ABSTRACT
Charles Daly's work occupies a unique place in the annals of New York City as he combined his vision for social reform within early urban geography and city planning. His leadership in an eclectic array of civic and reform causes coalesced with his work in geography. Particularly with respect to city improvement in street sanitation and tenement housing Daly attempted to direct and improve the lives of target groups largely by improving the spaces they inhabited. Yet Daly also aligned himself with a number of civic organizations whose ambitions focused on improving the workplaces and neighborhoods of the laboring classes and immigrants. The legitimacy Daly enjoyed as a friend of labor derived from his own background as a former laborer, and from the fact that he advanced into the professional class. In many speeches and interviews Daly referred to the importance of his background as a carpenter and mechanic's apprentice for his self-development.
