The question set is:
"Did the growth of civic pride in England during the second half of the
nineteenth century result in improved living conditions for the urban
dweller?"
The question assumes that there is something called "civic pride".
The question assumes that "civic pride" grew - though whether this means
that it started and then grew; or that it was there before but got bigger,
is not clear.
The question might be asking about causality - was it "civic pride" which
caused an improvement in living conditions for the urban dweller? Can
"civic pride" (whatever it is) lead to improved living conditions? Or it
might be asking how far "civic pride" contributed to such an improvement.
The question does not make it clear whether the questioner thinks that
living conditions improved for all urban dweller or some of them. This
might be relevant.
"Living conditions" might mean housing - were people housed better? Or it
might mean quality of life generally - could you get to an art gallery or
some such other "improving" facility?
I would guess that "civic pride" might mean something more than being proud
of the place in which you live. "Civic" might be being used in the sense
of "civics" and is something to do with government or governance.
I wish the original questioner well in answering this question. My problem
is that I am not really an historian and I have spent most of my life as a
lawyer, so tend to answer most questions with "It depends what you mean by
...".
But for what its worth, it was Huddersfield Council who had a traditional
toast for use at civic functions: "Prosperation to the Corporation".
In my area, Wolverhampton, the place underwent considerable change in the
second half of the 19th century, with slum clearance, road widening, lots
of new factories and offices, a new town hall, library, technical college,
art school, museum and more. I doubt it was unique in this. The slum
clearance was mainly motivated by health issues; and most of the rest was
motivated by the urge to make a profit and most of it was financed by rich
industrialists, not the council. Even the art school and the art gallery
came from the Victorian obsession with design as a means of increasing
sales and meeting international competition. I dare say they were pleased
with the result but I am not sure how much "civic pride" had got to do with
it.
Frank Sharman
Wolverhampton
01902 763246
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