Public health as a catalyst to the growth of municipal departments in early Toronto.
Municipal public health history generally is concerned with the history of the Board of Health and the Department of Public Health. This article, in contrast, examines the role of health concerns as a catalyst to the expansion of municipal services, using City of Toronto Council Minutes and By-laws dating from 1834, and shows close links between the growth of a number of local government departments and concern for the public's health. In particular, 16 of 36 city services (44%) were found to have health concerns as contributors to their establishment and growth; in 10 of the 16, health had a major impact on growth, while in six cases, the influence of health issues was minor. Synthesis of the data revealed sanitation, safety, and the provision of services to be the common health themes which spurred the development of municipal departments. Moreover, three civic services were driven by two or more of these public health themes.
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D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D009864:Ontario; D011634:Public Health / Q000266:history*