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The density, calculated in relation to a total acreage, is, of course,
nothing more than an index to the propinquity or congestion of individuals.
It may be a material factor in the control', for example, of
infectious disease, in the matter of general transport facility or in the
distribution of foods or other commodities of universal consumption ;
but it will not be necessarily a guide to the adequacy or otherwise of
housing conditions. These depend on the sufficiency of individual
dwellings or rooms and are treated from this point of view in a later
section of this comment. The development of the block construction
type of housing has been probably slower in this country than amongst
other industrial communities, but it has attained considerable proportions
in the central area of the metropolis; and since vertical height
is an essential factor in such cases, it is obvious that its full effect will
not be measured by an index based on surface extent alone. Strong
co-relation will no doubt be found to exist between housing pressure
and the acreage density, especially at the higher reaches of the latter,
but the tables will also provide examples of the association of relatively
favourable housing conditions with high acreage densities and the
converse association of overcrowding with low over-all acreage density.
DWELLINGS, ROOMS AND FAMILIES.
Except for one small and relatively unimportant departure, the
treatment of this section of the Census enquiry follows almost precisely
the same lines as those followed in 1921, and thus provides the fullest
material for an examination of the changes which have occurred during
the intervening period.
The departure referred to is the omission on this occasion of the
record of " buildings." The heterogeneous collection of structures met
with throughout the area, of almost infinite variety as regards shape,
size or purpose, has little statistical application in connection with a
population study; and no account has been taken of buildings as such
apart from the exhaustive administrative procedure of identifying them
and their contents in order to ensure the completeness of the enumeration.
Nor has any attempt been made to obtain a record of dwellings
or buildings in course of erection : such statistics would inevitably be
imperfect and of doubtful validity.
Concentration has rather been centred upon the more direct features
of the housing situation, the actual dwellings available, their relative
size in terms of the number of rooms therein, the families occupying
them and the size of the families in relation to the rooms occupied,
together with all' the valuable information derivable from the combination
in various ways of these particulars.
HOUSING ACCOMMODATION IN METROPOLITAN
BOROUGHS.
In respect of room accommodation, Hampstead claims first place
with a general average of 7.59 rooms per dwelling, while immediately