Hanne Lindegaard
Hygienic discourse and scientific practice in the development
of urban sewerage in Copenhagen from 1850-1900.

The article examines the historical development of the hygiene discourse and sewerage in Copenhagen in the 1850s-1900s as outcomes of a complex process developed in a specific social and cultural context. The present-day practice of urban engineering, and especially the sewerage technology are connected to 19th century idea of solving public health, aesthetic, and social problems by technical means. A centralised sewerage system was at 1900 seen as a solution that would instantly, swiftly and completely remove unsafe and smelly wastewater outside the city boundary. The article offers a description of the emergence of the sewerage system in Copenhagen, its historical and social aspects, and the impact that the doctors' and engineers' knowledge and common networking had on the decisions. The article focuses on the ideas, concepts and arguments presented by participants in this constructing process, and shows that the building of new associations and the arrangement of an international congress played an important role.