Friday, September 08, 2006
My London Flat
In June, I started renting a flat in Poplar with my friend S.
Poplar is slightly north of the Isle of Dogs which is a business district to the east of central London. In 1982 the Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone was created which gave incentives to business to invest and develop in the area. Canary Wharf, on the Isle of Dogs, has some of the best skyscrapers in London. I'm lucky enough to have a balcony that looks out at Canary Wharf.
My view of Canary Wharf
In the 1930s, George Lansbury and fellow council members were arrested for using the council rates to feed starving people.
Poplar and the Isle of Dogs were targeted by the Luftwaffe during the war because of their important docks and warehouses.
The post-war reconstruction of Poplar saw investments in affordable housing. In the 1960s, the docks began to close which led to unemployment and the abandoning of warehouses, some of which still stand derelict.
Poplar has seen the best and worst of British Socialism. Many dreamt of providing low cost housing through higher density tower estates. The skyline is dotted with 60s tower blocks next to decrepid warehouses. Some of these tower blocks are notorious with the authorities. Most nights we are able to hear police sirens and occasionally a helicopter. After all, east London has a long history of crime, organised and disorganised.
Poplar is in one of the most deprived boroughs in London, Tower Hamlets. Most of the people that I bump into while walking to the shops or station seem to be migrants or the occasional white trash. There are a scattering of pubs in the area but I haven't been to any of them yet as they all look like you may catch some nasty disease by crossing over the threshold.
Poplar is slightly north of the Isle of Dogs which is a business district to the east of central London. In 1982 the Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone was created which gave incentives to business to invest and develop in the area. Canary Wharf, on the Isle of Dogs, has some of the best skyscrapers in London. I'm lucky enough to have a balcony that looks out at Canary Wharf.
My view of Canary WharfIn the 1930s, George Lansbury and fellow council members were arrested for using the council rates to feed starving people.
Poplar and the Isle of Dogs were targeted by the Luftwaffe during the war because of their important docks and warehouses.
The post-war reconstruction of Poplar saw investments in affordable housing. In the 1960s, the docks began to close which led to unemployment and the abandoning of warehouses, some of which still stand derelict.
Poplar has seen the best and worst of British Socialism. Many dreamt of providing low cost housing through higher density tower estates. The skyline is dotted with 60s tower blocks next to decrepid warehouses. Some of these tower blocks are notorious with the authorities. Most nights we are able to hear police sirens and occasionally a helicopter. After all, east London has a long history of crime, organised and disorganised.
Poplar is in one of the most deprived boroughs in London, Tower Hamlets. Most of the people that I bump into while walking to the shops or station seem to be migrants or the occasional white trash. There are a scattering of pubs in the area but I haven't been to any of them yet as they all look like you may catch some nasty disease by crossing over the threshold.
# posted by Michael @ 4:07 PM 
