London Culture And Life

Aims

• Review some of the major influences on the situation and layout of London

• Consider some of the defining features of London

• Examine London’s economic, touristic, retailing and criminal characteristics

1666

• The Fire of London Changed London’s central landscape

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/35/Panorama_of_London_by_Claes_Van_Visscher%2C_1616_no_angels.jpg

London is a complex city

• The way that London has grown from a series of small villages has complicated its layout

• Many roads or rather lanes date from before the motor car and so are not very wide

• Very few straight roads, very few big roads

• Three CBDs City of London, City of Westminster and Canary Warf

1945-60

• London was having to recover and rebuild.

• Had an image of a dark ‘Smoggy’ city

• Many brownfield building sites as a result of the Blitz

• Desire to raise building as quickly as possible to remedy the housing shortage.

1960s and 1970s

• London begining to be seen as ‘the’ place to be seen

• Many people attracted to the arts, music and fashion scenes

1980s and 1990s

• Growth in uncertain times

• Boom and bust

• Changing demographics

Housing in London

• High rise flats and large amounts of ‘Social Housing’ errected after the war

Many pre-war terrace blocks survived untouched

Thames

• Major feature of the city scape

• At times a threat to the city