THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN
AND NORTHERN IRELAND IS LOCATED ON THE BRITISH ISLES
OFF THE NORTHWEST COAST OF FRANCE.
THE U.K. IS PART OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
AND IS MADE UP OF THE ISLAND OF GREAT BRITAIN,
WHICH INCLUDES ENGLAND, WALES, AND SCOTLAND,
AND THE NORTHERN 1/6 OF THE ISLAND OF IRELAND.
THE CAPITAL CITY OF GREAT BRITAIN
IS LONDON, ENGLAND.
LONDON IS THE LARGEST CITY IN THE ENTIRE U.K.
TODAY LONDON IS A SPRAWLING METROPOLIS
WITH ABOUT 6 1/2 MILLION PEOPLE,
BUT LONDON HAS BEEN A BIG CITY FOR CENTURIES.
200 YEARS AGO,
THERE WERE ALREADY OVER A MILLION PEOPLE LIVING HERE.
TO HEAT THEIR HOMES AND FUEL THEIR FACTORIES,
THEY BURNED COAL.
THIS BURNING COAL RELEASED TONS OF ASH, SOOT,
AND SULFUR INTO THE AIR.
THE SMOKE FROM THE COAL MIXED WITH LONDON'S NATURAL FOG
AND CREATED A THICK, GRAY SMOG
THAT COULD HANG OVER THE CITY FOR DAYS.
LOCALS CALLED IT "LONDON FOG."
THE SMOG EVEN MADE ITS WAY INTO THE LITERATURE OF THE DAY.
IN HIS 1853 NOVEL "BLEAK HOUSE,"
CHARLES DICKENS WROTE ABOUT AN UNHEALTHY FOG
HE CALLED A LONDON PARTICULAR, OR CHARACTERISTIC OF LONDON.
THE LONDON FOG COULD GET SO BAD THAT IT ACTUALLY KILLED PEOPLE.
IN 1952, A 4-DAY SMOG KILLED OVER 4,000 LONDONERS.
IN PART TO GET AWAY FROM THE SMOG
AND WITH THE INTRODUCTION OF AFFORDABLE MASS TRANSIT,
MANY PEOPLE MOVED TO THE OUTSKIRTS OF LONDON.
BUT AS MORE PEOPLE MOVED TO THE CITY'S EDGE,
IT TURNED INTO A HUGE SUBURB,
THE RESIDENTIAL AREA AROUND A CITY.
FOR THE ENGLISH, THE COUNTRY ESTATE WAS THEIR DREAM HOME,
BUT MOST PEOPLE COULDN'T AFFORD TO BUY
MANOR HOUSES IN THE COUNTRYSIDE,
SO THEY MOVED TO THE EVER-EXPANDING SUBURBS.
ALTHOUGH THE BUILDERS USED EFFICIENT, MODERN MATERIALS
LIKE CONCRETE,
THEY BUILT THE HOUSES BASED ON DESIGNS FROM PERIODS
THAT WERE HIGH POINTS IN ENGLISH HISTORY.
THE TUDOR STYLE OF THE MID-16th CENTURY
FEATURED HOUSES THAT COMBINED BRICKS WITH TIMBER.
THEIR TRIANGULAR ROOFS, BAY WINDOWS, AND GREAT HALLS
WERE LIKE THOSE IN TRADITIONAL MANOR HOUSES.
THE ELIZABETHAN STYLE OF THE LATE 16th CENTURY
ADDED MORE LIVING AREAS, WIDER STAIRCASES, AND BIGGER BEDROOMS,
ALL MEANT TO EMPHASIZE COMFORT.
AND THE QUEEN ANNE REVIVAL STYLE OF THE LATE 19th CENTURY
EMPHASIZED PROTECTION WITH ITS STEEP ROOFS AND TOWERS,
AND ITS TALL CHIMNEYS, ORIGINALLY MEANT TO STOP SPARKS
FROM SETTING FIRE TO THATCHED ROOFS,
EXPRESSED WARMTH AND SAFETY.
THESE TRADITIONAL STYLES REASSURED THE SUBURBAN RESIDENTS
AND WERE REMINDERS OF ENGLAND'S GLORY DAYS.
SOME EVEN CLAIM THAT THEY HELPED PEOPLE FEEL MORE SECURE
DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION AND THE WORLD WARS.
THE COAL FOGS THAT PLAGUED LONDON FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS
ARE NOW A THING OF THE PAST.
BUT FOR MANY PEOPLE,
THE DESIRE TO ESCAPE THE CITY INTO THE SUBURBS
IS STILL GOING STRONG.