Industrial Revolution and Its Influence on Urban Social Inequalities

Abstract

The paper undertakes a mixed-design study of the effects of industrial revolution on urban social inequality by combining a qualitative and a quantitative study.  The study focuses on the growth of employment in the manufacturing sector, the wage gap between unskilled an skilled laborers, and on how urbanization impacted housing, healthcare, education, and crime by researching historical archives, censuses, and historical economic statistics of the 19 th century.  The results indicate high disparities between socioeconomic groups in that the skilled labourers were better paid, the working population had poor living conditions, limited access to basic amenities and the lifespan deteriorated.  Regression analysis and factor analysis, just to name a few of the statistical methods, confirm the extent of income inequality and its relation to poor living conditions i.e. overcrowding and the lack of social amenities.  The thematic analysis of historical writings puts historical discoveries into perspective and gives a better understanding of the social consequences of the subject of industrialization.  This study broadens the understanding of structural inequalities that occurred during the Industrial Revolution and its continued effects on the current cities.