The borough where families are slowly disappearing
The London borough of Islington is experiencing a decline in families due to high housing costs and childcare challenges. Residents are increasingly moving away or delaying parenthood to focus on career advancement.
Why it matters
This highlights a growing urban crisis where economic pressures are making major cities inaccessible for young families, threatening long-term demographic stability.
Image caption, Tiphanie Frutuoso and her husband had their first baby this year and are moving out of London back to Luxembourg, partly because childcare is free
Islington seems, on the surface, a family-friendly area. Parents push buggies through quiet leafy side streets of this popular neighbourhood that is also within easy reach of central London.
But this north London borough has one of the lowest fertility rates in the country and mothers are older on average here than in most other parts of the capital.
Islington is a snapshot of a trend also playing out not only in inner London but also other parts of the world.
The situation has been described by the London Assembly as an "existential challenge" for the city as a whole, so what are the reasons behind this and what can be done about it?
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