THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE ENJOYED A VISIT TO LONDON YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED TO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE FINALLY TOPPED THE POPULATION RECORD SET IN 1939 OF 8.6 MILLION PEOPLE. WHAT IS EVEN MORE FASCINATING IS HOW THE CITY IS GROWING, AND THERE ARE INTERESTING PARALLELS TO PERTH.
The construction of the London underground rail in the early 20th Century led to the outward expansion of the residential areas with the 1930s building boom producing more than 500,000 homes, nearly all of them in the outer suburbs. Those areas continued to expand almost uninterrupted, except during World War II.
Many of Central London’s suburbs are still on the journey toward population recovery with the City of London itself having 7373 residents in 2011, down from 128,000 in 1851. A recent analysis by the London School of Economics estimated that land use regulations in the west end of London had inflated the price commercial office space by 800 per cent, which probably contributed to the reduction in residents as they were priced out of that market.
The relatively slow growth of some of London’s inner suburbs when compared to their outer metropolitan counterparts, can be attributed in part to the level of resident “churn”. Camden, for example, which is now home to around 230,000 people, ranks sixth for the total in migration (31,300) and ninth for total out migration (28,300). Of course London is not homogenous, with some more affluent suburbs in the inner ring recovering more rapidly. The population of Richmond, for example, is already at record levels.
Using the proportion of rental properties in a suburb as a proxy for population movement, a similar outcome could potentially occur in Perth with 2011 Census data showing inner-ring suburbs having high levels of rental properties (Highgate 61 per cent, Victoria Park 53 per cent, West Perth 62.6 per cent, South Perth 46 per cent), and suburbs a little further out showing a much lower percentage of rental properties (Padbury 19.6 per cent, Warwick, 15.5 per cent, Bassendean 25 per cent, Willetton 18 per cent).
Understanding who lives where, and why, is important when planning our future cities as too little growth could lead to an over investment in infrastructure and too much growth without an appropriate increase in infrastructure provision, could lead to congestion, overcrowded schools and development delays. Census data helps us to monitor changes in the way we live, however there’s still no certainty that the 2016 Census will go ahead as there is talk of scrapping the program.