Jacob A. Riis: Reporter and Reformer

Health and sanitation laws were passed and enforced as philanthropic organizations and special commissions investigated the abuses revealed by his photographs. Housing codes were adopted that required fire escapes, windows, toilets and running water. Existing housing was upgraded or razed. New housing had to meet modern improvement standards required by law. By the time he died in 1914, Riis was known as the “Emancipator of the Slums.”