The article discusses the French law on public health protection (February 15, 1902) that formed the foundation for the control of residential salubrity and thus made itself felt in the daily lives of those living in the city. As part of the genesis of urban public policy, the law represents the ultimate maturation of French hygienist thought. In light of certain similarities, it may have served as a model for Brazilian Decree no. 5.156, which regulated sanitation services under Oswaldo Cruz's term as Director-General of Public Health for the Federal District (Rio de Janeiro) at the dawn of the twentieth century.
public health; urban policies; law; France-Brazil