Topic 4A: Life, Death and Disease in the City

Life, Death and Disease in the City 
By Grace Owen

Disease has always been one of humanities major concerns, with plagues and epidemics historically devastating the known world – the Black Plague in 1665 killed “…between 75,000 and 100,000 of … about 460,000” (Open Collections Program, 2015). Currently, due to both vaccinations and better health and sanitation, plague and illness are less of a concern in the developed world. However, in developing countries such as India and much of Africa, there are still major concerns surrounding chronic communicable diseases. Cholera is one such example.

History of Cholera

The first global epidemic of cholera occurred in 1817, having spread from the Ganges to wider India, China, Japan and further afield (Origins of Cholera, 2015); in the time up to the 1900’s, five major pandemics were recorded of this disease, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives (Origins of Cholera, 2015). In London, the disease was primarily thought to have spread through “miasma”, or the bad smells emanating from the refuse and effluvia of the city (Halliday, 2001). As cholera outbreaks occurred, there was a massive push for a more “hygienic” city – the slums which had housed a larger number of poorer workers were demolished, or made to have better access to clean air and cesspools. Despite this, cholera continued to be an issue in the city. The various outbreaks which occurred claimed huge numbers of lives, and was a very real terror to the citizens of London and other global cities. 

John Snow was sceptical of the idea of miasmas causing cholera in the city of London. Instead, he proposed that the main cause of the disease was water, and polluted water sources from the number of old or ineffectual cesspits in the city (Challoner, 2013). In particular, he studied the spread of an outbreak of cholera from a particular water pump in Soho in 1854. He mapped out the occurrence of cholera in the surrounding area, and provided convincing enough evidence to the local council to convince them to disable the pump by breaking the handle; subsequently, there was a significant decline in the disease (Challoner, 2013). Further examination of the pump found that it had been sunk in close proximity to an old cesspit. Despite this, Snow’s theory was still not considered accurate, and had been derided by his fellow physicians.

Some years after this in 1958, after Snow’s death, London suffered a particularly intense heatwave and drought. A significant amount of effluvia at this time was being drained into the Thames and, due to the heat, an intense smells arose and covered the city. The Great Stink, as it was called, finally resulted in the government wanting to have effective sewerage out of the city, to clean the waterway which had produced such an offensive smell (The Great Stink, 2015). Balzalgette was able to introduce his comprehensive sewerage system into the city between 1859 and 1875 (Halliday, 1999). In 1866, there was another cholera outbreak, but concentrated in an area which had not yet been covered by the sewerage system. From this, an enquiry was launched, and it was determined that the East London Water Company’s water was contaminated (Halliday, 2001); Snow’s theory that cholera was spread through water was confirmed and accepted in official circles.

In 1982, Hamburg was struck by a cholera outbreak, and panic occurred in London as plans were laid to deal with the coming epidemic; no epidemic occurred in London, and the city has continued to be safe since (Halliday, 2001).

Cholera in the Modern World

As mentioned, cholera is all but eliminated in the developed world. However, there are still a number of major incidences which have been recorded in less affluent and developed countries. For example, the Centre of Disease Control (CDC) indicates that there is an ongoing cholera outbreak occurring in Haiti at the current time (Prevention, 2015). This outbreak occurred following the 2010 earthquake, which disrupted much of the country’s infrastructure and thus allowed for the infection to spread. It is interesting to note that cholera had been absent from that region for a century prior to the disaster (Robbins, 2015), but had been “…the perfect environment for a cholera epidemic” (Robbins, 2015) due to the lack of safe water and sanitation infrastructure.

Another example of the endemic nature of cholera in certain countries can be seen by this graphic from the World Health Organisation: (figure 1). The graph shows the historical occurrence of cholera determined by region from 1989. Between 2001 and 2009, 93% to 98% of cholera cases occurred in the African region; again, this relates to the lack of infrastructure in place to allow access to clean, safe drinking water and sanitation (WHO.int, 2015). In 2010, there is an obvious spike in the number of cases reported from the Americas; as mentioned previously, this relates to the Haitian outbreak, and the associated spread of the disease to surrounding areas. This map, also from the WHO, also demonstrates the spread of cholera outbreaks from 2010 to 2013: (figure 2).







In fact, the major point across all of the data around modern cholera outbreaks is the lack of clean water and infrastructure that allows the disease to continue. Cholera is an eminently preventable and treatable disease, as evidenced by its elimination in the developed world. The WHO and UNICEF have a joint monitoring programme that is focussed on the implementation and development of “improved drinking water sources” which shows how water sources across the globe have improved over the past years. The WHO and UNICEF define an improved drinking water source as “…one that, by nature of its construction or through active intervention, is protected from outside contamination, in particular from contamination with faecal matter” (Wssinfo.org, 2015); the ladder graphic below (figure 3) shows historical improvement of such water sources from 1990 to 2012. The hope is that eventually all countries will have predominantly improved water sources, and preventable diseases such as cholera, which are currently endemic in some countries, will be eliminated.




