Module 4: Technology and Social Spaces
  Lecture 24: Material Culture : The Chimmey, Street lighting and Urban Space
 


The nineteenth century witnessed the rise of the industrial cities. A workable gas lighting system came about in 1806 in London and diffused very quickly.

  • Night work and leisure continued to increase.

  • In industrial cities class based segregation was increasing due to mass transit systems. The urban geography was divided between poor and dark versus wealthy and bright localities. In the beginning the demand for illumination was for controlling vice and crime.

  • The triumphant capitalism led to the formation of a well-lit CBD.