In many of Townsend's books, central themes are poverty and surviving in a ghetto environment. These themes stem from his childhood in Leeds, where he was poor and spent much of his time playing in the streets. The protagonist of Dan Alone lives in a place much like the one where Townsend grew up. Sam, in Cloudy-Bright, comes from a similar background. Other books about this sort of environment and its challenges are Trouble in the Jungle and Good-bye to the Jungle; the "Jungle" is the name of a ghetto within an industrial city.

Townsend explores the conflicts that arise when wealthy people and working-class people interact in Hell's Edge.

Like the situation in Cloudy-Bright, an upper-class girl and a working-class boy learn to get along with each other.