References

Challoner, J. (2013). John Snow. [electronic resource]. London : Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013. 

Choleraandthethames.co.uk,. (2015). The Great Stink. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://www.choleraandthethames.co.uk/cholera-in-london/the-great-stink/

Choleraandthethames.co.uk,. (2015). Origins of Cholera. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://www.choleraandthethames.co.uk/cholera-in-london/origins-of-cholera/

Halliday, S. (1999). The great stink of London : Sir Joseph Bazalgette and the cleansing of the Victorian metropoli. Stroud : Sutton, 1999.

Halliday, S. (2001). Death and miasma in Victorian London: an obstinate belief. BMJ, 323(7327), 1469-1471. doi:10.1136/bmj.323.7327.1469

Ocp.hul.harvard.edu,. (2015). Open Collections Program: Contagion, The Great Plague of London, 1665. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://ocp.hul.harvard.edu/contagion/plague.html

Prevention, C. (2015). Cholera in Haiti - Watch - Level 1, Practice Usual Precautions - Travel Health Notices | Travelers' Health | CDC. Wwwnc.cdc.gov. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/haiti-cholera

Robbins, A. (2015). Haitian Cholera Outbreak Highlights Need for Infrastructure, Not Blame | Guest Blog, Scientific American Blog Network.  

Blogs.scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/2014/03/25/haitian-cholera-outbreak-highlights-need-for-infrastructure-not-blame/

Who.int,. (2015). WHO | Cholera. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs107/en/

Wssinfo.org,. (2015). WHO / UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme: Definitions & Methods. Retrieved 26 March 2015, from http://www.wssinfo.org/definitions-methods/

Topic 4B: Urban watercourses

Topic 4B: Urban watercourses
By Declan Ganz

Introduction
There is an obvious and undeniable relationship between water and the development of cities, both here in Australia and around the world. This connection is evident by the widespread formation and growth of cities on waterways throughout history. Positioning a city in such a way has its benefits, but it also comes with its potential down falls.

Utilisation and Management of Urban Watercourses
The utilisation of urban watercourses is an important part of what makes a city function effectively. As mentioned by Douglas (2013), the very foundations of civilisations are associated with using water for irrigation, with cities often built on rivers for not only water supply and navigation, but also for defence purposes. Such an important resource requires careful and well thought out management to ensure it is not exploited. Ongoing efforts are in place to enhance water supply and consumption efficiency, upgrade drinking water quality and wastewater treatment, and utilise alternate water sources such as rainwater and grey water. This management of urban watercourses creates a more efficient use of resources by providing not only economic benefits but also improved social and environmental outcomes. Urban watercourses aren’t just limited to the rivers or streams that are visible from street level and include the water mains that transport drinking water to homes and businesses, sewers that carry dirty water to sewerage treatment plants, and stormwater drains that carry rainwater running off roads into rivers, creeks and bays. This suggests that an integrated approach to the management of urban watercourses is key to success. Integrated management of watercourses involves ensuring that all water resources are taken into account, water is considered when planning for land use, and that the water use needs of the community, industry and environment are weighed up as a whole. Integration of urban watercourses with other areas of urban planning and development, rather than considering water as a separate entity, facilitates the best possible means of evaluating and assessing issues surrounding water use in the urban environment. It also lends itself to achieving the most desirable outcome for not only the people of city, but also the greater environment.

Flooding & Pollution
Early thoughts on water were that it was unruly or messy, and in the cases of floods, destructive. It was suggested that water had no place in the urban environment other than for water features and other similar uses. This has of course proved to be false, however many events throughout history have demonstrated the destructive power of water. Whether through crippling floods or spreading of disease, the improper use and control of water and watercourses has been shown to lead to devastating effects on urban areas. Pollution of watercourses leads to poor sanitation, which leads to health issues and possible disease epidemics. In the past, Melbourne’s concerns with pollution of watercourses were stimulated by the rapid growth of the cities population and as a result of continual private dumping of waste. The implementation of the Yan Yean scheme helped to provide Melbourne with clean water but at the same time fuelled the requirement for a sewerage disposal system (Barrett, 1979). Whilst urban watercourses are often vital to the life of the city, they can also pose a risk to its very existence due to flooding (Douglas, 2013). The forces of nature are in the most part unpredictable, and even with planning measures and allowances or contingencies in place, considerable damage can occur to cities due to flooding. In saying this however, “flood defences and disaster management have greatly improved” (Douglas, 2013) over the years, with the annual death tally due to floods significantly reduced. Nevertheless, the question remains what more can be done to safeguard cities against the onset of floods? The challenge is to predict the necessary level or amount of flood defences instead of making improvements to flood defences based on a reaction to episodes of flooding, as has been seen in the past.

