Historical Survey Of The U.s. Industrial Environmental Pollution In Cities And Their Governance In The 20th Century (1870s 1940s),

This dissertation intends to give an overview on American industrial cities' pollution abatement activities during the period from 1870s to 1940s.The introduction part traces the evolution of the environmental problems of American industrial cities, and points out the academic and practical meaning of this presentation. This part also gives an introduction on the previous research work in this field by American scholars.Chapter One explores the development process of American industrial cities and the causes of its pollution problems from the perspectives of the social development values, the accumulation of industry and population, energy type and urban management.Chapter Two analyses the social context for industrial cities' pollution abatement activities : public awareness of the problem was the first step leading to abatement activities; urban political reform provided the channel for environmental improvements and the involvement of different social groups formed another propelling force.Chapter Three discusses the contents and achievements of the cities' pollution abatement activities. The construction of infrastructure, better regulations, stronger law and implementation were the main measures in dealing with the water , solid waste and air pollution. While certain achievements had been made, some problems and risks were left unresolved.Chapter Four focuses on the pollution problem of the satellite cities and finds out that the dominance of big company made the environment improvement an extremely difficult issue. This part also gives a detailed analysis of the causes and effects of the Donora Incident.Chapter Five explores the Pittsburgh experience in dealing with the smoke problem and concludes with the reference meaning of Pittsburgh model.The Conclusion part summarizes the abatement activities and concludes that the ultimate elimination of urban pollution will lie on the concept and measures based on urban ecological perspective, under the principle of sustainable development.