Consequences of Growth

The explosive growth of the late 1800s had come at a cost for Salt Lake City. Although Salt Lake had been quick to adopt and install electrical lines and public transit in the form of mule-powered trams, the city had “moved with glacial slowness to pave their streets” or establish sewage and water lines throughout the city.[1] These factors were further complicated by heavy rain and spring runoff, which turned the roads to mud and turned canals into open sewers across the west side neighborhoods. This lack of infrastructure had earned Salt Lake a reputation status as one of the “ugliest and dirtiest cities in America” and led to an assortment of public health and environmental troubles for west siders.[2]  

The Progressive Era had a profound effect in addressing the consequences of the city’s industrialization. Progressive activists championed reform projects that would, after reaching affluent east side communities first, come to improve the health and way of life for the west side.[3] Although the movements for greater public spaces and water systems were nothing short of profound for the west side, no program had a greater effect on west siders’ mobility than the Good Roads Movement. 

Endnotes: 

[1] Thomas G. Alexander, Utah: The Right Place, (Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith), 213. 

[2] Brad Westwood, “Continued Transformations: Industrialization and Salt Lake City’s West Side,” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/continued-transformations-industrialization-and-salt-lake-citys-west-side/; Brad Westwood, “Salt Lake City Loses its “Dirtiest City” Status, The West Side, Public Health, and the City’s Only Surviving Pioneer Square,” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023, https://community.utah.gov/salt-lake-city-loses-its-dirtiest-city-status-the-west-side-public-health-and-the-citys-only-surviving-pioneer-square/. 

[3] Brad Westwood, “The Progressive Era, the Making of a Proper Park, and the “Stockades”,” Department of Cultural & Community Engagement, accessed June 1, 2023,  https://community.utah.gov/the-progressive-era-the-making-of-a-proper-park-and-the-stockades/