Newham [key], outer borough (1991 pop. 200,200) of Greater London, SE England, on the Thames River. Newham is residential in the northeast. The Royal Docks, which are no longer used commercially, are in the south; the London City Airport is there. Few buildings in Newham are more than a century old, because the area's growth stemmed largely from London's 19th-century industrial expansion. The southwest especially suffered from slum conditions. Much of the borough was destroyed by bombs during World War II, but was rebuilt in the 1960s. The borough was created in 1965 primarily from the former Essex boroughs of West Ham and East Ham. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, constructed for the 2012 Summer Olympics, is largely located in Newham. Although defined as an outer borough under the London Government Act of 1963, Newham is treated as an inner borough for statistical and planning purposes.
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