Go to Lambeth for snapshot of social diversity in capital

Lambeth is officially London's most diverse borough, it was announced today.

Taking into account everything from property prices to what residents buy from mail order firms, researchers were able to build a picture of every London street and its inhabitants.

They found Lambeth residents were the most diverse, with the wealthy living alongside the poor and students mixing with millionaires.

"For people seeking a true experience of London's cultural mix, there's only one place to go: Lambeth really is the authentic London neighbourhood," said John Rae, director of analysis firm CACI.

The team divided people into 220 mini social types based on factors such as age, family structure, education, housing and income. They also created five general categories — Wealthy Achievers, Prosperous Urbanites, Comfortably Off, On Moderate Means and The Hard-Pressed.

They found London to have the most diverse population spread out of every British city. They then compared the breakdown of mini social types in each borough with the capital as a whole in a study called London Segments. Lambeth, followed by Lewisham, Haringey, Hackney and Southwark, most closely mirrored the overall statistics.

Mr Rae said: "To rank each street, we looked initially at census data but also brought in land registry records and dozens of other public and government databases.

"London is renowned for its social and ethnic diversity but never before have we been able to measure just how far it differs from the UK as a whole. In fact, London is actually far more similar to Paris in make-up than the rest of the UK."

He also said there were very few Londoners in the middle part of the spectrum.

"We found that very few people were Comfortably Off — people either tended to be relatively well off or really struggling. Middle England just doesn't seem to exist in the capital."

Six per cent of Londoners were recorded as Wealthy Achievers, 44 per cent Prosperous Urbanites, 17 per cent Comfortably Off, 11 per cent On Moderate Means and 22 per cent Hard-Pressed.

The five social categories

Wealthy Achievers
The most successful and affluent people. They live in high-status suburban or rural areas. Generally middle-aged or older people. Some neighbourhoods contain large numbers of well-off families with school-age children.

Prosperous Urbanites
The majority of Londoners. They include older wealthy people and highly educated younger professionals. Also includes the well-educated but less affluent, such as students and graduates in first jobs.

Comfortably Off
Contains much of middle Britain. They may not be wealthy, but they have few major financial worries.

On Moderate Means
Many people are still employed in traditional, blue-collar occupations. Others work in service and retail jobs. In the better-off areas, people have reasonable standards of living.

The Hard-Pressed
The poorest areas. Unemployment is well above the national average. Those in work are likely to be in unskilled jobs. Incomes are low and there are low levels of qualifications.