Which author is associated with exposing tenement conditions in urban America?

• A. Jacob Riis
• B. Florence Kelley
• C. Jane Addams
• D. Upton Sinclair

Answer: (A)

Documenting living conditions in cities to spur reform is the focus here. Jacob Riis used photography and journalism to reveal the squalor of tenement life in New York, with How the Other Half Lives turning crowded rooms, dark stairwells, and unsanitary conditions into a visible social issue. His stark images plus descriptive writing shocked the public and lawmakers, helping to catalyze housing reforms and codes aimed at improving ventilation, sanitation, and safety in urban tenements. While Florence Kelley, Jane Addams, and Upton Sinclair were influential reformers in other areas—child labor and consumer protection, settlement-house social work, and meatpacking/factory conditions, respectively—Riis is the one most closely linked to exposing tenement conditions in urban America.