be distinguished from the Greater London Council's 'A ' boroughs which comprise all the above minus Greenwich and plus

1973). During the same period the number of economically active males fell by 198 130 or 18.75 per cent from 1 056 860 to 858 730. In themselves, these figures represent no more than the continua- 3. tion of the downward trend of overall population from a peak of 4 533 181 in 1911 (Money, 1973). By way of contrast, Outer London witnessed a steady increase in population up to 1951, after which it declined, Greater London as a whole reaching its population peak in 1939. Although the rate of decline has recently come to be seen as a problem in its own right (Eversley, 1972; Lomas, 1973), largely as a result of the fear of rising costs and overall physical decay, much attention has been focused on the implications of differential decline across the various socioeconomic groups. As Lomas (1973) has pointed out, the perceived problems thought to result from this differential decline vary markedly. An attempt has been made to distinguish the main perceived trends as follows: 1. The lower paid, less skilled and less educated are increasingly becoming concentrated in the inner