Medizinische Topographien, städtebauliche Entwicklungen und die Gesundheit der Einwohner urbaner Räume im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert (English shop)

Preview

Extract, PDF (4 MB)
Table of Contents, PDF (81 KB)
Review, PDF (63 KB)

Medical topographies are descriptions of urban living environments, their natural and spatial conditions, frequently occurring diseases, and the way of life and state of health of the inhabitants. These descriptions of the human environment, written by physicians, together with the exposure of deficiencies and the derivation of recommendations, were regarded as significant for the development of public health. Reading the medical topographies raised the question of the practical relevance of such descriptions of places. For this reason, the present study examines a possible connection between the recommendations of the medical topographies and urban planning developments or responses within health policy.

The cities of Berlin and Hamburg were selected as the area of investigation. Both cities have medical topographies containing substantive recommendations. In addition, both areas experienced extraordinary growth in area and population, which called for urban planning considerations. The period under investigation is 1750–1850.

The study understands itself as a work of environmental history, bringing together geography, urban history and urbanisation research, as well as the history of medicine.