What were the social problems at the time of Ernest Burgess?

Question

and what was his main contribution to society?

Answer 1

society was then moving high gear into the industrial revolution.  cities were breeding child labour exploitation,  bad sewer, diseases etc.

he came out with a proper plan for having / building a city.  he conceptualized the city into the concentric zones (Concentric zone model), including the central business district, transitional (industrial, deteriorating housing), working-class residential (tenements), residential, and commuter/suburban zones.

He viewed cities as something that experiences evolution and change. hence services must adapt and adopt to the changing needs of the community.  if we had heeded his comments, we wont / maybe not have slums!