Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
2-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
Art History
Advisor
Marta Gutman
Committee Members
Anne Valk
Claire Bishop
Abigail Van Slyck
Subject Categories
American Art and Architecture | Architectural History and Criticism | Women's History
Keywords
adaptive reuse, reform, health care
Abstract
“A Municipal Modernity” is the first study to analyze the architectural history of the district health centers in New York City that women reformers and their allies founded to address poor health in working-class communities. It reveals that women’s philanthropic adaptive re-use was foundational to the architecture of the public health care in New York and led to a program of municipal district health centers. Philanthropic reformers adapted buildings in the 1910s and 1920s to provide affordable health care for low-income women and children in European immigrant and Black neighborhoods. During the New Deal, municipal officials followed the example set by reformers and constructed purpose-built modern district health centers with federal funds. The dissertation explores how these centers radically expanded working-class access to public health care and how working-class families experienced these health centers. It also analyzes how the siting, design, and use of these spaces was shaped by racial discrimination and the prevailing racial segregation of the city.
Recommended Citation
Fletcher, Jessica, "A Municipal Modernity: Women, Architecture, and Public Health in Working-Class New York, 1913–1950" (2024). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5602
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Included in
American Art and Architecture Commons, Architectural History and Criticism Commons, Women's History Commons