Tim Butler is Professor of Geography at King's College London. He is the author of several books on the gentrification of London and also on the regeneration of East London as well as jointly authored book on Understanding Social Inequality. He is now embarking on a comparative study of the middle classes in London and Paris. He is currently the Vincent Wright visiting professor at Sciences Po in Paris. Chris Hamnett is Professor of Geography at King's College London. He is the author of Winners and Losers: Home Ownership in Britain (1999),UnequalCity: London in the Global Arena (2003) and other books.

• Introduction; The changing economy and social structure of London and history of East London; Ethnic minorities and housing and perceptions of decline; Ethnicity, segregation and education: aspirations and attainment; The fallacy of choice: the difficulties in making decisions under conditions of limited choice; Reputation and working the system; Conclusions.

"This book provides a valuable and original contribution to the existing literature by containing a wealth of new empirical material on London's changing social composition, especially in relation to education. " Paul Watt, Birkbeck, University of London