"As an advocate for New York's poor and a friend of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, she appeared often in the press. As a leading member of the settlement-house movement alongside Jane Addams, Lillian Wald, and Florence Kelley, she founded Greenwich House, a bustling social-services and arts center. As the author of numerous studies on urban poverty and slum conditions, she became a prominent advocate for government-supported housing and helped launch New York City's public housing system."
"Her book provides a window into a set of views that seem both hopelessly archaic and yet still useful in thinking about our future. We can learn much from the strengths and limitations of Simkhovitch's approach to social change. For all her accomplishments, Simkhovitch's efforts nevertheless left in place the social structures that continue to undermine further advances."
Mary K. Simkhovitch was a prominent advocate for New York's poor during the first half of the 20th century, working alongside figures like Jane Addams and Eleanor Roosevelt. As a leading member of the settlement-house movement, she founded Greenwich House, a social-services and arts center that remains active today. Simkhovitch authored numerous studies on urban poverty and slum conditions, becoming a key advocate for government-supported housing and helping launch New York City's public housing system. Betty Boyd Caroli's biography, A Slumless America, examines Simkhovitch's life and legacy, exploring both the strengths and limitations of her approach to social change. While her accomplishments were significant, her efforts ultimately left underlying social structures intact that continue to hinder further progress.
Read at The Nation
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]