How the Other Half Lives

In 'How the Other Half Lives', Jacob Riis exposes the harsh living conditions, exploitation, and poverty faced by immigrants in New York City's tenements during the 1880s.

Using his photographs and vivid descriptions, Riis highlights the filth, disease, and overcrowding that characterized the lives of over a million immigrants.

The book played a significant role in pushing tenement reform to the forefront of New York's political agenda and influenced social reform efforts, including the closure of police-run poor houses by then-Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt.