"David Boothroyd" wrote in message
...

The point is that a lot of people with jobs in Central London cannot
afford
to live there and thus the transport infrastructure is pushed to
unnecessary
extremities.

What a surprise that not all of the 1,000,000 people who work in the City
of London and Westminster can live there. Even if we had developed at
the typical densities of European capitals (instead of our unusually
low densities), there is no way all of them could possibly live within
easy reach of their workplaces.


They don't all need to - but if *more* of them did, there would be less
crowding on transport and the other benefits that go with it. For a lot of
people, the choice isn't there.


I've struggle to find well-paid jobs, and I'm appalled at the number of
people who have to pay lots of money to live in not-particularly-nice
areas
that aren't close to their workplaces, and suffer miserable commutes
every
day.

For nine years I've paid over the odds to live in central London, but
that's my choice. I could have a much larger home in the suburbs but I
prefer to live here.

But I don't begrudge home to those in social housing in Westminster.


And I do.

I find the idea that people given a free home can choose where they live,
while those who work hard and pay tax are often forced into living where
they can afford it contemptibly unfair. Although not surprising in this
country, admittedly.

If I actually had to work in Westminster, I think I'd be even more angry at
this situation.

Having given up on London, I've been searching hard for a flat close to my
office lately - somewhere cheap and not particularly good. There are lots of
such places in central Ipswich, lots of them unoccupied, and practically
none of them are on the market to either buy or let because they all belong
to housing associations and are intended for people that don't need to be
close to my office. Or indeed any office.

Instead, I'm facing pressure to live somewhere 'more desirable' (expensive)
miles away from the town centre and necessitating a car journey. Typically
everything on the market is aimed at conventional, conformist 'families' and
miles from my own personal requirements. ****s.

The biggest ****ing irony of all is that there are people in Suffolk who
commute daily into London...


Radical idea, I know, but if people who wanted to do so were actually
able
to live close to their workplaces, there would be savings in transport
costs
(both to the customer and the state), reduced pollution, reduced
disparity
in deprivation, and increased leisure time.

Do you think people are prepared to put up with housing densities which
will go considerably over 1,000 habitable rooms per hectare in the city
centre? Or are you the new Pol Pot, determined to abolish cities and
move everyone back to the land?


Heh. If I could live and work in a more rural area, I'd do it in a second,
but the option isn't there. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Anathaema to your sort though it may be, I just want to live in a world of
greater choice.

BTN