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Art & Design
Art & Design
Art, design and architecture in 20th century London was influenced by the city itself. The international movements that shaped the course of the visual arts in the 20th century were present in the work of London artists, but so too was the London's unique flavour of modernity. London's art schools were central to creative practice in 20th century London. So too were the jobs that Londons creative industries provided.
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Cityscape
Cityscape
London's physical look was transformed in the 20th century. At the beginning of the century London's tallest building was St Paul's Cathedral, built in 1701, and 365 ft. high. By the end of the century the tallest was the tower at Canary Wharf in Docklands, built in 1991 and 800 ft. high. The 20th century cityscape became a battle ground between building conservationists and property developers. The motor car transformed the look and feel of the streets.
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Communities
Communities
The size of London's population has always encouraged the growth of smaller communities within it. Shared experiences bring people together and during the 20th century shared experiences came to include ethnic background and sexuality, as well as religion, neighbourhood and class. London ended the 20th century with a myriad of overlapping communities, each bound together by a sense of people having something in common and a distinct identity.
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Environment
Environment
At the end of the nineteenth century London was the biggest and most economically successful city in the world. The downside of continuous and almost unregulated growth was damage caused to the environment. Although the extent and seriousness of air and water pollution in London was recognised, little was done in the early twentieth century to deal with it effectively.
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Home & Family
Home & Family
Families and households got smaller throughout the 20th century, partly a consequence of the changing status of women. As households and families shrank, so standards of living rose hugely. Expectations of home life also changed as the steady reduction in working hours meant more time spent at home. Home ownership became a new possibility although London continued to be a city of tenants.
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Identity & Icons
Identity & Icons
London's identity was partly a matter of the way the city saw itself, and partly the way it appeared to outside observers, including tourists. During the 20th century London's identity went through four phases: imperial London, modernist London; swinging London and multicultural London. The century created some powerful London icons and iconic events: the red telephone box, the Routemaster bus and the Notting Hill Carnival among them.
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Leisure
Leisure
By the 1930s London's 'leisure industries' were gearing up to a new scale of operation, tempting people out of their homes with the promise of spectacle, glamour and fun.
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London at War
London at War
War had profound effects on twentieth-century London. For the first time since the 17th century, the city was directly attacked. Then, the weapon was cannon fire. In the 20th century explosive bombs were carried by airships and aeroplanes into the heart of the city. A terrifying new dimension had been introduced into warfare.
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Migration & Citizenship
Migration & Citizenship
The 20th century saw migration - both immigration and emigration - become more important to Britain than ever before. More people moved around the globe and, as they did so, government began to exert more control over their movements. London was at the heart of all debates about migration and citizenship in 20th century Britain. London was also the chief beneficiary of migration into Britain, ending the century proud of its multiculturalism and valuing the economic advantage immigration brought to the city.
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Power & Politics
Power & Politics
During the 20th century London's political landscape and loyalties grew more complicated than ever before. But one trend stood out: increasing participation. London in the 20th century became more democratic and politically inclusive than it had ever been before. Women and working-class men got the vote. London's system of local government expanded, creating new local authorities. London strengthened its national role as a place for demonstrations and protest.
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Public Services
Public Services
The 20th century saw huge advances in Londoners' health, education, welfare and cultural opportunities. A central driver of change was London's public services, which for most of the century were largely delivered through local and national government. The rise and fall of the public sector is a key strand in the story of 20th century London.
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Sport
Sport
By the early 1900s some well established spectator sports already had major organised events during the year which amounted to a season in or near London. These have continued throughout the twentieth century: the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race on the Thames in March, the Derby Day horse race at Epsom in April, the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships in July. They are still well attended and popular events a century later and with television coverage are viewed by even more people today.
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Transport
Transport
Transport systems have both defined the shape of London and been essential to the city's daily operation since the nineteenth century. By 1900 the railways in particular had transformed the speed of travel for people and goods both across the city and from other parts of the country.
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Work
Work
London's changing role as a world city in the twentieth century is reflected in the changing nature of employment in the capital. In 1900 it was the largest and wealthiest city the world had ever known, confident in its role as the governing, trading and commercial heart of the British Empire.
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Youth Culture & Fashion
Youth Culture & Fashion
During the 20th century London thrived on the energy of the young. From the bright young things of the 1920s through to the 'youth revolution' of the 1960s, the young assumed a new cultural importance as definers of fashions, values and music.
