D -> U1 - U3 Flashcards
Soho, city of westminister:
- Old reputation for night life / sex industry
- Has been considerably gentrified
- Highly fashionable offices / media / restaurants
- Also historical point for the birth of epidemiology (John Snow and cholera)
- high density area with heavy imperial focus
What makes up perception?
- lots of pictures
- quality of memory
- imagination
- actual experience
Soho today:
- Remembered for John Snow and epidemiology
- Also remembered for prostitution and poverty (Bohemian)
- Hugely successful gentrified area, based on media, film post-production, and Kitzch shopping (Carnaby Street)
- Sir Paul McCartney and Agent Provocateur are 2 HQs based in Soho
Stimulus for growth
- Tremendous crime / prostitution led to Met Police
- Life expectancy of 37 years / cholera mapping = search for medical sciences
Victorian London:
- Many new builds, affluence
- But also horribly overcrowded slums
- Poor housing / working conditions
- Poor sanitation / urban pollution
Gentrification
process of changing the characteristics of a neighbourhood through influx of more affluent businesses and residents, house prices go up, so poorer are moved out, old poorer quality shops replaced with more expensive brands and upmarket chains.
Management acts that impact Soho
- 1953 clean air act
- westminister city council clean up project
Variation in perception of change
success for Westminster city council, failure for residents as they’ve lost the soul for character
Why different stakeholders have different criteria for measuring rate of success
How has soho changed?
gentrification started 1980’s
Loss of local characteristic and identity+ ‘soul’
Increasing redevelopment increasing noise and congestion
More than 300 air bnb sites advertised in soho
Councils privatisation plan affects market stalls
Increase attractiveness as a tourist attraction
Rent and prices rose by 50%
Snapchat and Twitter have HQ’s in soho
Shifting towards a more commercialised touristic upscale trendy neighbourhood away from the local edgy seedy bohemian that it once was
How has the perception of Soho changed?
Change in use, business name, locality and business ethnicity Too many hotels and coffee shops + lack of independent
Soho is losing its local character
Change of property ownership and management of the market Accelerating change
Difference between objective change and perception
Ground floor uses and frontages are the most significant factor in determining individual character in an area
These generate activity and diversity in an area
How do different people perceive the changes in Soho differently?
Local businesses may be forced out due to higher rents
Locals do not benefit and instead feel a loss of identity as the place they once loved is transformed for the tourists
Decrease in LGBTQ+ venues
Commercial transformation for TNC’s and workers looking purely for wages and tourists purely for entertainment and facilities
Clear evidence of commercial gentrification
Identity and character are embedded in people’s minds
Mile End
Borough of Tower Hamlets Just to the NE of city of London Now next to Canary Wharf One of London’s earliest suburbs 2011 census: 28,000 people Average age 29 58% Born in UK 20.7% born in Bangladesh (24% speak Bengali) 1.6% born Somalia
Cost of living – from
- High housing
- Community expectations
- Essentials, e.g. food
Environmental Quality
- Poor housing
- Poor pollution
- Noise / light
- Anti-social behaviour
Crime
- High in urban areas
- High in some urban zones, e.g. Heathrow / Central London
Either: Ethnic tensions…
- High levels of segregation / poor attitude to integration
- High levels of discrimination