In the preindustrial city the problem of identifying strangers was largely solved by an ordering of the populace such that appearances provided fairly accurate clues to identities. In the confusion and chaos of the early industrial city, however, that solution became increasingly untenable. Appearential clues might still be used, of course, but their reliability could not be counted upon.

XREF: Connects to themes about urban anonymity, surveillance, and how social trust mechanisms break down with modernization.

Lyn H. Lofland, World of Strangers_ Order a…, loc. 351