How did the elevator change people's lifestyles?

Answer 1

Elevators changed how cities looked more than they changed lifestyles.

Without elevators, there wasn't much point in building higher than 4-5 storeys, because no one wanted to walk any further up.

But with elevators, it became easy to get to any level. Houses could be built higher and hold more people. Cities could grow in population w/o becoming bigger on the ground.

Also, earlier the good apartments were the low ones, maybe one storey off the street. With the elevator, the good apartments were the ones up high.

Less road noise and smells, less risk of burglary.