People Book York Apartments Half Lives Studies Tenements

How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York is a "photojournalism" (telling stories about the world through the use of photographs, with few or no words) publication that was "released" (made available to the public) in 1890. It "documented" (put on paper) the "squalid" (dirty and unclean) conditions of apartments in New York City in the 1880s. The "horrid" (terrible; awful) condition of the "slums" (dirty, poor, and unsafe neighborhood) "shocked" (surprised in a negative way) many people.

Photographs in the book show "immigrants" (people who have come from another country) who live in "overcrowded" (with too many people), dirty, and "crumbling" (falling apart) apartments. The photographs of young children are perhaps the most "heartbreaking" (making one feel sad and helpless).

The photojournalist, Jacob Riis, believed that if middle- and upper-class people were "made aware of" (informed about) the terrible conditions, they would be "motivated" (have a reason to want to do something) to improve conditions in the slums. He argued that people would benefit financially from making improvements, and also that people had a "moral obligation" (a need to do something because it is right) to help their "less fortunate" (not as wealthy or lucky) "peers" (people of the same age).

Riis' book was very successful and people were "indeed" (truly; really) motivated to act. As a result of his work, the worst "tenements" (poor housing) were "torn down" (destroyed) while others were improved. Over the next few years, the slums were "transformed" (changed in a significant way) with "sewers" (systems for transporting waste water), garbage collection, and "indoor plumbing" (running water inside the home).