Editing Salford (section)

===Post-industrial decline===
[[File:The Crescent, Pendleton.jpg|thumb|right|Following the demise of local manufacturing industries, a 1960s regeneration project saw the construction of over 30&nbsp;[[tower block]]s in the city, replacing many of Salford's former [[Victorian architecture|Victorian]] slums.]]
[[File:Thursfield Street, Salford.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Housing Market Renewal Initiative]] has identified Salford as having areas with [[terraced housing]] unsuited to modern needs.<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.blitzandblight.com/terrace-housing|publisher=blitzandblight.com|access-date=22 January 2009|title=Terrace housing|date=14 September 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090717082126/http://www.blitzandblight.com/terrace-housing|archive-date=17 July 2009|df=dmy-all}}</ref>]]

During the early 20th century, improvements in regional transport infrastructure precipitated the decline of Salford's existing industries, including those at the [[Salford Docks]]. Increased foreign competition began to undermine the competitiveness of local textile processing businesses. Life in Salford during the early 20th century was described by Robert Roberts, in his study ''The Classic Slum''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Davey Smith|Dorling|Shaw|2001|p=301}}</ref> Rising unemployment during the [[Great Depression in the United Kingdom|Great Depression]] of the 1920s and 1930s,<ref name="CooperP41">{{Harvnb|Cooper|2005|p=41}}</ref> and a significant economic decline in the decades following the Second World War contributed toward a fall in Salford's population.<ref name="Renewal">{{Citation|url=http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Products/BVIR/9AC95DA0-C6A1-4b9b-9A0D-D305DE72FFC8/ManchesterSalford.pdf |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20090417050149/http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/Products/BVIR/9AC95DA0%2DC6A1%2D4b9b%2D9A0D%2DD305DE72FFC8/ManchesterSalford.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2009 |title=Market Renewal: Manchester Salford Pathfinder |year=2003 |access-date=22 February 2008 |publisher=[[Audit Commission (United Kingdom)|Audit Commission]]  |url-status=dead }}</ref>  

By 1939 local coal mining had almost stopped, and, by 1971, cotton spinning had ceased completely.<ref name="CooperP41" /> Between 1921 and 1939, the population of Salford decreased by 29%, from 234,045 to 166,386,<ref name="visionofbritain">{{Citation |url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10042884&c_id=10001043&add=N |title=Salford MB/CB: Total Population |publisher=Vision of Britain |access-date=23 December 2008 }}</ref> far greater than the rate of decline within the whole of [[North West England]].<ref name="Renewal"/>

[[File:Salford Precinct (7426487346).jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Salford Precinct]] was opened in the 1970s]]
A survey in 1931 concluded that parts of Salford contained some of the worst [[slum]]s in the country. Many houses were infested by rats and lacked elementary amenities. Inspectors found that of 950&nbsp;houses surveyed, 257&nbsp;were in a state of bad repair with leaking roofs, broken flooring and rotten woodwork. The inspectors were "struck by the courage and perseverance with which the greater number of tenants kept their houses clean and respectable under most adverse conditions".<ref name="CooperP41" /> By 1933, [[Slum clearance in the United Kingdom|slum clearance]] projects were under way,<ref>{{Harvnb|Manchester Evening News Staff|2007|p=5}}</ref> and by the end of 1956 over a thousand families had been rehoused in [[overspill estate]]s at [[Little Hulton]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Manchester Evening News Staff|2007|p=12}}</ref> These clearances have, for some, changed the character of the area to such an extent that "observers in search of the typical Salford may have to look in Eccles and Swinton, for much of the community and townscape&nbsp;... has gone from Salford, replaced by tall blocks of flats".<ref name="Clark14">{{Harvnb|Clark|1973|p=14}}.</ref> Large areas of the city were redeveloped in the 1960s and 1970s, with [[Victorian era]] terraced housing estates that inspired painter [[L. S. Lowry]] and soap opera ''[[Coronation Street]]'' giving way to concrete [[tower block]]s and austere architecture.<ref name="Clark14"/> Salford Quays became the site of the second British multiplex when Cannon opened their cinema there in December 1986.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hoad |first1=Phil |title=How multiplex cinemas saved the British film industry 25 years ago |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/nov/11/multiplex-cinemas-the-point-milton-keynes |website=The Guardian |date=11 November 2010 |publisher=Guardian News & Media Limited |access-date=11 November 2010}}</ref>

Despite extensive redevelopment, throughout the 1980s and 1990s the area experienced high levels of deprivation and unemployment, particularly during the recessions of the early years of both decades. This social deprivation was a major factor in the increased levels of [[Gangs in the United Kingdom|gang crime]] linked to illegal narcotics, firearms and robberies. This was comparable to the similar issues faced in parts of neighbouring [[Manchester]] including [[Moss Side]], as well as areas of the more distant neighbouring city of [[Liverpool]].

[[Organised crime]] in Salford, particularly in Ordsall and Pendleton, "began to have a disturbing effect on grass roots democracy. Both the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives announced they would not contest certain Salford wards" because they regarded them as "unsafe" and would put their "party workers at risk".<ref>{{Harvnb|Walsh|2003|pp=118–122}}.</ref> Salford's social amenities and the [[Nightlife|night-time economy]] folded amid criminal "intimidation", "drug use, fights and demands for money".<ref>{{Harvnb|Walsh|2003|p=124}}.</ref> In early 2005, the [[Government of Latvia]] appealed to the [[European Union]] to advise people against travelling to Salford after a Latvian man was stabbed in the head in [[Lower Broughton]].<ref name="Latvia"/> However, a crackdown by [[Greater Manchester Police]] coupled with investment in, and structural changes to the housing stock, began changing Salford's fortunes;<ref>{{Harvnb|Walsh|2003|pp=264–266}}.</ref> population decline has slowed,<ref name="Renewal"/> and Salford's city councillors have insisted it is a safe place to visit.<ref name="Latvia">{{Citation |title=Latvian plea to blacklist Salford |work=BBC News |date=17 December 2004 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/4106299.stm |access-date=10 November 2007 }}</ref> In August 2005, a survey by [[Channel 4]] television rated the city as the 9th worst place to live in the United Kingdom, based on criteria of crime, education, environment, lifestyle and employment.<ref>{{Citation |title=Hull 'worst place to live in UK' |work=BBC News |date=10 August 2005|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4136342.stm |access-date=10 November 2007 }}</ref>