10.1.10

Living Conditions in Towns & Cities

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Living Conditions

The Industrial Revolution turned Britain into an urban nation, with thriving cities which were hubs of industry and production. However, overcrowding in cities led to poor living conditions.

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Public health

  • While the vast number of Britons moving to towns and cities for work was good for industrialisation and the British economy, it was not so good for living conditions and public health.
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Terraces

  • As thousands of labourers swarmed to the newly growing cities, conditions quickly became cramped and overcrowded.
  • Back-to-back terraced houses were built in cities like London, Manchester and Birmingham to try and accommodate the increasing numbers of inhabitants.
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The houses

  • These houses were tightly packed together, letting in little natural light, and had no outdoor space.
  • Sometimes, multiple families would share a house or even a single room.
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Water

  • In the poor, slum areas of cities, there would be no running water in people’s houses.
  • Water had to be collected from a water pump in the street or even from the river.
  • The water would be dirty, and many people contracted diseases like tuberculosis and cholera as a result.
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Government action

  • In the mid-1800 ADs, the government began to take action to clean up Britain’s cities and improve living conditions.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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