The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse

Between 1853 and 1895, the Société mulhousienne des cités ouvrières (SOMCO) constructed over 1200 houses, which were sold by annuities to the workers of the town of Mulhouse. The scheme was influenced by unique local characteristics in Mulhouse, as well as international developments in reformed hous...

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Main Author: Clement, W
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2018
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author Clement, W
author_facet Clement, W
author_sort Clement, W
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description Between 1853 and 1895, the Société mulhousienne des cités ouvrières (SOMCO) constructed over 1200 houses, which were sold by annuities to the workers of the town of Mulhouse. The scheme was influenced by unique local characteristics in Mulhouse, as well as international developments in reformed housing. The innovations made at Mulhouse in terms of architectural forms, financing and worker ownership made it internationally renowned by the end of the nineteenth century. Reformers marvelled at the transformation of ‘prolétaire’ into ‘propriétaire’ and called for widespread emulation. But in these calls for emulation of the ‘Mulhouse System’, reformers neglected the importance of the specific local conditions in Mulhouse that had facilitated the scheme’s inception and success. This article will show the importance of these local factors and their significance to the innovations of the cités ouvrières of Mulhouse, which explain why this meant that attempts to imitate elsewhere were doomed to failure.
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spelling oxford-uuid:265f7b75-dbf7-4dda-b483-d74234959f332022-03-26T12:00:37ZThe ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century MulhouseJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:265f7b75-dbf7-4dda-b483-d74234959f33EnglishSymplectic Elements at OxfordOxford University Press2018Clement, WBetween 1853 and 1895, the Société mulhousienne des cités ouvrières (SOMCO) constructed over 1200 houses, which were sold by annuities to the workers of the town of Mulhouse. The scheme was influenced by unique local characteristics in Mulhouse, as well as international developments in reformed housing. The innovations made at Mulhouse in terms of architectural forms, financing and worker ownership made it internationally renowned by the end of the nineteenth century. Reformers marvelled at the transformation of ‘prolétaire’ into ‘propriétaire’ and called for widespread emulation. But in these calls for emulation of the ‘Mulhouse System’, reformers neglected the importance of the specific local conditions in Mulhouse that had facilitated the scheme’s inception and success. This article will show the importance of these local factors and their significance to the innovations of the cités ouvrières of Mulhouse, which explain why this meant that attempts to imitate elsewhere were doomed to failure.
spellingShingle Clement, W
The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title_full The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title_fullStr The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title_full_unstemmed The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title_short The ‘Unrealizable Chimera’: workers’ housing in nineteenth-century Mulhouse
title_sort unrealizable chimera workers housing in nineteenth century mulhouse
work_keys_str_mv AT clementw theunrealizablechimeraworkershousinginnineteenthcenturymulhouse
AT clementw unrealizablechimeraworkershousinginnineteenthcenturymulhouse