Gentrification of a Nation

Image taken by Conor Griffin, Brixton London. 

The 2012 Olympics brought huge investment into the town of Stratford with a reported £9 Billion pounds being spent on the Olympics and renovation. The economic injection of funds has benefited the economy on a macro scale by bringing in massive revenues and overseas investment to East London. 

It has however had a negative effect on the residents and surrounding areas of Stratford who are subsequently being forced out of the area due to its rising house prices and cost of living. This form of gentrification can be found in not only Stratford but many other areas of London, such as Brixton. I recently visited Brixton and spoke to the community workers who are currently facing the same situation in their area as developers are moving in, disrupting the community and attempting to redevelop the area, consequently increasing housing prices and living costs in the area.

The wasteland and industrial space that the Olympic park is situated on could have been used effectively to tackle the housing shortage that London is currently facing. However developments focused their market to overseas investors and Middle class London residents, in favour of Capitalism as it benefits the economy on a macro scale, boosting London’s economy as a whole instead of benefiting the working class residents of Stratford and locals in surrounding areas who are in search of housing, particularly affordable and social housing.

Since the 2012 Olympic games, it appears Stratford has been subjected to a shift in social class, from its origin as working class background into a suburban playground for the middle class and tourists. The gentrification is visible by the genre of shops within Westfield who target a middle-upper class demographic with designer stores flooding the enormous shopping centre. In addition, grocery stores such as Marks and Spencers and Waitrose are situated within westfield who are renown for producing “luxury” food items at a relatively expensive price in comparison to the Sainsburys which can be found in the old Stratford centre and Morrisons nearby, who attempt to offer affordable pricing. As a result, this type of gentrification of an area has influenced the stall traders of the Old Stratford centre as stalls can be found selling fine cheeses and foods, which is a far cry from the fruit and veg produce and market clothing that used to run through the Old Centre, essentially losing its East-End appeal and conforming to the hegemonic ideas of what Stratford now represents.

As London is forming into a Supercity, its losing its integrity as it becomes difficult to define what “London” is as it is changing geographically, specifically Stratford as its architecture and physical landscape is redesigned to replicate a “Metropolis” like many other parts of London. Time-space compression is created through enhanced transport links and technological advancements decreasing the physical space of “London” as Stratford no longer emplifies its East-End characteristics but becomes a product of “The City”, a surface of modern architecture and glamorous visuals with no depth of its history or the communities and cultures it replaced. As a result of globalisation, communities and representations of areas and cultures become fractured such as the “East-End” and what it represented becomes a nostalgic memory of a time that once was.

- Conor Griffin