LONDON, ENGLAND.- The Museum of London presents “Urban Grime: the state of London’s environment,” on view through 18 January 2004. London has been ranked second dirtiest capital in the EU, yet it has the cleanest metropolitan river – have we finally cleaned up our act or are we drowning in our own rubbish? Urban Grime: the state of London’s environment the first in a new series of Capital Concerns exhibitions at the Museum of London explores Londoners’ changing attitudes to their environment, past, present and future. As the Mayor of London becomes the first in any major city to tackle environmental problems head on, Urban Grime raises the debate on issues affecting us all, and comes up with plenty of facts that shock and surprise.

As far back as the 15th century, Londoners were complaining about the noise of carts, grumbling about the smoke pollution caused by coal and holding their noses at the stink of the urine used for tanning. A seventeenth century publication drawing attention to the air quality of the city included a proposal for a green belt of aromatic hedges. Anti-noise campaigners raised their voices in the 19th century, not in protest at the traffic noise, but rather at the clamour of the street sellers and musicians they felt polluted the streets of London. And, hard as it may be to believe today, the mass arrival of the car at the turn of the century was heralded as a cleaner alternative to the horse drawn vehicles which left the streets saturated in manure.

Stinks, noise, rubbish and congestion – these complaints go back over 500 years of London’s grime ridden history. The causes have changed from church bells to low flying aircraft and from the smell of jam factories to exhaust fumes, but the themes remain the same. A hundred and fifty years after the Victorians dubbed London ‘The Big Smoke’ we are more likely to die from air pollution than from a traffic accident. So is pollution an inevitable accompaniment to living in a great city?

On the positive side, even today London is 40% green space and supports a wide variety of species – on display is a stuffed peregrine falcon that once roosted on St Paul’s. The exhibition points out that noise, pollution and traffic define the city and have inspired artists and writers throughout its history. A display of rare archaeological finds show how ancient rubbish tips continue to be a rich source of historical information.
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London’s teenagers contribute to the discussion through a ‘talking heads’ video highlighting their present concerns and their hopes for the future. Visitors can also have their say by commenting on the Mayor’s five new environmental strategies, while a debate on London’s domestic rubbish will open a series of lectures on London’s environment.