There are few who would benefit from this perverse result

This week on the Guardian housing network, Matthew Oakley replica sale, head of enterprise, growth and social policy at Policy Exchange, defended its controversial proposal against the accusation that it would create urban ghettos of wealth and poverty, breaking up the capital's rich and diverse communities.

Not so, he said. Londoners in wealthy but diverse areas such as Hackney actually live "parallel lives", failing to come into contact with one another in any meaningful way. His policy, he explained, would not fragment society but in fact create more solid communities where the poorest families live shoulder-to-shoulder with those on low and middle incomes, breeding familiarity and bonding groups together.Fake Oakley Sunglasses

If the two policies are brought together they run the risk of creating a worst-case scenario for the capital: a frenzied burst of development yielding yet more luxury apartments priced out of the reach of the vast majority, while the remaining good-quality social housing in boom areas is hived off, leaving even fewer housing choices for the poorest groups.

There are few who would benefit from this perverse result. A recent report from the London School of Economics found that more than 70% of businesses located in London saw the lack of affordable housing as a major constraint on the Labour market. Researchers found businesses believed it was vital for their workforces to be able to live close to their work.Replica Oakley Sunglasses
Indeed, London depends entirely on the low-paid workers who would find themselves either priced or pushed out of the city if the mayor's commitment to development was twinned with a policy of selling up and moving on. The cleaners, catering staff, rubbish collectors, teaching assistants and administrators on which the country relies would find themselves unable to continue working in London, putting the entire business community at risk.

And there are further implications. As one online commentator wisely pointed out, mixed communities are not about spreading 'aspiration' or helping working class people learn to be more like their middle-class neighbours – they are an essential way of ensuring that the demand for public services is spread, not concentrated in poor areas.Replica Oakleys Wholesale

In the end, selling up the best central London properties and developing new social housing outside the centre of the city will benefit neither residents nor the public purse, as demand for services grows in new areas and the public