Thanks, I just put it on hold at the library!
Yuppers, this is a great call!
That is a great point!
Do vaccines and antibiotics count? Perhaps that’s more of a general human benefit than “city”?
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Two citations for you - and for the good of the group. One is a fine history of AC done almost 40 years ago, but it gives an excellent, scholarly look at the development of AC in article form
Arsenault, Raymond. “The End of the Long Hot Summer: The Air Conditioner and Southern Culture.” The Journal of Southern History 50, no. 4 (1984): 597-628.
NC State should have the actual journal in their bound periodicals, and its also available via JSTOR for any of your academic credentials. I can get you a pdf, on an individual basis, if you are interested.
The second is a monograph that deals with the home specifically, but certainly covers things that make modern, urban life possible.
Foy, Jessical H. and Thomas J. Schlereth, ed. American Home Life, 1880-1930: A Social History of Spaces and Services. University of Tennessee Press, 1992.
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Elevators so that we could reasonably go vertical.
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sort of hate to say it but, the traffic light.
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More specifically, I would say the Otis elevator, who developed a self-braking system to prevent large drops if the cord broke.
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I didn’t know that, but I guess that is probably the key advancement. Carrying things up via pulley had been around for a long time. Building confidence for users in the technology is crucial.
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Cool - I like the look of these, both the drawings themselves and the font you are using.
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Thanks you! It has been fun digging into these!
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