Little Green Street isn't in the center of London, but maybe that's why it survived so long — it's one of only a few intact Georgian streets left in the whole metropolis. These two-story brick houses may have survived the Blitz in World War II, but the inexorable march of gentrification is another thing altogether. It's not even a full neighborhood, just a one-block-long street, a narrow cobblestoned lane lined on both sides with perhaps a dozen modest 18th-century terraced houses.
The houses themselves being knocked down, it's the street itself that lies in danger. A developer seeking to build nearby can only access the plot of land through the 2.5m (8 feet) wide street. Lorries and backhoes would barely scrape through this lane, coming within inches of the terrace's neatly painted front doors and bow windows. No studies had been done to test how much the constant rumbling and vibrations of that traffic would affect the foundations of these 225-year-old buildings, given a projected construction period of 4 years.
Little Green Street looks like a perfect slice of Regency London; it's been celebrated in the poetry of that quintessentially British poet John Betjeman, and used as the setting for music videos and photo shoots. The campaign to save Little Green Street has not only knit together the dozen families who live there, it has attracted actors, writers, musicians, and others concerned with preserving London's historic character. On February 28, 2008, the Camden Town Council denied the developers construction access to Little Green Street, but the appeals process continues.
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More Places to See Before They Disappear
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