Urban Decline
- London has experienced periods of decline and growth
Deindustrialisation
- Between 1960 -1980 there was a rapid decrease in industry in London
- Containerisation led to larger ships which could not be accommodated in the London Docks
- The last docks closed in 1981
- Manufacturing across London relied on the goods coming in through the docks
- The closure of the docks led to decline in manufacturing in areas like Lea Valley, Tottenham and Stratford
- Between 1966-74 almost 400,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in London
- In 1971 one million people were employed in manufacturing by 2004 it was only 245,000
- The unemployment rate in 1981 was almost 18%
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Over 60% of the Docklands area was derelict or vacant in 1981
Depopulation
- The population of the Docklands area fell by 20% as people moved away to seek work
- London's population in 1961 was 8 million
- By 1991 it had fallen to 6.8 million
Decentralisation and suburbanisation
- People were able to move to the suburbs of London due to:
- Improvements in transport - underground network completed by 1930
- Increased bus network
- Increased car ownership
- People were attracted by:
- Nicer environment
- Less pollution
- Less traffic and congestion
- Larger homes with gardens
- More space
- Businesses, retail and industry followed leading to increased decentralisation
- Examples of decentralisation from London include:
- Shopping centres such as Bluewater, Dartford and Centrale, Croydon
- Retail parks such as Cork Tree, Tottenham and Grove Farm, Ilford
- Business parks such as Uxbridge Business Park and Riverwalk Business Park in Enfield
- The businesses are attracted by:
- More space
- Cheaper rents
- Nicer environment
- Customers and workers living nearby in suburbs
- Greater accessibility
- More parking space
E-commerce
- There has been an increase in online shopping, particularly since the Covid 19 pandemic
- This has led more businesses to locate outside the city as they do not need to be located near to customers