The docklands were originally London's largest port in 1900 but shut down and were forced to move further downstream with the last of the original East London docks closing in 1981.
In the 1970s the rapid use of containerships meant that the Thames was unable to cope with their size
Impacts
From 1978 to 1983 12,000 jobs were lost
In 1981, 60% of men were unemployed in the Census
The Thames riverside was littered with derelict wharves and abandoned docks creating a negative image of London
Nearby industries and services that relied on the docks for imports/exports closed
The population of East London fell by nearly 100,000 between 1971 and 1981 as people migrated for work
Aesthetics of the area
The closure of the docks led to lots of derelict docks and wharves around the area
Lots of disused warehouses
Lots of disused boats/cranes etc
Dirty flooded streets
Urban Development Corporations (UDC)
Corporations set up to regenerate urban innercity areas with large amounts of derelict and disused land. They had power to acquire and reclaim land and improve infrastructure and land.
