Municipal hygiene and demography.
- International Congress of Hygiene and Demography
- Date:
- 1892
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Municipal hygiene and demography. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.
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![The City of Edinburgh. Delegates to the Congress. Lord Provost Rt. Hon. John Boyd. Bailie James Alexander Russell. 1 Henry D. Littlejohn, M.D., Medical Officer of Health. The area of the city within the municipal boundaries is 6,166^ i; acres. This area includes l,l7l acres of public jiarks and recreation grounds, consisting of the Queen’s Park, the property of the Crown, but open for public use (614 acres), The Meadows (63 acres), Bruntsfield Links (35 acres), Blackford Hill (95 acres). Braid Hills (156 acres), Calton Hill, (23 acres). Princes Street Gardens and Castle Terrace Gardens (38^ acres), luverleith Park (61 acres), and—closely adjoining— the Arboretum and Royal Botanic Gardens, also Crown property but open for public use (58 acres), Harri.son Park (14 aci’es). Regent Road Gardens (3f acres), and Montgomery Street Gardens (3 acres), besides 1 several small plots used as public bowling greens and children’s play- grounds. \ In 1871 the population of the city amounted to 197,581, in 1881 to 236,000, and in 1891 to 261,261. The average rate of density of popu- |j lation, exclusive of public parks and recreation grounds, is 52 persons per acre. The maximum rate of density of population is 900 persons ;; per acre, which is to be found in a small area of the Cowgate ; this has long been one of the most wretched districts of Edinburgh, but is now \ rapidly undergoing improvement. ] Edinburgh probably has a more difficult problem in the condition ■ and improvement of its “ slums ” than any other city of its size. This is largely due to the fact that for purposes of mutual protection and defence in warlike times, its inhabitants crowded their habitations closely together so as to be under the protection of the castle and within walls of defence i| which were erected from time to time. The effect of this is seen in the |i numerous excessively high tenements or blocks of dwelling-houses in I close proximity to each other with only narrow closes between. Eor- i merly inhabited by the better classes, these tenements have become sub- divided in modern times into single-roomed houses for the abodes of the very poorest classes, giving rise through overcrowding to insanitary and I disease-producing conditions. I In the year 1867 a scheme of city improvement was carried out I whereby new streets forming avenues of light and air-space were opened up through some of the worst of these over-congested districts. In j order to overtake the congestion of the adjoining or intervening districts ! which remained unaffected by this scheme of city improvement, powers ' were obtained in 1879, in the same Act which provided for the com- i I pulsory notification of infectious diseases, for dealing summarily with 111 insanitary dwelling-houses. This latter question has been diligently «I prosecuted by the Public Health Committee of the Town Council 1](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28045506_0065.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