Moving Forward: Deculverting
Deculverting or ‘daylighting’ involves the full or partial uncovering of a previously buried watercourse (Lancaster, 2015). The restoration of these once hidden watercourses is as much about physically uncovering the watercourse as it is about socially reconnecting the people of the area with it. These formerly underground watercourses are given a new lease on life as they are brought back to the surface and incorporated within the urban neighbourhood. Douglas (2013) states “deculverting schemes can deliver multiple benefits, including positive economic, environmental and social impacts”. Although evidence is hard to come by, proposed benefits of daylighting include improving upon the aesthetics of an area, lessening the risk of flood and providing a place with a feeling of uniqueness. In addition to this, it could be said that daylighting anticipates or attempts to achieve benefits similar to that of urban green space such as softening the urban heat island effect, and promoting “physical activity, psychological well-being, and the general public health of urban residents” as described in Wolch et al. (2014). One example of deculverting that has recently gained attention is Williams creek, which runs under Elizabeth Street in the Melbourne CBD. The digging up, reinstatement and revitalisation of a section of the creek is a proposal that aims to improve a problem area of the CBD that is currently “a pretty tired and uninspiring thoroughfare” (Short, 2015). The street is a place of encounter where people often gather for several reasons, so why not encourage these encounters by making these spaces visually appealing by daylighting watercourses such as Williams Creek? Streets often act as a reflection of the community, and with Melbourne continually striving to maintain its status as the world’s most liveable city; deculverting a section of Elizabeth Street could only strengthen its case. The initiative could even act as the catalyst for further development with Douglas (2013) arguing that such schemes need to be integrated with “other aspects of urban greening and urban regeneration”. All of this said however, due to the nature of every scheme being quite unique, each proposal would need to be meticulously assessed in order to gauge its potential for success.

Conclusion
Water is the lifeblood of cities, but with continual population growth, urbanisation and industrialisation continuing to cause pollution and depletion of water sources, the sustainability of urban watercourses is under threat. Water related challenges aren’t just limited to the developed world though, with 1.2 billion people deprived of adequate access to safe drinking water and 2.4 billion people living without adequate sanitation conditions in developing cities (WHO/UNICEF, 2000). This shows that a concerted effort needs to be made to utilise water in urban areas so that everybody can experience its many benefits.

References
Barrett, B. (1979). 'Sanitation' in The Civic Frontier: The Origin of Local Government in Victoria, Carlton. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, pp.272-277.

Douglas, I. (2013). Cities: An Environmental History. London: IB Tauris, pp.233-251.

Integrated Urban Water Management. (2009).United Nations Environment Programme. Available at: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/brochures/iuwm.pdf [Accessed 27 Mar. 2015].

Lancaster, M. (2015). Urban Watercourses: A Brief Urban History.  

Short, M 2015, ‘A plan to turn Melbourne’s Elizabeth Street into a rainforest canal’, The Age, 5 March.

Wolch, J.R, Byrne, J & Newell, J.P 2014, ‘Urban green space, public health, and environmental justice: The challenge of making cities ‘just green enough’’, Landscape and Urban Planning, vol. 125, pp. 234-244.

WHO/UNICEF, (2000) Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report, 2000. New York: UNICEF.

Topic 3A: Transport and its impact on cities

Transport and its impact on cities

Introduction: Factors and influences

In addressing this topic we must consider the different modes of transport and the time, place and social context in which they existed. Every city has its own unique history which encompasses both human and geographical influences, economics, population, land size and use, and technological stages. These different factors can and have had a myriad of effects, both positive and negative, on the landscape and society. We tend to think of progress in most forms as an advancement or improvement on its previous form, something which society can benefit from by making daily existence easier; this thought could also be applied to the progression and implementation of transport. Today a resident or even a tourist travelling in a city as large and sprawling as Melbourne would find it difficult to travel only by foot each day and businesses which rely on the transit of goods would decline without modern transportation. But as well as having major benefits on society in regards to greater mobility, employment opportunities and leisure, the evolution of transport has not always been welcomed and its implementation has shown to have detrimental effects in some cases.

