London's Infamous East End Looks To Leave Its Past Behind

"A maze of cobbled streets and dimly lit narrow passageways, the region has long been the lurking ground for all manner of unsavoury characters. Even the names of many of its suburbs - Houndsditch, Spitalfields and Mile End - sound dangerous and uninviting. No, you'd be better off sticking to the West End. A lot safer. Less foggy."

"The flaw in this reasoning is that it is rarely based on experience because Londoners are notorious for staying in the suburbs in which they live and work. The reality is that during the past decade the East End has been secretly sprucing itself up and parts of it now have some of the hippest and trendiest spots in the capital. And, as is so often the case, it was the area's insalubrious origins that were the catalyst for its revival."