A review by samahsafiullah
How the Other Half Lives by Jacob A. Riis

3.0

An essential book for those who are interested in housing and urban planning in large metropolitan areas, specifically in New York. This is a first hand account of the slums which various types of immigrants and African Americans lived in during the 1880s, located in Harlem. It reveals the power of flash photography and the miserable and inhumane conditions of Tenements. The narrator is dreadfully racist, yet his stereotypes are so outlandish and brutally honest that you can't help but laugh at his observations! With the right perspective, one can better understand the current divisions of New York City and the movement/ideology of gentrification in certain areas.