Creation of slum living

New rail growth encourages expansion of cities into outer suburban or rural areas thus creating new spaces and ease of access to and from the city. However, this ‘progress’ can be a double-edged sword; growth has also shown to create slum living in areas which the rail network slices through. In Victorian cities such as Manchester in the late 19^th century, existing living spaces just outside of the central district were demolished to make way for the new infrastructure. As Kellett (1969) discusses, the working class were not able to afford to escape what remained after rail lines and their associated infrastructure annexed these spaces. The houses which still stood in proximity to the lines decreased in value and as a result, without any improvements (as landlords saw no need to put capital into futile causes), were left to deteriorate into derelict accommodation for the working class. In addition to these inescapable conditions produced by the railway was the threat of disease, pollution, fires and water contamination.  These circumstances were synonymous with many other cities around the same time. Although London was facing the same slum situation from railways in their inner districts, the city had just completed building the Circle Line (the first of many stages) which was the world’s first underground railway (Passalacqua, 2014). By interring all infrastructure, the streets of the central district of London were spared and the thus freed to other forms of transport; tramways and omnibuses (these came with their own set of problems for the narrow streets).

Egalitarian to segregation

In addition to the physical factors which came with transportation progression there was also the impact of inequality and segregation of classes. If you were wealthy enough to afford rail fares and better housing then you could escape the problems that the working class faced. In the United States in the late 19^th century city in many cities (such as New York), life was also becoming dense, polluted and unsanitary. While some of the urban elite decided to remain and fight the worsening conditions, others exchanged these conditions for the more pleasant and relaxing environment of outlying towns (Wells, 2014). This lifestyle change was only possible due to the commuter railroads which transported those to the city each day (for they were still economically dependent on the city) and back out again in the evening. Modern transportation made it possible for the elite to distance themselves from the working class thus creating a divide. This sort of class divide was not limited to the U.S though; Australia also experienced a form of urban social change due to new advances in transportation in the late 19^th century. With the introduction of ferry services out of Sydney’s harbour, the wealthy middle-class were able to create and move to (or visit) more desirable areas previously difficult to access via other modes of transport such as Manly and Mosman (Wotherspoon, 1983). 

Figure 1: Wotherspoon, G., (1983), p.73.

Automobilisation

The introduction of the motor car to the world has probably had the largest impact on cities in regards to transportation. To use Australia as an example, the vast landscape of the continent has always placed great importance on transportation since European occupancy (Lee, 2010) and the motor car has given those wealthy enough to afford one the opportunity to commute greater distances to work, live in particular suburbs or holiday with the advantage of a personal vehicle (Wotherspoon, 1983). The impacts of the motor car are many and varied, including but not limited to, the obvious environmental effects of exhaust emissions, class divide, death tolls associated with road accidents, relocation of industries no longer requiring proximity to railway, cheaper land (Wotherspoon, 1983), decline in public transport patronage and enablement of urban sprawl. The urban sprawl has created mini cities on the outskirts of Melbourne. To live in one of those estates with very minimal public transport (as many find themselves) you would need to own a car as access to job opportunities and other amenities located outside of these newly built suburbs would be near impossible without one. There is a huge need for the extension of public transport facilities to these outer Melbourne suburbs to counter the use of personal cars. So it should also be considered what impact a lack of transport can have on cities and their people.

Figure 2. Main form of transport Figure 3. Reasons for not using public transport.

Conclusion: Diverse consequences

The impact of transport on cities and their citizens are many and varied; the examples given here are just a few and perhaps some effects are still yet to be realised. Over the course of history numerous modes and advancements of transport, from ships, trams, trains and cars have each had their own influence on the way in which cities function and interact with the environment. Some landscapes and topography require particular necessities while others are easily adaptable.  Some modes are embraced and continue to benefit society while others can be seen to have damaging effects - or even one particular mode could result in divided attitudes and consequences. Transportation can unite people and provide greater opportunities for social interaction but it also has the potential to divide social classes. It is a complex area that can incorporate physical, environmental and tangible aspects as well as creating abstract and social concerns.

References

Kellett, J. R., (1969) The Impact of Railways on Victorian Cities. Oxon: Routledge.

Lee, R., (2010). Transport An Australian History. Sydney: UNSW.

Passalacqua, A., (2014). Reluctant capitals: transport mobility and tramways in London and Paris 1830-1950. TPR: Town Planning Review, 85(2), 203-216. doi: 10.3828/tpr.2014.13

Wells, C., (2014). Rebuilding the city, leaving it behind: Transportation and the environmental crisis in turn-of-the-century American cities. The Journal of Transport History, 35(2), 183-199. doi: 10.7227/TJTH.35.2.4

Wotherspoon, G., (1983). Sydney’s Transport. Sydney: Hale & Iremonger.