As described in the devil in the white city, explain the major problems of urban life in american cities such as chicago in the 1890s. how and why were these cities changing?

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, several cities in America were experiencing major changes. In this book, Chicago is the example given, though its issues resembled those of places like Washington and New York. These cities were experiencing problems such as massive migration (either from other countries to the US or from rural to urban areas), income disparity and high crime rates.

Immigrants would often flock to cities, along with nationals from rural areas, in search of better work opportunities. This demographic change, along with rising income disparity, resulted in the development of large, marginalized areas in major cities. Additionally, it increased crime rates due to the limited opportunities of these new residents.

On the other hand, a growing population in cities also provided a large labour force for public projects. These same cities experienced a frenzy of urban development, as reflected by the World Fairs discussed in the book and the feats of engineering these presented (such as the skyscrapers of Chicago or the Eiffel Tower in Paris).

Along with these developments in infrastructure came developments in technology, such as communication. Criminal events were publicized by newspapers, which had become accessible for the general population. This led to events like the murders in the book to be known all over the world, and contributed to Chicago's and other major cities' reputation as cities of rampant crime.