Portal:Greater Manchester/Selected article/10

The tallest buildings and structures in Salford are mostly residential tower blocks constructed during the mid-20th century in the Brutalist architectural style. However, since the 1996 Manchester bombing, which initiated a redevelopment programme for Greater Manchester, the city has witnessed a boom in the construction of high rise apartments, particularly at Salford Quays, a former dockland.

Geographically, commercially, and culturally, Salford is dominated by its immediate neighbour, the City of Manchester, which lies across the River Irwell. Although Salford followed a similar pattern of urbanisation to Manchester during the Industrial Revolution it did not evolve as a commercial centre in the same way. In contrast to the vast majority of Manchester's tallest buildings, Salford's high-rises were constructed in the 1960s and 70s as part of a regeneration project to alleviate chronic social deprivation and urban decay. Some of the early high-rise buildings have subsequently been demolished themselves, as they provided unsatisfactory accommodation for families and caused as many social problems as they were meant to alleviate. A study by Professor Christopher Collier of the university suggested that Manchester's drizzly climate is largely due to the multitude of high-rise blocks in Salford.