History: Faculty Publications
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.
Recommended Citation
Alexander, Anna R..
2014.
"Safety by Design: Engineers and Entrepreneurs Invent Fire Safety in Mexico City, 1860-1910.."
Urban History, 41 (3): 435-455.
doi: 10.1017/S0963926813000242 source: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/urban-history/article/safety-by-design-engineers-and-entrepreneurs-invent-fire-safety-in-mexico-city-18601910/92B34198432E0BF0F0168BE6BC94C84C
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/history-facpubs/60
Copyright
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