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I can't answer your question but I was surprised to find out that the Barbican has never had any social housing. Turns out it was expensive private property all along.
Stonehedge-
Sorry, it retorical. I'm by no means an expert but I'd hasard a guess that it's because it's in a prime location, has always had middling to affluent residents which reduces the likelihood of social issues. It also has a relatively high police presence due to the historic (and current) terrorist threat. Point being, buildings don't in themselves cause crime and social disfunction.
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Yes, that and lots of other factors, e.g. where it is located, etc.
It was an experiment in the sort of cityscape recommended in the 1959 Buchanan Report and was seen as emblematic of the modernisation and rebuilding of London. As ever, and as with all other estates, private or public, how it was managed was the real deciding factor in its success or failure.
hugo7
Oliver Schick
Good post.
Personally I have always thought the whole "sink estate" thing was a bit of a red hearing. How come the Barbican, built on similar architectural lines as other estates, never became a sink estate?
Obviously, I do think that bad architecture can exacerbate existing problems, but I can't believe that it's not a variety of social and economic issues that's the real cause.