Begging is another activity that in most modern cities has been declared illegal. But like hanging about, its reduction (and in some cities, complete disappearance) has probably been the consequence of extralegal forces. The distribution of affluence made possible by industrialization, the development of a welfare state to care for the remaining indigent, and the efforts of the humanitarian, labor, and reform movements during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries were undoubtedly major factors in its demise.

XREF: Connects to conversations about public space regulation and the limits of legal prohibition in shaping social behavior.

QUESTION: The author suggests legality had little to do with begging's decline. Worth questioning whether crackdowns and policing played a larger role in some cities than credited here.

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 392