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Author Keller, Lisa

Title The triumph of order : democracy and public space in New York and London / Lisa Keller
Edition Pbk. ed., 2010
Published New York : Columbia University Press, 2010, ©2009

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Description 1 online resource (xvii, 338 pages) : illustrations, maps
Series The Columbia history of urban life
Columbia history of urban life.
Contents pt. 1. Prologue -- pt. 2. Public order in Victorian London -- pt. 3. Violence and control in the Empire City -- pt. 4. Epilogue
Summary "In an effort to create a secure urban environment in which residents can work, live, and prosper with minimal disruption, New York and London established a network of laws, policing, and municipal government in the nineteenth century aimed at building the confidence of the citizenry and creating stability for economic growth. At the same time, these two world cities attempted to maintain an expansive level of free speech and assembly, concepts deeply ingrained in both national cultures. As democracy expanded in tandem with the size of the cities themselves, the two goals clashed, resulting in tensions over their compatibility. The results of this clash continue to resonate in our society today. Treating nineteenth-century London and New York as case studies, Lisa Keller examines the critical development of sanctioned free speech, controlled public assembly, new urban regulations, and the quelling of riots, all in the name of a proper regard for order. Drawing on rich archival sources that include the unpublished correspondence of government officials and ordinary citizens, Keller paints an intimate portrait of daily life in these two cities and the intricacies of their emerging bureaucracies. She finds that New York eventually settled on a policy of preempting disruption before it occurred, while London chose a path of greater tolerance toward street activities. Dividing her history into five categories cities, police and militia, the public, free speech and assembly, and the law Keller concludes with an assessment of freedom in these cities today and asks whether the scales have been tipped too strongly on the side of order and control. Public officials increasingly use permits, fees, and bureaucratic hassles to frustrate the ability of reformers and protesters to make their voices heard, and by doing so, she argues, they strike at the very foundations of democracy."--Google Books viewed Mar. 25, 2021
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-325) and index
Notes Print version record
Subject Civil rights -- New York (State) -- New York
Civil rights -- England -- London
Liberty.
Freedom
freedom.
Civil rights
Liberty
Politics and government
SUBJECT New York (N.Y.) -- Politics and government. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85091430
London (England) -- Politics and government
Subject England -- London
New York (State) -- New York
Form Electronic book
LC no. 2008019144
ISBN 9780231518475
0231518471
0231146728
9780231146722
0231146736
9780231146739