Cultural Change in London

Cultural change in London

Abstract

Culture is defined as the ways of man. It describes how people behave and go about their daily activities. Every human society is described according to its culture. Cultural change is defined as the process through which cultures evolve over time. As times change, new activities, behaviours and practices are adapted by societies leading to cultural change. Cultural change has been observed to crop up from changes in technology, climate change, government policy and regulation and cultural integration. Cultural change is a gradual process that must be observed keenly. The urban culture in London is an example of a culture that has been undergoing evolution since time immemorial. From the ancient agrarian culture to the modern urban and civilised culture, there is more than enough evidence to show the path of evolution of the London culture (Manley, 2005:56).

Introduction

London is among the world's biggest cities, both demographically and geographically. It is a metropolitan city with a coverage of 1,579 square kilometres. The city has a population approximated at over 8 million people. The city is divided into 32 boroughs. Being the largest city in Great Britain, London serves as the capital city of the United Kingdom (Gillett, 2005:197). It has been described as one of the leading global cities that are a harbour for commerce, art, entertainment, fashion, healthcare, tourism and education. These are some of the factors that have contributed to the culture changes (Gillett, 2005:174).

In terms of population demographics, close to 60% of the city inhabitants are whites. When this figure is narrowed down, 44% are white British, 3% are Irish Whites while the rest are classified as other whites. Asians form close 21% of the London population. These are composed of 6% Indians, 1.5% Chinese while 8% are classified as other Asians (Conway, 2007:192). Blacks form 16% of the London population. Research discloses that there are over 300 languages spoken by the London dwellers. Most of these languages are indigenous while others are as a result of cultural integration between the city inhabitants. These languages exist despite the fact that English is the most communal and formal language in this city. Most of the city residents are Christians. There are also Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jews (Conway, 2007:245).

As evident, there are various aspects of cultural interaction that is likely to lead to cultural change in London. The original inhabitants of London were the British whites and the Irish Whites. Immigration is among the factors that have contributed to multicultural dwelling in London city. The cultures of these communities have grown over time, adapting new cultural practices, modifying the existing practices and dropping some aspects of their culture due to various