1972: Growing up in Tower Blocks, Tenements and Estates | Search | BBC Archive

"If you live up high, and are not tall enough to reach the lift button, you can't get in and out of your own home easily."

Dilys Morgan reports from Liverpool, on what it's like for young children who grow up in the city. In tower blocks like Entwistle Heights, parents and older siblings face challenges to keep young children both safe and entertained. Entwistle Heights was built in 1965, to replace the 1930s tenements, but it lacks the courtyard space of the tenements, and as a result there is less opportunity for children to play and interact safely.

In the nearby tenements, playing outside is less of an issue, and older children often play the role of police, peacekeepers and teachers to the youngsters in their care.

Greens Walk, on the edge of Sefton Park, attempts to recreate the community spirit of the tenements in a modern environment. How do the children who live there feel about it?

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Clip taken from Search: Little Children, originally broadcast on BBC One, 15 November, 1972.

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