1985 Handsworth riots 1500 police officers drafted into the area, about 45 shops looted and burnt, and a trail of damage running into hundreds of thousands of pounds. As well as racial tension, unemployment was seen as a major factor in the riots; by the time of the riots, fewer than 5% of the black population to have left school that summer had found employment. The riots were the first of a series of similar riots across the country during the autumn of 1985, notably the Broadwater Farm riot in London which also resulted in a fatality (the murder of policeman Keith Blakelock).
Broadwater Farm the farm, the river was covered to run in culvert as far as Tottenham Cemetery. In 1967, construction of the Broadwater Farm Estate began on the site of the allotments. An area of the southeastern part of the park was used to replace the allotments destroyed by the new construction. As initially built, the estate contained 1,063 flats, providing homes for 3,000–4,000 people. The design of the estate was inspired by Le Corbusier, and characterised by large concrete blocks and tall towers. Because of the high water table and the flood risk caused by the Moselle, which flows through the