How Did Jacob Riis Respond To Urbanization?

Urbanization created many problems in society such as high poverty, child labor, poor living conditions, public health concerns, rising violence and crime. Reformers responded to these problems in various ways. One of those reformers was a man named Jacob Riis. Jacob was a photojournalist who reported about New York slums. He would go into the slums and photograph the daily life of the poor. He argued that "poor did not make their fate but were victims of it" he also wrote a book called "How the other half lives". Jacob Riis's main goal was to inform American's of problems in cities. He was not the only reformer there was a group the was the first U.S. mission group called the salvation army that was formed in NYC in 1880. Jane Addams created
the first settlement home for the poor in 1889. by 1910 there was more than 400 settlement homes across America and they served as social centers, english classes, health centers, child care, and offered recreational activities. Reformers also led the way for housing reform which forced tenement owners to improve their buildings by collecting garbage, improve water and sewer, more open space, better ventalation, more fireproofing and a toilet in every apartment.