Jacob Riis’s How the Other Half Lives is an early example of investigative journalism and photojournalism that documents the living conditions of New York City’s tenement dwellers during the Gilded Age. A Danish immigrant who arrived in the United States in 1870, Riis drew upon his personal struggles with poverty and his professional insights as a police reporter to craft a vivid account of the urban poor’s lives.
This project emerged during a period of rapid urbanization and massive European immigration, when overcrowded and unsanitary housing underscored glaring social inequities. Riis’s work marked an important contribution to the Progressive Era, highlighting the social impacts of rapid industrial and economic growth. Drawing inspiration from reformist ideals and his Christian faith, Riis framed the slum conditions as a societal failure that demanded immediate corrective action.
Riis’s narrative and photographic approach underscored the urgency of his mission. Using flash photography—a novel technique of the time—he captured the dimly lit interiors of overcrowded tenements, sweatshops, and alleyways. These stark black-and-white images revealed the raw details of lives lived in deprivation, complemented by Riis’s poignant prose. The synergy of text and imagery amplified the project’s impact, humanizing his subjects and galvanizing middle- and upper-class audiences to action.
Methodologically, Riis’s process was both groundbreaking and experimental. Initially collaborating with amateur photographers, he soon took up the camera himself, adapting techniques like magnesium flash-powder photography to illuminate dark spaces. While his methods were sometimes chaotic—igniting small fires or startling subjects with explosive flashes—the resulting photographs carried a visceral power that words alone could not achieve.
How the Other Half Lives achieved widespread acclaim, influencing public opinion and policy. Its publication spurred immediate reforms, such as the creation of the Tenement House Committee and the passage of the Tenement House Act of 1901, which mandated improved building standards. Figures like Theodore Roosevelt, then New York Police Commissioner, praised Riis as one of the city’s most effective reformers. Although Riis’s use of ethnic stereotypes has drawn criticism, his overall portrayal of the poor as victims of systemic neglect rather than moral failings remains a significant contribution to social discourse.
Riis’s impact has been reinforced by key presentations, from his original lantern-slide lectures and the 1890 publication of How the Other Half Lives to major retrospectives such as Jacob Riis: Revealing “How the Other Half Lives” (Museum of the City of New York; Library of Congress; 2015–17). Substantial holdings at the Museum of the City of New York and the Library of Congress, along with a touring version adapted by NEH on the Road, continue to support research and public engagement.
