A few photos show the vibrancy of the often-maligned neighbourhood of Southmead.

Photos: Colin Moody

Southmead, in the north of the city, is a product of the effort to clear city centre slums in the 1930s, with another spurt of council housing added post-war. The suburb has had its share of social difficulties and bad press. Decades of deprivation have occasionally erupted into social unrest, such as the two nights of rioting that took place in 1980 just days after the St Pauls riot. Now, government funding cuts risk reversing the significant improvements in the neighbourhood over the last two decades. But there’s much more to Southmead than the headlines – as these photos illustrate.