Once described as “holding the key to London's future growth” by Ken Livingstone, East London is at risk of falling from grace. The promised Olympic revival is already suffering from funding problems, while the collapse of some of the world's biggest banks has left Canary Wharf and the Docklands, often described as “soulless” by nonresidents, feeling eerier than usual.

Actually... no. If you want to know what a ghost town looks like, you should have visited Docklands back in the early 1990s. I can remember standing somewhere near Canary Wharf and wondering why I was whispering. Those flats will eventually fill up, just slowly, and not at 2007 buy-to-let prices.

Little Detroit, Thamesmead [October 20, 2008]

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