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Technological
developments powerfully altered architectural forms, settlement patterns,
and the urban experience. Peterson explains, "City life and form
became far more dynamic as urbanization accelerated in the middle decades
of the 19th century. Business, manufacturing, and urban culture itself
became more diverse. New technologies- telegraphic communication,
rail-based transportation, steam engines, gas lighting, indoor plumbing,
central heating, elevators, iron and steel frame construction- added yet
more complications." (57)
Baxter and
Eliot witnessed the effects of these changes on the natural environment
around them. The expanding scale of development, especially the perceived
lack of quality in construction, the proliferation of inexpensive
housing, and building on low lying, marginal lands, concerns the authors
greatly.
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