The evolution of a community

the long version

This is an interesting portrait and analysis of an outer London suburb which was built to accommodate the working classes of London who were living in overcrowded and unhealthy conditions close to the centre of the city. After the first World War, the British government launched a major re-housing programme and Dagenham, an open, green area close to the River Thames, became the largest social housing project in the world. Willmott, a passionate social historian, worked closely with Michael Young at the Institute of Community Studies and proceeded to carry out research into the 'new' surburbs which had been created on the fringes of London. The evolution of a community is based on interviews and research into the lives of those who left the squalor and poverty of London's East End to make a new life in Dagenham.