I'm not saying London is a hellhole, but all of the issues I mentioned are commonplace, and I will see every item on that list in the course of a typical week.

I'm not saying London is a hellhole, but all of the issues I mentioned are commonplace, and I will see every item on that list in the course of a typical week. I've lived in various areas, currently a bit further out in Zone 3, which means I should add rampant fly tipping and unlicensed/uninsured/abandoned cars to the list. Eliminating these nuisances from an area is a costly business. It requires round the clock security, extensive CCTV monitoring, constant maintenance and adherence to the "broken windows" philosophy. It is essentially a luxury, which private property owners bestow upon their 'pseudo-public' spaces. The public would be outraged if councils sought the funding, through taxes, to apply the same to truly public spaces.