Inward and Upward: Marking Out Social Class Change in London, 1981—2001

Abstract

Converting the 2001 census NS-SEC categories back into SEG categories for the 1981 and 1991 censuses, the authors show that there is a continued process of class upgrading occurring within Greater London compared with the rest of England and Wales. Inner London continues to see an increase in the proportion of residents in the higher social classes (particularly in the boroughs that were already gentrified in the centre and west of the centre). In outer London, there has been a process of upwards class change, but this is being led by the intermediate social class groups and is geographically more uneven. The authors conclude that these trends provide evidence for a continued gentrification of and social upgrading in inner London. The most significant finding is that London's gentrification is now being partly driven by the expansion of the `middle' middle classes of lower professional and intermediate non-manual groups.