Before 1895 the streets [of New York City] were almost universally in a filthy state. In wet weather they were covered with slime, and in dry weather that air was filled with dust. Artificial sprinkling in summer converted the dust to mud…Rubbish of all kinds, garbage, and ashes lay neglected in the streets, and in the hot weather the city stank with the emanations of putrefying organic matter. It was not always possible to see the pavement, because of the dirt that covered it…[Now]…New York is…clean…Few realize [the changes]…For example, there is far less injury from dust to clothing, to furniture…children make free use as a playground of streets which were formally impossible to them. “Scratches” a skin disease of the horses to mud and slush...is now almost unknown…” NYC Commissioner George E. Waring, Jr. 1897, Quoted in Hoogenboom and Hoogenboom [ed.], The Gilded Age
The correct answer to this open question is the following.
Olmsted thought life has changed in America by 1871 in that it had become more modern, Americans became auto sufficient, towns had grown, and life was different due to dedicated work.
He expressed it in phrases such as: "...it used to be a matter of pride with the better sort of our country people that they could raise on their own land or manufacture within their own households almost everything needed for domestic consumption.
Fredrick Olmsted is considered to be the father of modern architecture in the United States and designed important American iconic places such as the US Capitol and Central Park.
