Cities of Light and Heat: Domesticating Gas and Electricity in Urban America Review

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Cities of Light and Heat: Domesticating Gas and Electricity in Urban America ReviewBeing a Masters student of History in Denver, Rose's work is recommended reading. Unless the processes and politics of technology and industrialization turn you on, the first two and final two chapters will be slow going. But in the middle three chapters Rose hits his stride describing how the utility companies placed appliances and power tools into turn-of-the-century "home ec" and "shop" classes to get an entire generation hooked for later consumption. He also details how the marketers focused pressure on husbands to buy these "labor-saving" devices for their overworked wives. Even if you are not into the techno-politico history, those middle three chapters are worth the price.Cities of Light and Heat: Domesticating Gas and Electricity in Urban America OverviewCities of Light and Heat takes us to Kansas City and Denver during the late nineteenth century when gas and electricity were introduced to these 'instant cities' of the west. With rich detail, Mark Rose shows how the new technology spread during the next century from a few streets and businesses within the city limits to countless private homes in the suburbs. In Kansas City and Denver, as in most communities throughout the U.S., business executives, city leaders, and engineers acted as early promoters of the new technology. But by the early 1900s educators, home builders, architects, and salespersons were becoming increasingly important as gas and electric utilities and appliances reached more and more American homes. But these voices for the new technology brought with them their own social attitudes and cultural values. By mid-century, whether in the classroom or in advertisements, Americans were regularly encouraged to fit the new technology within prevailing notions of cleanliness, comfort, convenience, and gender. Although in hindsight the spread of modern technology might seem inevitable to us, Rose shows how even the leaders of the nation's great gas and electric corporations with their vast production and distribution facilities were subject to geography, competing ideologies, urban politics, and even the choices of ordinary consumers. Rose thus locates the driving force behind the diffusion of technology in the neighborhoods, kitchens, and offices of the city. Cities of Light and Heat shows the importance of culture, politics, and urban growth in shaping technological change in the cities of North America.--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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