1920's Urban Living Conditions Exposed Essay

As immigration increases, the amount of suitable living space is quickly decreasing and housing is becoming more and more cramped and hazardous to residents. The few safety and health issues that are resolved are quickly replaced with new and equally dire situations.
Fire safety and emergency exit routes are seriously lacking in effectiveness. The amount of fire escapes in these tenements is far not enough to effectively be used in the event of an emergency. The few fire escapes that exist are only available to those on the lower floors of the buildings and blocked by trash even to those that could realistically get to them in time.
The lack of fresh air and water in these living areas should be a top priority of issues to be handled but shockingly, is not. Clean, running water is scarce in poverty stricken, urban areas. Impoverished immigrants suffer the sweltering and stale heat (due to the lack of ventilation) of the summer months often without enough water. What little water they receive is unclean and unhealthy. The air shafts provided as a solution to the lack of fresh air in the tenements is littered with garbage due to the need for a proper way to dispose of trash. The stench of the desperately cast off trash only makes the fresh air problem worse.
The amount of neglected issues in the heavily populated urban areas amounts to be a devastatingly large amount and yet not much is being done to improve these hazards. The need for improvement is growing increasingly dire. Housing issues must to be resolved as effectively and quickly as possible.