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London
From A Storehouse of Knowledge
Situated in the south-east of England, London is the capital city of both England and the United Kingdom. It has well over 7 million inhabitants[1], making it the 3rd most populous city in Europe, after Moscow and Paris. London is England's most important city in just about every field: as well as being the seat of government, it has the biggest art galleries and museums, some of the UK's most prestigious educational and research institutions, holds most of the major sporting events, is home to the BBC and all the major newspapers, and boasts the stock exchange and the headquarters of the biggest financial institutions. More 15% of the UK population live in London, and some of it's boroughs are cities in all but name, with populations measuring in hundreds of thousands, their own universities, major national transport interchanges, distinct demographics and more.
The city is also one of the most troubled in Europe. Inequality in London is far more marked than elsewhere in the UK, or even the whole of Western Europe. 44% of Inner London children live in poverty, with some statistics indicating the figure may now be approaching 50%. Youth unemployment in Inner London is approximately 25%, though in some sink estates it rises to almost 50%. Furthermore, proportion of the population living in temporary accommodation in London is an order of magnitude (and more) higher than Birmingham, the next largest city in the country. The population has declined steadily since the 1960's.[2] Despite significant overseas migration into London (particularly from South Asia and the Caribbean), greater numbers of existing residents have left the city, whilst speculative property markets keep housing costs artificially high, exacerbating both flight from the city, and the poverty of the remaining low-income citizens.
The varied nature of the boroughs has also led to ghettoisation, as areas become concentrated with particular ethnic and/or economic make up. Despite billions of pounds in "regeneration" pumped into inner East London, the area remains one of the most deprived in the United Kingdom, with most investment soaked up by the Canary Wharf development, an almost entire self enclosed, isolated island of high density office and luxury accommodation, with raisable bridges separating it in the most literal sense from the "wild east" of Tower Hamlets.
The city also suffers from a chronically over-burdened transport network. The London Underground is the oldest, and one of the largest, metro systems in the world. However, the system has suffered decades of under-investment, with antiquated infrastructure, and 19th century design limitations (the running tunnels for the trains on parts of the network are less than 12ft wide), combined with growing usage as people commute further and further to work has brought the system to the limits of capacity. Similar problems are found in the Victorian era water and waste systems, whilst areas of East London suffer increasing power outages.
The mayor of London is Boris Johnson, who succeeded Ken Livingstone in 2008.
