ultimate writer HW

THIS IS THE ASSIGMENT

This week, you have read a selection from two of the most influential pieces of urban writing of the nineteenth century.  The work of Engels and the work of Riis challenged the way citizens perceived the economic and material conditions around them.  The lecture contextualizes the dramatic changes and challenges taking place in industrializing cities.  These challenges included as overcrowding in subpar housing, the spread of disease because of poor sanitation, and inequalities faced my millions of wage laborers (often immigrants).  You read how the middle class, urban reformers and social commentators responded to such circumstances.

 

In your post, please respond to the following (the first two are for administrative purposes; the last two relate to this week’s course content):

 

1. Describe the differences you see between Jane Addams’ approach to urban poverty and that of Friedrich Engels.  What parallels to each approach do you see in our contemporary urban landscape (i.e. are there individuals, groups or political institutions that seem to align with one approach or the other as they focus to meet the needs of our cities today?)

2. Why do you think Jacob Riis’ work was so influential in stimulating legislation when dozens of other “urban investigative reporters” had been publishing reports and illustrations since the 1850s without the same level of public reaction?  Does this shed light on the way we currently understand problems within our cities?  Do you have an example?

THIS IS MY ANSWER

2) The differences between Jane Addams’ approach to urban poverty and Friedrich Engels

After travelling Europe, Jane Adams was shocked by the urban poverty in the continent. She had a religious approach in this issue inspired by the early Christians. Jane Addams worked among the Democratic Christian community enhancing the lives of the poor and the less privileged in the society. She involved herself in social Christian movement that came with the idea of putting up settlement houses where the poor will live with the privileged as social equals. Friedrich Engels approach to urban poverty is different from Jane Adams as he focused on the living conditions of the less privileged in modern cities to determine the fundamental equities created by industrial capitalism (Stevenson, 2003).  Friedrich Engels emphasized on economic problems and inequality problems in his approach, but he did not focus on Christianity as in the case of Jane Adams. However, the two approaches have parallelism whereby they all advocate for poverty reduction strategy. They have a similarity by basing on the difference in social status as the key factor contributing to poverty and economic problems.

3) Why Jacob Riis’ work was influential in stimulating legislation

Jacob Riis’ work, “How the Other Half Lives” prompted significant legislative reforms by focusing on the desperate lives of the poor urban immigrants. Jacob Riis’ work also left an enduring mark on the photography documentary history. Riis used the examples of Christian Charity work and other housing developments by businesspeople (Dobbins, 2009). Riis also stimulated the legislations by use of various images urging them to improvise further legal measures aimed at improving the new building codes to remodel the existing ones. Riis used visionary imagery, journalism, history and statistics pointing out the compassionate comprehension of life in New York City. The residents in New York were represented as swarming masses, living hopelessly and huddled in dens and hives. This work created a different image of New York City promoting key legislative reforms on future political leaders. Riis work shed light on how we currently live in our communities as the images enable the well privileged in society to have an insight on the other part of the society. An example is a picture of the homeless lying in the streets in times of inclement weather. 

Dobbins, M. (2009). Urban Design and People. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Stevenson, D. (2003). Cities And Urban Cultures. Philadelphia: McGraw-Hill Education (UK).

MY CLASSMATE ANSWER

3)   Jane Addam’s approach to urban poverty was extremely hands on. She and her staff at the Hull House provided classes on multiple subjects for the kids in the slums. These kids were given a chance to make a career for themselves. On the other hand, Friedrich Engel’s approach was much different. His opinion was based on the economy system of that time. He believed that Capitalism should be diminished all together in order for urban poverty to change permanently.

For Jane Addam’s approach there are definitely several similarities to todays urban landscape. There are countless organizations and charities that are constantly combatting urban poverty, either with food, education, or housing.

As for Friedrich Engel, his approach is quite similar to the way our political/economic system is today. He was against capitalism and all for helping the poor or the “lower class” in today’s day and age, just as our country’s political system is today.

4) The reason why Jacon Rii’s work was so influential was because of his revolutionary way of exposing urban poverty. He used flash photography to capture the dark settings within the city that the rest of society was not really able to see (other than the poor themselves of course). His photographs showed how passionate he was about the daily struggles that these people were going through.

This photograph (attached to the attachment) was taken in the Rivington Street Dump. As you can see here, Riis style of photography was extraordinary in the sense of how much awareness he could draw out of people just by looking at a simple still image. He gave people a genuine sense of “behind the scenes” of the poor and would make you feel bad for them. The way we currently see problems within our urban cities today are quite similar. With all the technology we have today, we are still using pictures to spread awareness of the issues that are going on just a few neighborhoods away.

I NEED TO WRITE A COMMENT TO HIS ANSWER

THIS IS HOW THE COMMET SHOULD “respond to one or more students’ initial post. This response should be brief yet substantive, inquisitive and courteous. In other words, be engaged with your fellow student’s ideas, ask him or her questions to both gain deeper understanding and to challenge their assumptions, however, always treat others with respect. This post should be about three or four sentences