Domesticating the Street: The Reform of Public Space in Hartford, 1850-1930 - Book Review

Domesticating the Street is an excellent study. It effectively focuses on middle and upper-class reformers, women and men, their ideologies, programs and organizations, set in the context of the city's changing physical environment and social geography. It links together a diverse set of reforms and movements into an explanatory framework that places people at the center of social change, not just technology. This is a complex and thoughtful study in other ways. Baldwin gives due to a range of players beyond the usual cast of characters; expressmen, peddlers, newsies, working-class and immigrant children, adults and neighborhoods play important roles in the evolution of public space. Nor does the author deny these groups their minor victories.

Some areas remain underdeveloped. Working-class urbanites appear largely in reaction to or as subjects of reform; their uses of public space or ideologies are not fully developed. Nor are those special events fully considered here, from riots to celebrations, that temporarily transform public space. While there are some clear connections to reform movements and planning elsewhere, Hartford's position vis-a-vis other cities remains suggestive rather than definitive. To what extent can the Hartford study explain the transformations in other cities? Although beyond the scope of this case study, an additional comparison to changing public spaces in European cities and elsewhere might provide valuable insights on their separate evolutions.

COPYRIGHT 2002 Journal of Social History
COPYRIGHT 2002 Gale Group