In 1919, the Metropolitan company became directly involved in developing what came to be called "Metro-land" on surplus land. One of the company's promotional posters displayed drab rows of inner city terrace houses and urged people to, "Leave this and move to Edgware."
However, they were also selling the dual benefit of a quiet, unpolluted suburban life paired with rapid access to the cultural and economic benefits of the metropolis, Lawrence said.
The pioneering Metropolitan Line sparked a new wave of underground development which today has grown into a 249-mile (402-kilometer) system carrying 1.2 billion passenger journeys each year.
Although Londoners love to complain about its sometimes sketchy performance, the Tube and its related rail lines can be a remarkable efficient way to move vast numbers of people in and out of the city, with roughly 3.5 million journeys completed each day.
It provided nearly flawless transport during the recent London Olympics despite fears that it would buckle under the extra strain.
Charles Pearson, a lawyer who saw the line as a tool of social reform which would enable the poor to live in healthier surroundings on the perimeter of the city, began promoting the line in the 1850s.
Pearson made a crucial contribution by persuading the Corporation of the City of London -- the governing body of the financial district -- to invest in the line.
