Bakersfield is a small residential suburb of Nottingham east of the city centre. History Bakersfield was developed during the 1930s, with a mixture of private and council residential housing. A remarkable feature of the council housing (designed by T. Cecil Howitt) is the space given over to gardens and other open spaces. Other amenities added later included a supermarket (Greater Nottingham Coop on Oakdale Road), numerous smaller shops and a sub post-office. In common with most Nottingham developments of the time, housing was provided first, with other facilities being added later. Government Bakersfield lies on the eastern edge of Nottingham unitary authority, running up to the boundary with Gedling Borough Council. It is in the Nottingham East constituency for Westminster elections. Geography Bakersfield occupies the eastern end of Dales ward, around Oakdale Road. It lies between the suburbs of Sneinton to the west, Carlton to the northeast, and Colwick to the southeast. To the south is Colwick Woods, a large area of ancient woodland and green open space, leading down to the Nottingham Racecourse at Colwick. There are panoramic views from the top of Colwick Woods, of the Trent Valley as far as Belvoir Castle and across the city to Wollaton, Clifton and the Ratcliffe on Soar power station. A feature of the area is that many of the road names end in 'dale' (for example Parkdale, Middledale, Langdale, Greendale and Kirkdale), which sometimes causes confusion for first-time visitors. Demography Bakersfield was once inhabited by post war Polish/Italian immigrants. Many of the Italian immigrants were prisoners of war who were held in the Prisoner of War camp situated on Colwick Woods. While Poles and Italians still have a presence here, It now has an increasing South Asian demographic. Economy Bakersfield missed out on the great industrialisation of the 19th century and was created as a dormitory for commuters into Nottingham city centre. Culture and community The Rio cinema on Oakdale Road opened in 1939 and closed due to the onslaught of television in 1959. It then became a night club; later still it was converted into a shop ('Supasave'). The ground floor is used as a shop, called "Nisa Local" (formerly "Oakdale Stores") with the former balcony level as a snooker club that was closed in November 2008, having since re-opened as a restaurant which has since closed. There are a couple of public houses, a medical centre and a