Tottenham

Question 1

Population characteristics

Answer 1

• 48% of residents were born in the UK
• Very ethnically diverse. 22% White British, 27% Other White, Non-white: 51%
• 23% households contain no person with English as the main language

Question 2

Unemployment and lack of social mobility

Answer 2

More than 10,500 out of work and claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance.

Question 3

Unaffordable housing

Answer 3

Rising house prices particularly problematic for Tottenham which has a relatively young population, with high numbers of immigrants. These two groups find housing less affordable.

Question 4

Low environmental quality:

Answer 4

• Densely populated social housing or segregated Victorian terraced housing
• Not many open spaces

Question 5

Social tensions

Answer 5

The area has suffered from a history of riots: 1985 - Broad Water Farm and August 2011 riots.

Question 6

High levels of immigration

Answer 6

There are many households (23%) which have no person with English as the main language. This will limit their job opportunities and ability to assimilate and integrate.

Question 7

High crime rates

Answer 7

“Tottenham is one of the most deprived areas in Britain, blighted by gang culture, drugs and gun crime.” (Telegraph,
2015). On average - 100 gun crimes/ year and 5000 violent offences/ year.

Question 8

Other social problems

Answer 8

• Teenage pregnancy rates in the borough are among the highest in Britain, with around 53 girls aged 15 to 17 in every 1,000 becoming pregnant annually.
• Social services have been under pressure, especially after the tragic events of the ‘Baby P’ scandal

Question 9

A Plan for Tottenham

Answer 9

• Top-down urban redevelopment project funded by national and local government
• National government: Promised £40 million to help with redevelopment
• Local government - Haringey Council: Plans to invest £1 billion
• Proposals include building 10,000 new homes and creating over 5000 new jobs in a new commercial space. A new leisure centre will be built in Northumberland Park and improvements will be made to transport facilities - such as creating a new White Hart Lane station.
• This strategy aims to:
• Deal with demographic and economic issues by:
• Providing more affordable housing
• Providing new employment opportunities
• Deal with social and cultural issues by:
• Regenerating the area after the devastation caused by the 2011 riots
• Improving social cohesion by building up ‘confident and stronger communities’
• Improving the quality of life for all residents

Question 10

N17 Architect’s Studio

Answer 10

• Small scale idea, which is a studio funded by an individual (famous architect John McAslan) and local government to help open up opportunities and educate individuals from ethnic minorities about architecture.
• Aims to deal with social and cultural issues by providing young people from disadvantaged and ethnic minority backgrounds the
  opportunity to train in an Architect’s studio with one of the UK’s most prestigious architects.
• Only 2% of the country’s architects are non-white, although 12.9% of the UK’s population is non-white. The project aims to
  encourage more young people from ethnic-minorities to be involved in the construction and regeneration of the urban
  landscape. McAslan’s has helped to train local youngsters as architectural apprentices and give them control over their home
  areas.

Question 11

Role of stakeholders in N17

Answer 11

• Individual: John McAslan - Famous architect (e.g. designed King’s Cross new train station) who has decided to start this project
• Local government - Haringey Council has been involved in selecting the candidates and helping with funding
• Local schools and colleges: College of Haringey, Enfield and North East London (CONEL) - Were involved in starting up the project and students from here were selected for an apprenticeship.
• Local schools - could take students there for a field trip to learn about urban redevelopment and architecture
• Young apprentices - Were given work experience for a year.

Question 12

TAG (Turnpike Lane Art Group)

Answer 12

• Bottom-up small scale solution run by locals in the community aimed at improving the aesthetic appeal of the area.
• The Turnpike Art Group (TAG) instigate environmental improvement and rejuvenation of urban space, through innovative art-based projects
• TAG formed in 2012, as an offshoot from award-winning charity Sustran’s DIY Streets Turnpike Lane/West Green project - a
  community-focused street redesign programme, which successfully united a London community in a dialogue of change