Changing Fortunes of the Inner city.

The inner city was left to decay until the 1960's when redevelopment began to take place. Many of the old terraced houses were bulldozed and replaced by high-rise tower blocks, with people rehoused in flats. This was thought to be a low-cost, high-density solution to the challenge of providing decent housing for all. Within 20 years, however, it was recognised that the attempts to renew the inner city in this way had been a big mistake.

The experience of living in high rise flats;

• Walking up 15 floors when the lift is broken.
• Fear of long concrete balconies alone in the dark.
• worrying about the children playing 10 floors below.
• Using lifts which smell.
• No sense of community.
• Nearby shops closed down.

Some of the inner-city brownfield sites are being used for the construction of expensive housing (such as gated communities) for young upwardly mobile people. The inner city is now on the up and is a cool place to live and areas are rebranded and rebuilt.