Sarah_Jayne

This place is a ghetto almost by definition. When it was built all this land was swamp and was part of the Royal Arsenal. It got bombed a lot and they are often finding old unexploded bombs when they are doing the building works. Anyway, it was built in reaction to the need for London post-war housing and it was built with the express purpose of thinning out the crowds of poor people in central London. So, they moved people out of the poorest areas of central London, gave them cheap rents as a carrot, and put them here on the edge of the city. It is no longer run by the gov't ..now it is just a private company...but because of that and things like Clockwork Orange the place has always had a stigma. We even have the major prison where all the terrorist suspects are held just down the road. Personally, I think it is better than it looks but it is a bit grubby...that is why I like having a half hour or so around the green.