Broadwater Farm

Broadwater Farm, often referred to simply as "The Farm", is an area in Tottenham, North London, straddling the River Moselle. The eastern half of the area is dominated by the Broadwater Farm Estate ("BWFE"), an experiment in high-density social housing, loosely based on Corbusian ideas, dominated by concrete towers connected by walkways (the controversial, so-called "Streets in the sky"), built in the late 1960s using cheap but fire-vulnerable pre-fabricated concrete panels.

The western half of the area is taken up by Lordship Recreation Ground, one of north London's largest parks. Broadwater Farm in 2011 had a population of 4,844. The estate is owned by Haringey London Borough Council. Following the publication of Alice Coleman's Utopia on Trial in 1985, the area acquired a reputation as one of the worst places to live in the United Kingdom. This perception was exacerbated when serious rioting erupted later that year.

After the 1985 riot there was a major redevelopment programme, after which crime rates initially fell. However, it is still associated with gangs with numerous stabbings and other violent crime occurring in and around the area. Well known for its large Afro-Caribbean...