"Flight of the minorities: London's soul is in the suburbs"

Link to The Guardian

"The essence of the city in the modern era has been its vibrancy. The last century saw an exodus of residents trading Dickensian housing for suburban semis built on the principle of defensible space and the home-as-castle. But the reverse process of gentrification has made inner London now the playground of the rich – and the super-rich. 

"In turn, established white suburban dwellers cash in their houses for bigger property outside London altogether as changing work patterns make commuting less necessary. New arrivals of all ethnicities take their place.

Though the world depicted in The Good Life – the burbs as oases of serenity disturbed only by the twitching of net curtains – is vanishing, this is not a cause for national mourning. Polski skleps (Polish convenience stores) and boldly designed Hindu temples (such as at Neasden) and mosques appearing alongside pre-existing churches not only contradict both notions of suburbs as private worlds and the decline of religion in the UK but have also been welcome additions to the suburban landscape. 

"Ethnic retail has saved many high streets from adding to the sense that we are living in boarded-up Britain.