance* into account*. town planner: urbaniste shorthand writer: sténographe primarily: principalement devised: inventé, imaginé wider: plus large governance: gouvernance to take … into account: prendre … en compte 16

Howard’s project is summed up* in his famous “three magnets*” diagram. to sum up : résumer magnet: aimant slum: taudis fog: brouillard drought: sécheresse drainage: assèchement 17

legacy : héritage The land used to build the first Garden Cities was purchased* at agricultural price – in other words, at a very low price. The whole* city was owned* by the municipality: one of the main aspects of Garden Cities is that they aimed at* avoiding* the problems associated with private property. Residents would pay rents* to the municipality rather than to private landlords*. The money raised through rents was reinvested to improve infrastructure and community facilities*. town planner: urbaniste shorthand writer: sténographe primarily: principalement devised: inventé, imaginé wider: plus large governance: gouvernance to take … into account: prendre … en compte 18

According to Howard, the population of Garden Cities should not exceed 30. 000 inhabitants. His project is based on polycentricity. His cities are self-sufficient* (they provide a balance* of homes and jobs) and are connected by public transport. In theory, Howard’s Social City could grow indefinitely*. self sufficient: auto-suffisante balance: équilibre indefinitely: indéfiniment 19

Howard had no architecture skills*: the plans for his Garden Cities were drawn by Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker who were both architects. The diagram below, published in Howard’s book, is only a “suggested plan” for a ward*. skill: compétence ward: quartier 20

Raymond Unwin published Nothing gained by overcrowding in 1909. This book proved that it is possible to improve the layout* of 1910. houses without having to decrease* densities. Unwin’s plan (right) 1911. only used 17% of the land for roads instead of* the usual* 40% in 1912. traditional plans (left). 1913. His other main contribution to planning practice was the creation 1914. of the “close”. This model has been widely used since, particularly 1915. in the 1930 s when vast council housing estates* were built. layout: disposition decrease: réduire usual: habituel council housing estate: ensemble de logements sociaux 21