A statement of the water-supply problem in German cities.
Höffner, C. “Die Gaswerke,” in Wuttke, Die Deutschen Städte (Leipzig, 1904), pp. 198–238.
A statement of the evolution and present status of the technique of gas supply in the modern city.
Jephson, H. L. The Sanitary Evolution of London (London, 1907). (VI.)
Kübler, Wilhelm. “Über städtische Elektrizitätswerke,” in Wuttke, Die Deutschen Städte, pp. 239–300.
An account of the municipal electricity works in German cities.
Most books on the modern city contain a chapter on public utilities, and a great many technical journals and municipal reports are accessible giving detailed accounts of various aspects of both the technical, the administrative, and the functional sides of the public utility situation.
2. One of the most characteristic features of city life is the high degree of intercommunication. This is made possible by technical devices, such as the telephone, street cars, and the automobile. While the sociologist has no intrinsic interest in these technical devices, they become an object of study as factors entering, for instance, into the problem of mobility of the city population.
D’Avenel, G. le Vicomte. Le Mécanisme de la Vie moderne (3 vols.; Paris, 1922).
Among many other aspects of the city as a physical mechanism, has a chapter on publicity, urban transportation, and communication. This work has gone through many editions and is written in a popular style. (VI; IX, 1.)