José Miguel López Villalba
Filth of medieval cities was a serious problem that local gover-nments tried to solve through tight regulations. The ordinances that dealt with these fundamental aspects were collected in a section known as sanitation policies. The late medieval centuries were a continuous battle on the part of the urban council against the inhabitants of the towns who, with their non-civic behavior,transformed the cities into authentic garbage dumps. Dirty water, illegal dunghills, streets full of garbage, loose animals or urban fires broke the street decoration and made it difficult to run daily life. The degree of environmental sensitivity manifes-ted by the late medieval urban community was zero, but thanks to the initiatives of the municipal regimes, progress was made in terms of well-being and health.