Safety by Design: Engineers and Entrepreneurs Invent Fire Safety in Mexico City, 1860-1910.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

8-2014

Publication Title

Urban History

DOI

10.1017/S0963926813000242

Abstract

This article examines fire-safety innovations (safety matches, extinguishers and hydrants) from professional engineers and lay inventors in Mexico City from 1860–1910. With a drastic increase in the frequency and intensity of fires in the capital, engineers and entrepreneurs saw fire hazards as business opportunities. Global trends that promoted patenting new technologies spurred entrepreneurs and professionals alike to transform the capital into an epicentre of innovation aimed at making the city safer. Their inventions marked the city with visible signs of technological change and reminded residents that fire was a real threat to urban life.

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS