THE HOUSE AND THE STREET: OBJECTS TO BE MEDICALIZED - DOI 10.5216/bgg.v36i2.42792

Abstract

Abstract:
Once collective facilities in urban space had been isolated and medicalized, physicians became involved in inspecting and regulating housing, as they concluded that the house, especially the dwellings of the poor, were one of the focuses for the spread of diseases and epidemics. The attention paid to circulation spaces and housing and the determination of detailed rules for their construction should be analyzed not only as part of a power structure that authorized the medical discourse, but also as an action aimed to prevent the occurrence of urban disease and guarantee better conditions for the population’s health. This study examines the recommendations of European and Brazilian medical theses and treatises to guaranty the healthfulness of collective and private spaces, showing how these were put into practice in Fortaleza, leaving marks on the urban landscape, architecture, forms and layout.
Key words: hygiene, urban discipline, housing