Four years ago...

...this view was very different.

If you had arrived at Stratford from the "Stratford High Street" DLR station, the yellow framed building seen here...

 ...was covered with graphics depicting various events from the Olympic games.
The tower block behind and the two to the right did not exist...

 ...where the red crane stands in this photo was a row of beautiful trees and you could see an old tower block behind them that had been wrapped in advertising by one of the sponsors of the games.
The view along the Broadway was very different too...

...there was bunting & banners everywhere and lots of flowers.

The area has certainly changed in those four years.

We now have dedicated cycle lanes all over the place - you still have to take your life in your hands as there are plenty of cyclists who still insist on ignoring traffic lights and better yet, cycle the wrong way on the cycle lanes.

The main area of growth though is tower blocks - they are springing up faster than weeds. An article in the National Press a while back revealed that there was planning permission granted for 450+ high-rise constructions in the London area with more than half of these being in East London. Developers may well be using the "fantastic views of London" statement to help sell these properties but it looks like it won't be long before that changes to "fantastic up close & personal views of the tower block next door"..............................................................