Throughout the twentieth century Hove and Portslade's relaxed seaside lifestyle and easy access to London, continued to attract people to the area to live.

In the 1920s and 1930s to accommodate its new residents, Garden Estates were developed along New Church Road, Nevill Road and Hangleton Way. The Nevill Estate boasted 'beauty and utility' with five styles of house ranging from £925 to £1,050. In the late 1930s a number of luxury apartment blocks were built in Hove such as Wick Hall on Furze Hill, Viceroy Lodge on Hove Street and Courtney Gate on the Kingsway.

From the 1950s housing spread onto the Downs in Hangleton, Upper Portslade and Mile Oak. Blocks of flats were built in central Hove in the 1960s and 1970s, in an attempt to create an attractive modern style of living using less land.

The increasing population was supported by an expanding network of public buildings such as the new law courts, police station and Town Hall, religious centres and schools. Commercial life grew after World War II with the arrival of companies such as Seeboard and Legal & General and the trading estate along the Old Shoreham Road. Recent years have also seen improved transport links with the A27 bypass completed in 1996.

See objects in the Twentieth Century New Build section of the local history gallery, Hove Museum & Art Gallery