In the late 1800s and early 1900s, shortages of affordable housing forced many poor families to squeeze into tiny tenements - overcrowded apartments, which were frequently unsafe and unsanitary. Journalist and photographer Jacob Riis became famous for exposing the horrible conditions in New York City tenements.
Jacob Riis (May 3, 1849 - May 26, 1914) was a Danish American social documentary photographer. He is known for using his photographic and journalistic talents to help the impoverished in New York City; these poor immigrant New Yorkers were the subject of most of his writings and photography. He endorsed the implementation of 'model tenements' in New York with the help of Lawrence Veiller. Additionally, he is considered one of the fathers of photography due to his very early adoption of flash in photography. While living in New York, Riis experienced poverty and became a reporter writing about the quality of life in the slums and in the tenements. He attempted to improve the bad living conditions of poor immigrants by exposing the living conditions to the middle and upper classes.
How the Other Half Lives
Jacob Riis wrote a book titled 'How the Other Half Lives' which included photographs of tenement housing and conditions for immigrants living in New York City. The following video clip uses many of the images and descriptions from his book.
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