Property prices in London have increased sixteen-fold since Peter Apps was born. Once vibrant communities are being uprooted and businesses shuttered. Young people are abandoning London, heading for Brighton, Manchester, Sheffield – taking the city’s creative energy with them. Schools can’t fill their classrooms as families are priced out of the capital. And social housing is a mess.

How on earth did we get here?

Tracing the last forty years of the public and private housing market in London, Peter Apps entreats us to fight for what is ours: a city that might still provide permanence, safety and opportunities for ordinary people. A city that our children and grandchildren might be proud to live in. We must stop being wistful for what once was and figure out what could be.