Editing Thamesmead (section)

=== Original concept ===
Thamesmead as it is now was built at the end of the 1960s. Efforts were made to solve the social problems that had already started to affect earlier estates. These were believed to be the result of people being uprooted from close-knit working-class communities and sent to estates many miles away, where they did not know anybody. The design of the  new estates meant that people would feel more isolated than they would have done in the [[terraced housing]] that had been typical in working-class areas. The solution proposed was that once the initial residents had moved in, their families would be given priority for new housing when it became available.{{Citation needed|date=May 2023}}

Another radical idea of the GLC division architect Robert Rigg was taken from housing complexes in [[Sweden]], where it was believed that lakes and canals reduced vandalism and other crime, mainly among the young. He used water as a calming influence on the residents.<ref name="michaelcollins.info">{{cite web |url=http://www.michaelcollins.info/Michaelcollins.info/Index%20/8AF83FE5-33F1-4CA9-AE7D-6E1AFA41AECE.html |title=Dreams set in concrete |access-date=2010-03-10 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100520173002/http://www.michaelcollins.info/Michaelcollins.info/Index%20/8AF83FE5-33F1-4CA9-AE7D-6E1AFA41AECE.html |archive-date=20 May 2010 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

[[File:2017 Thamesmead aerial view 01.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Aerial view, looking south, of Thamesmead South and Central, with Southmere Lake which is fed by the [[River Wogebourne]] in foreground (2017)]]Much of Thamesmead was initially built by the [[Greater London Council]] (GLC) for rent to families moving from overcrowded back-to-back Victorian housing (also referred to as slums) in south eastern parts of [[Inner London]]. The area had been inundated in the [[North Sea flood of 1953|Flood of 1953]], so the original design placed living accommodation at first floor level or above, used overhead walkways and left the ground level of buildings as garage space.<ref name = hist/> There is also an elevated 'escape route' from the estate to be used in the event of flooding, which runs along the top of a grassed mound to the north of Lesnes neighbourhood.

The first residence was occupied in 1968, but already there were rain penetration problems.<ref name = hist2/> The pre-1974 parts of Thamesmead are a mix of modernist town houses, medium-rise and 12-storey blocks system-built in concrete, which have featured in various films due to their 'rough urban look'; the design of the newer buildings is more traditional and in brick.<ref name=hist>[http://wwp.greenwich2000.com/info/local/thamesmead.htm Thamesmead, A Potted History, by Marc Anderson, on Greenwich 2000 website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080221120754/http://wwp.greenwich2000.com/info/local/thamesmead.htm |date=21 February 2008 }}, originally from Thamesmead Gazette July 1995, accessed 27 May 2008</ref>

When the GLC was abolished in 1986, its housing assets and the remaining undeveloped land were vested in a [[non-profit organisation]], Thamesmead Town Limited (TTL). TTL was a private company with an unusual form of governance{{clarify|date=February 2013}}. Its nine executive directors were local residents; they periodically submitted themselves to re-election. Subsequently six additional paid directors who did not live in the area were appointed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/15714/thamesmead-town-ltd|title = THAMESMEAD TOWN Ltd - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament}}</ref>