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London,
United Kingdom
In 1086, twenty years after the battle of Hastings, the
population of London was 18,000 and grew to over 1 million by the
time of the census of 1801 and then to 9.1 million in 1960. Like
many other Western industrialized cities, London has experienced
an absolute population decline in the central city, with people
moving out to the suburbs.
London, the thriving capital of Great Britain, lies
astride the river Thames. It was founded by the Romans as
Londonium and by the time of the Norman conquest in 1066 had
become an important political city. Once the industrial
commercial and political center of a wealthy and extensive
empire, London today continues to be the largest port and the
leading center of international trade, finance and culture in the
United Kingdom.
Like many large cities world wide, London has its share of
problems: overcrowding, unemployment and homelessness being some
of the main ones. In 1988, for example, nearly 1 in 8 people were
unemployed throughout London and the situation in the inner city
was worst. Transportation is another problem. However, an
excellent public system has helped to alleviate some of this.
The city is famous today for its parks and gardens, and is also
a cultural haven for the world. Museums, galleries and theaters
abound throughout the city and this, together with its beauty,
make London a popular tourist attraction.
Severe social problems do exist in the inner city but have
been aided by special programmes aimed at inner city regenration.
These programmes have met with only limited success despite the
considerable financial resources devoted to them. Conditions in
such areas have not improved while in some areas they have
actually worsened. More successful has been the government's
attempt to encourage grwoth outside London without allowing the
city to sprawl into umanageable suburban growth. The result has
been the development of five concentrated growth regions that act
as a counterbalance to London.
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