Explain the social changes in London which led to the need for the underground railway. Why was the development of the underground railway criticised?
The social changes in London that led to the need for the underground railway:
(i)Between the two World Wars (1919-39) the responsibility for housing the working classes was accepted by the British state, and a million houses, most of them single-family cottages, were built by local authorities.
(ii)The city had extended beyond the range where people could walk to work, and the development of suburbs made new forms of mass transport absolutely necessary.
(iii)The London underground railway partially solved the housing crisis by carrying large masses of people to and from the city
The development of the underground railway was criticised:
(i)Many felt that the ‘iron monsters’ added to the mess and unhealthiness of the city.
(ii)To make approximately two miles of railway, 900 houses had to be destroyed. Thus the London tube railway led to a massive displacement of the London poor, especially between the two World Wars.
