be those heard. Cars downtown in an uptown world. As a matter of fact was no town, but world wide, ever designed to take on 4m² occupying means of transport in any areas and those 5 floors, 2 flats for 6 heads families, for even one head per flat.
This is what the 1910th issue was:
The issue of horse manure in early 20th-century European cities like Paris, Vienna, and Berlin was a critical urban challenge driven by rapid industrialization and population growth. Here is a synthesis of the problem and responses in each city during the 1910s, based on historical records:
### 🐎 **1. Paris: Sewers and Sanitation Reforms**
- **Manure Scale**: By the 1910s, Paris relied on ~90,000 horses for transport, generating vast waste daily. Streets were described as covered in a "brownish smoking carpet" that emitted unbearable odors, especially in summer .
- **Sanitation Efforts**: Victor Hugo’s *Les Misérables* (1862) had already criticized Paris's waste management, noting that nutrient-rich manure was flushed into the Seine instead of being used for agriculture. By the 1910s, the city expanded its sewer system (initially built in the 1850s–70s) to divert waste from streets. However, Hugo's critique still resonated, as nutrient recycling remained inefficient .
- **Administrative Action**: The Lieutenant General of Police (established in 1667) oversaw street cleaning, but enforcement was inconsistent. Mechanical sweepers were introduced, yet manual labor by "soldiers of the public" (sanitation workers) remained primary .
### 🇦🇹 **2. Vienna: Regulatory Innovation**
- **"Poo Bag" Mandate**: In the 1910s, Vienna’s city council enforced a novel solution: carriage horses (*fiakers*) were fitted with "poo bags" (called by the English term locally) to capture dung. This aimed to reduce street fouling and summer odor crises, where dried manure dust contaminated the air .
- **Political Motivation**: The Social Democratic Party championed the rule, citing quality-of-life concerns. A party spokesman noted, "People in the city have come to expect a better quality of life" compared to a century prior .
### 🇩🇪 **3. Berlin: Industrialization and Emerging Solutions**
- **Growing Crisis**: As Germany’s largest industrial hub, Berlin faced manure accumulation comparable to London and New York. While specific 1910s data is scarce in the sources, Berlin shared trends with other capitals: horse-dependent transport (e.g., trams, carts) produced ~15–35 lbs of manure per horse daily, attracting flies and spreading disease .
- **Technological Shifts**: The city adopted street sweepers like those patented by Joseph Whitworth (UK) and CS Bishop (US). Electric trams also expanded, reducing horse reliance, though motor vehicles were not yet dominant .
### 🌍 **Broader Context and Challenges**
- **Health Impacts**: Manure attracted flies linked to typhoid and infant diarrhea. In wet weather, streets became "manure rivers"; in dry conditions, manure dust coated buildings and choked pedestrians .
- **Failed Predictions**: The apocryphal "9 feet of manure by 1950" forecast (attributed to an 1894 *Times* of London article, now debunked) reflected widespread anxiety. Urban planners at the 1898 New York conference had declared the crisis "insurmountable" without technology shifts .
- **Transition from Horses**: Contrary to popular belief, automobiles did not immediately resolve the crisis. Horses outnumbered cars until ~1925, and electric trams were more impactful in the 1910s .
### 💡 **Key Measures in 1910s European Cities**
| **City** | **Primary Measures** | **Effectiveness** |
|--------------|------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------|
| **Paris** | Sewer expansion, manual cleaning | Partial; nutrient waste continued
| **Vienna** | Mandatory "poo bags" for carriage horses | Reduced street fouling and odors |
| **Berlin** | Mechanical sweepers, electric trams | Gradual decline in horse dependence |
### ⚖️ **Conclusion**
By the 1910s, Paris, Vienna, and Berlin addressed horse manure through a mix of regulatory mandates (Vienna's bags), infrastructure investment (Paris's sewers), and technology (Berlin's sweepers). However, solutions were often partial, and the problem only fully abated with the rise of motorized transport post-1920. The crisis underscored how urbanization necessitated innovative public health interventions, reshaping city governance and environmental policies .
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There was no solution, because of two World Wars and you might want to think about a solution, not more war by enforcing more rules.
But than, who won those wars and who appears to need a hardcore reminder on planning needing a sober brain for all ensuring Freedom?
#noblessoblige #WEgotstuck #TheGermans #cyberpunkcoltoure
