Tenement Housing is…
North American Tenements
dwellings were separated into multiple living spaces to accommodate this growing population. Known as tenements, these narrow, low-rise apartment buildings were all too often cramped, poorly lit and lacked indoor plumbing and proper ventilation. In 1900, two-thirds of New York City’s population were living in tenement housing.
Chinese Tenements
cubicles, deep room, poor daylight,
ventilation in the living portion as well as a tin kitchen.
The life of people living in tenement housing must have been incredibly difficult and unpleasant. The small amount of space, limited amounts of light, lack of toilets, minimal rooms and small amounts of safety features would have made for rough living and large amounts of worry among all.
The small amount of space would make it incredibly difficult for all people in the house to be able to have their own space, place to put their own belongings and an area to simply get away when they needed to.
The limited amount of light would cause sickness and also sadness. It would be very hard to keep a house illuminated with candles due to the safety issues and also many families would not have had the money to spend on even small candles.
The lack of toilets would have caused horrible smells and huge amounts of death and sickness. It would be hard to imagine having to share a bathroom with more than just family members for more than a couple days.
The minimal amount of rooms would require the families to do everything in the same space. Sleeping, eating and using the bathroom was usually all done in the same room, this led to a significant amount of sickness and uncleanliness.
The small amounts and often lack of safety features would have made these houses very dangerous. Many tenements did not have fire escapes and were very prone to catching on fire. Hundreds of people would have died during this time period solely based on the ignorance of the rich who owned these tenements.
As humans we always want what is better, but we never think about what is worse.
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