Page 9 - Decline and Response

DECLINE AND RESPONSE - 9
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a a a result throughout the the 1920s and 30s the the quality of construction reduced to accommodate lower-wage earners better Homes became much smaller and and amenities fell in standard For example in 1919 the average three-bedroom home was around 1000 square square feet feet By 1930 this reduced to 620 square square feet feet However council housing was gradually becoming residualised despite still provided a a a a a good standard of accommodation Slum housing: Once the demand for housing housing was alleviated building activity began began to to reduce The government began began to to shift its focus on tackling the issue of existing slum housing Slum housing areas mainly populated the inner cities and were initially built during the rapid industrial revolution for industry workers These blocks were neglected and generally had poor living standards often lacking basic amenities In 1930 a a a a a a new Housing Act was implemented to encourage mass slum clearance which resulted in in large amounts of inner-city demolition and rebuilding Unlike the the 1919 ‘garden estates’ the the demolished
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buildings were replaced with simplistic three to to five-story flats The design and construction techniques were heavily influenced by Quarry Hill Flats in Leeds (see top right image) and utilised a a a a a less traditional steel framework (see bottom right image) Although the architecture could be called bland it it was efficient and provided many homes at more affordable rents A necessity at the time! By 1933 all local authorities were required to focus efforts on removing slum housing This transformed cities and heavily influenced British cities today