Early Urban Growth (European Hist.)

Rapid urban growth was seen as a danger and destabilize to cities, especially when it came to overcrowding. Over crowded cities became filthy and filth most always brings on disease when handled unresponsively. Disease then causes death, which leads people into poverty. The middle class feared that poverty and squalor would encourage a revolution so, the government constructed ideas for new public works projects like, better sewage systems and improving roads and houses. Another way of improvement was the scientific approach, taken by Edwin Chadwick to solve urban problems in 1842. The germ theory of disease, 1850 to 1880, brought stunning advances in attacking bacteria and improving public health by Louis Pasteur, Robert Koch, Joseph Lister. Morality rates soon then began to decline.
Scientific discoveries led to material improvements through society. Mendeleyev produced the periodic table in 1869, Faraday submitted the electric generator in the 1840’s and scientific research and development was a huge hit for Edison in the 1880’s. Science was soon seen as a cult, there was a wide spread believe of science and scientific methods, these beliefs were close to religious passion and also brought on growing belief and ideal progress. The ideal progress began with Charles Darwin's ideas of evolution and his book The Origin of the Species, published in 1859. Charles Darwin believed that all species evolved and adapted over time. Darwin also believed man is nearly an evolved animal therefore, morality, religion, and physical state all evolved over time as needed for survival. Survival started with natural selection; those with marginal advantages survived and propagated, “survival of the fittest”. These ideas that Darwin held stunned society, Darwin’s beliefs challenged biblical views of creation, and after these ideas, societies’ values and beliefs where subject to change. This questioned the rational nature of man and his society.