How has Immigration Transformed the Life and Culture of London over the Past 150 Years

How has Immigration Transformed the Life and Culture of London over the Past 150 Years Over the last one and half centuries, the United Kingdom has experienced a substantial turn up of its immigrant population.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How has Immigration Transformed the Life and Culture of London over the Past 150 Years? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some of the common reasons why people from other countries would move into the UK include; joining family members already living in the country, search for employment opportunities, educational needs, and escape from natural disasters or political persecution, among other reasons. Except in the recent years where the number has decreased as a result of the heightening recession, people seeking employment have always constituted the largest number of the total inflows in the UK. Among the countries whose people have continued to enjoy free movement and settlement in the UK are those who are members of the European Union, developing countries acro ss the world, and former colonies such as New Zealand, India, Canada, Australia and Jamaica. The issue of foreign inflows in the UK has been an ever-changing trend in the past one and half centuries (Hatton 2005, p. 724). However, immigrations in the country are observed to have been diverse in the 21st century than at any other moment in the country’s history. This actually is a clear indication that the practice of foreign inflow in the UK is there to stay. Constant emigration of UK citizens into other regions has always created room for more inflows in the country and this minimizes the tensions of population pressure in London, which is undoubtedly the leading absorber of majority of the foreign citizens who find their way into the country, every year. As it would be observed, immigrations into the UK, for the last one and half centuries have greatly transformed the city of London in many ways. The trend of rampant demographic changes has triggered both positive and negat ive effects to the culture and life of this diverse city.Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Obviously, London has changed drastically over the past 150 years, especially with it becoming a multicultural city. The UK ranks top among the countries that receive the highest number of foreign immigrants in the world. However, many of these foreigners come from different cultural settings, thus adding up to the existing cultural strength. This trend has made London more multicultural than it would be in the years before the twentieth century. Representing about 200 countries and having over 300 languages being spoken within its boundaries, London is arguably the most multi-racial place in the world. Moreover, the city also represents every religion, culture, and faith in the world. As a matter of fact, the idea of a diverse multi-cultural setting has had a positive impact to the cityà ¢â‚¬â„¢s development and advancement, thus making it a hub of trade in the world. London has always viewed its immigrants and foreign investors as powerful assets of its economical success thus welcoming their full presence in the region (Wadsworth 2010). This way, the capital continues to benefit in many ways, out of the constant presence of foreign talent and skills. Immigration has also played a key role in the life of Londoners, through flexibility, diversity and international experience. All these have a significant role in pinpointing London’s competitive advantage in the productive economy. One way of achieving this advantage is through the provision of an elastic supply of skilled labor, which may be lacking in the domestic labor supply. More importantly, immigrants in the London city have always filled up for lower level jobs that have been turned down by the indigenous work force, and this helps in strengthening the city’s productivity and competitiveness. Ho wever, regardless of the many positive impacts of immigration into the culture and life of London, the trend has also been associated with a number of negative effects.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on How has Immigration Transformed the Life and Culture of London over the Past 150 Years? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For instance, immigrants from various geographical regions who come in the UK are rarely willing to learn and appreciate the indigenous culture, more than they are wiling to continue practicing their own culture and this poses serious threats to the way of life of the indigenous natives. To make the matter worse, some native citizens and residents have also found themselves being absorbed in the cultural styles of the foreigners, something which has resulted to gradual death of their own culture. This habit may not be acceptable in the eyes of many indigenous natives, but it has taken place in many g rounds more often. Another negative effect of immigration is that, it has substantially contributed to erosion of employment prospects in London, among other major cities in the UK, where the indigenous labor force has to compete with immigrant groups who possess lower expectations and whose labor is easily available at a cheap cost (Dustmann Fabbri 2005). Another outstanding aspect of immigration which has negatively transformed the life and culture of London is the outstanding impact this would have on the social housing needs. The demand for housing facilities is indeed the most immediate impact of foreign migrants in London and most low and middle-earning immigrants are unable to access the housing needs in the private sector, thus ending up fighting for the few available social housing facilities. The high levels of foreign demographics in the city have multiplied the numbers of persons in search for accommodation in the region and even though this has triggered further develo pments over the years, through the incentive to increase housing supply in the capital, it has also come along with a heavy price, whereby both the indigenous natives and the immigrants are forced to part with high prices for housing facilities. Housing prices in the city of London have risen significantly in the recent past, than in any other part of the country and this explains the big cost of living which the indigenous natives continue to face at the expense of immigrants (Woodridge 2005, p. 22).Advertising Looking for essay on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Immigration has continued to impose a significant impact in the life and the culture of the British Capital. The practice is observed to have brought mixed impacts to the region and this contributes enormously to its growth and development. As observed from this essay, the benefits of immigration have been immense to the overall development of the London city, the same reason why this trend can’t be underestimated at any face value. As a matter of fact, the British capital has always found great value in the international talent, which plays a key part in its economic development. More importantly, the migrant labor force constitutes more than one quarter of the city’s overall workforce and for this reason immigrants have directly continued to transform the life and culture of the region in many ways. Reference List Dustmann, C Fabbri, F 2005, ‘The Impact of Immigration on the British Labour Market’, The Economic Journal, vol. 115 no. 507, pp. 324-341. Ha tton, T 2005, ‘Explaining trends in UK immigration’, Journal of Population Economics, vol. 18 no. 4, pp. 719-740. Wadsworth, J 2010, ‘The UK Labour Market and Immigration’, National Institute  Economic Review, vol. 213 no. 1, pp. 35-42. Woodbridge, J 2005, Sizing the Unauthorised (illegal) Migrant Population in the United  Kingdom in 2001, United Kingdom, Home Office London.