Editing Thamesmead (section)

== Demography ==
[[File:Lock and Springbridge at Broadwater Estate, Thamesmead (02).jpg|thumb|right|Part of the Grade II listed lock and springbridge on the Broadwater Estate in Thamesmead]]
Thamesmead's population is increasing rapidly as new developments are being built in the area. Based on mid-2018 estimates, the area's population has reached to 41,121,<ref>{{Cite web|title=United Kingdom: London (Boroughs and Wards) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/uk/london/wards/|website=www.citypopulation.de|access-date=2020-05-22}}</ref> an increase of almost 30% in seven years over the 2011 figure of 31,824. Because of this, there is an increasing level of demand for the proposed [[Docklands Light Railway extension to Thamesmead|DLR extension from Gallions Reach]].

In common with the rest of London, the ethnic make-up of Thamesmead has changed since it was first built. Initially, it was one of the most homogenous estates of its type in London, being predominately white and working class. The lack of [[London Underground]] services and at the very edge of the metropolis may have meant Thamesmead was not first port of call for immigrants arriving in London. The housing selection policy that favoured relatives of existing residents reinforced this aspect.

However, after the [[Fall of Saigon]] and the American withdrawal from [[Vietnam]] in the late 1970s, a small group of Vietnamese refugees built a community in the area. In the 1990s, another ultimately larger wave of emigration from [[West Africa]] (predominately [[Nigeria]] and [[Ghana]]) began.<!--growing to a point where national newspapers talked of advertisements on Nigerian Television describing Thamesmead as a key UK destination -- (no citation for 6 years) --> The 2011 census revealed that 35.58% of residents in the Thamesmead Moorings ward described themselves as Black African, the highest percentage in both London and the UK; Thamesmead East had the second highest at 34.88%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.london.gov.uk/datastorefiles/visualisations/atlas/2011-rate-diversity-ward/atlas.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809104319/http://data.london.gov.uk/datastorefiles/visualisations/atlas/2011-rate-diversity-ward/atlas.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 August 2014|title=London Datastore – Greater London Authority|website=data.london.gov.uk|access-date=5 April 2018}}</ref>

Thamesmead also adjoins the Thistlebrook travellers site which is situated just inside [[Abbey Wood]].<ref name="michaelcollins.info"/>

Thamesmead Moorings; Ethnicity Breakdown:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6506532&c=Thamesmead+Moorings&d=14&e=62&g=6325520&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1359913339422&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2477|title=Local statistics - Office for National Statistics|website=www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk|access-date=5 April 2018|archive-date=24 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624125339/http://www.neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/LeadTableView.do?a=7&b=6506532&c=Thamesmead+Moorings&d=14&e=62&g=6325520&i=1001x1003x1032x1004&m=0&r=1&s=1359913339422&enc=1&dsFamilyId=2477|url-status=dead}}</ref>

'''Black or Black British 42.9%'''
:Black African 35.6%
:Black Caribbean 3.8%
:Black Other 3.5%

'''White 42.4%'''
:White British 33.3%
:White Irish 0.7%
:White Gypsy or Irish Traveller 0.3%
:White Other: 8.1%

'''Asian or Asian British 7.8%'''
:Indian 1.5%
:Bangladeshi 0.7%
:Pakistani 0.7%
:Chinese 2.2%
:Other Asian 2.7%

'''Mixed Race 5.3%'''
:White and Black Caribbean 1.7%
:White and Black African 1.8%
:White and Asian 0.6%
:Mixed Other 1.2%

'''Other Ethnic Groups 1.7%'''
:Arab 0.3%
:Other 1.4%