Three of London's wealthiest areas have seen levels of crime, pollution and antisocial behaviour rise more sharply over the last four years than anywhere else in Britain, according to a new atlas published today that chronicles the effects of the recession across Britain.
'Local environmental conditions' in Westminster, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and the City of London plummeted between 2007 and 2009, according to co-author Professor Danny Dorling, of Sheffield University:
"Living conditions in the heart of London are not to be envied, despite all the profligacy there. City lungs are slowly filling with chemicals; City minds grow weary thinking about where their wallets are in case of theft, and how full they are, in preparation for the next financial crash; and City offices and homes burn up power as air conditons whirl and a thousand and one gadgets are charged."
In detailed colour maps, Bankrupt Britain: An Atlas Of Social Change shows how economic, social and environmental fortunes have been affected in different areas in the wake of the 2007 banking crisis, 2008 economic crash and 2009 credit crunch.
Sadly, the book doesn't cover what could be classed as the anti-social behaviour, or even crime, of bankers pocketing bonuses of billions and MPs fiddling thousands in expenses in the same period, while alongside ostentatious wealth pockets of intense poverty make Westminster the 15th most deprived out of 32 London boroughs, and Kensington & Chelsea the 19th.
The image of the Square Mile by Ian Britton at www.freefoto.com is used under a Creative Commons licence.
