Tower Hamlets, London Borough of, administrative region, London, England. Tower Hamlets was formed by the amalgamation of the Metropolitan Boroughs of Bethnal Green, Poplar, and Stepney. Its name is a reference to the Tower of London and the hamlets that once surrounded it, which today make up the area known as the East End of London. More than one third of the borough is made up of ethnic minorities: the area has traditionally attracted London's immigrants, from Huguenots and Jews to the present-day Bangladeshi community—the largest in Europe.
The borough's human diversity is reflected in its range of economic activity—from lavish investment, such as that typified by dockland developments like Canary Wharf on the Isle of Dogs, to poorer residential areas in more northerly parts of the borough. However, the end of the 20th century has seen growth in the financial, business and services sectors, and the regeneration of more depressed parts of Tower Hamlets has spread outwards from the City of London borders, to areas such as Spitalfields, Bow, Bethnal Green, and Mile End. The majority of the UK newspaper industry has relocated to the borough, as has Billingsgate Fish Market.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Tower Hamlets borough Information info
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