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4
HOUSE ACCOMMODATION.
The question of density cannot bo considered without taking account of the open spaces
included in the area. Neglecting the very considerable area of squares and gardens unoccupied
by buildings, and the expanse of the Park and Kensington Gardens (67.5 acres of the latter are
included in the Borough), the following are the approximate chief "lungs" of the Borough, all
but the last being dedicated in perpetuity to the people:—
Burial Ground, Bayswater Boad, containing 5.4 acres.
Paddington Green
St. Mary's Churchyard
„ 6.75
Paddington Recreation Ground ,, 25.5 ,,
Great Western Railway ,, 70.9 „
If these areas and that of the waterways be deducted, the population of the Borough may be
said to be aggregated on an area equal to 1,160 acres, representing a density of 124.1 persons per
acre.
HOUSE ACCOMMODATION.
In 1891 there were 13,221 inhabited houses in the Parish, each occupied on an average by
8.9 persons. At the last Census 17,684 inhabited houses were enumerated in the Borough, the
average number of occupants being 8.1 per house.
During the last decennium a considerable change has been taking place in the housing of
residents in the Metropolis. Areas formerly covered by small houses with gardens, some of
considerable size, have been cleared, and the sites taken for blocks of flats with no more yard or
garden space than is necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Building Act. For the purposes
of the Census each block of flats has been counted as a single house, no matter how many
tenements or flats it contains. It follows that the ratio of persons per house has not now the
significance it had in 1891 or 1881. Moreover, the Registrar-General states that some confusion
occurred when the Census of 1891 was taken, independent flats being enumerated by some of the
officials as "houses," so that the comparison of the results obtained in 1891 and 1901 require to
be received with some reserve. Having these points to consider, it has been thought inadvisable
to do more than submit the following Table with but one comment; that is, to draw attention to
the fact that the Census rule, in districts where flats are numerous, has the effect of (fictitiously)
increasing the average number of residents per house, using that term in its ordinary sense.