Explain three steps taken to clean up London in the 19th century.
The following steps were taken to decongest localities, green the open spaces, reduce pollution and landscape the city : Large blocks of apartments were built just like those in Berlin and New York, the cities which had similar housing problems. The congestion in the nineteenth century industrial city also led to a yearning for clean country air. Many wealthy residents of London constructed holiday homes in the country¬side. Demands were made for new ‘lungs’ for the city and attempts were made to bridge the difference between city and countryside through such ideas as the Green Belt around London. Architect and planner Ebenezer Howard developed the principle of the Garden City, a pleasant space full of plants and trees, where people would both live and work. He also believed that this would also produce better quality citizens, Raymond Unwin and Barry Parker designed the Garden City of New Earswick. There were common garden spaces and beautiful views in this city. However, only rich people could afford houses in the Garden City. Rent control was introduced in Britain during the First World War to ease the impact of a severe housing shortage. Between the World Wars (1914-1939), the responsibility for housing working classes was accepted by the British state. A million houses, most of them single family cottages, were built by local authorities. Thus the city of London was cleaned and decongested.
