ABSTRACT
There were important developments in housing at this time though few of them were the result of government policy. One crucial factor was the growth of a public transport system, particularly around big cities. This enabled clerks, better-paid artisans and others to live a few miles from their place of work and commute. In the first decade of the twentieth century the geography of large cities was dramatically altered by suburban drift, as builders found it profitable to provide houses on cheaper land away from city centres (21a). In general, large centres benefited most; and many of them were able greatly to alleviate the housing crises which had blighted them in the 1880s and 1890s. Some of the more adventurous, like Sheffield, felt restricted by the cautious loans policy of the Local Government Board, which was poorly adapted to a period of housing boom (21b).
