Question

Describe the main features of Charles Booth's first social survey of low skilled London workers.

Answer 1

The main features of Charles Booths social survey of low-skilled London workers conducted in the East end of London are as follows:
(i) He found that about 1 million Londoners i.e., about one-fifth of the population of London at the time, were very poor.
(ii)These poor people were expected to live only upto an average age of 29 in comparison to the average life expectancy of 55 among the gentry and the middle class. These people were more than likely to die in a workhouse, hospital or lunatic asylum.
(iii) He concluded that London needed the rebuilding of at least 400,000 rooms to house its poorest citizens. For a while, the better-off city dwellers continued to demand that slums simply be cleared. But gradually, a larger number of people began to recognize the need for housing for the poor.