Prior to 1830, the boundaries of London remained the same as the Roman city of Londinium. People had always lived outside the wall, but in the nineteenth century they became much more dependent on the services provided by the city. Many services, such as the police and the sewer, extended outside the wall, but until 1851 there was no official boundary for these services. Each organization chose its own area based on appropriate criteria. With a large increase in government services being offered, a greater need for an official boundary for London developed.
The census of 1850 established the official boundaries of the Metropolitan area of London. The area that had been used by the Metropolitan Police Court District was chosen because it was the biggest and most comprehensive. This was the area that was to become the domain of the soon to be created London County Council.
It was during the nineteenth century that London expanded to the point that it was no longer a walking city. As a result, public transportation was needed and soon developed. In the 1830s, a railroad system was built throughout Britain. Officials would not allow the railroad to come into the central core of London, so from 1860 to 1890 the Underground was built.
The development of public transportation led to residential segregation and the decentralization of the city. The railroad accelerated the spread of the suburbs and had a large influence on what was to become Greater London. Commuting to work was a middle class luxury, so only those people who could afford commuting costs were able to move out of the central city. The first underground lines ran to the West End and to the north of London, areas where middle class and wealthier people chose to live.
As residential segregation increased, where a person lived became more important and was soon a sign of social class. This led to a policy of slum clearance to rid middle class neighborhoods of undesirable elements.
Physical expansion, the extension of city services and the influx of wealth from trade and colonization led also led to population growth
Information from London: Problems of Change, by Hugh Clout and Peter Wood.
Beth Uittenbogaard