How has the re-generation of London docklands changed the area as a ‘place’
This essay aims to look at the way London Docklands has been regenerated and how this has had an impact on the surrounding area as a place. There seems little to dispute the fact that London’s Docklands have undergone a series of vital economic, social and political transformations since the area’s initial ’valorisation’ as the world’s largest system of enclosed docks, central to the development of British capitalism (Smith, 1989). The regeneration of London's former port areas, which lie to the east of the centre of London, began in 1980 and is now largely complete (Butler, 2007) although during our visit there were still workers and cranes on either side of the docks. During our visit to the city centre in March we travelled from Bank to the docklands via the DLR and returned home via the tube, both of which have been extended to enable easy access to this part of the city. The transport improvements in Docklands aid the promotion of the public image of Docklands. High-profile advertising has been used to portray Docklands as a unique area of wealth and enterprise and an attractive place to live and work (Church, 1990).
In this instance the place underwent a huge change in order to attract a different kind of market compared to that of the past. I mention the idea of the area as a ‘place’; for Freidmann (2010), a ‘place’ is an environment that is both cherished and inhabited with humanization and community as key ideals. Such “belonging or attachment” is however becoming increasingly rare, especially, I feel, in a business district. To the detriment of neighbourhood life, urban development is carried out with an economic precedence, as it was carried out in London Docklands. Perhaps better engagement between planners and local people is needed to prevent a further loss of ‘place’, especially for those who inhabited the area before the regeneration scheme began.
It seems that those who lived in the area before were mostly working class dock workers with jobs that were often temporary and on low wages. The Docks were forced to close for a number of reasons; they were no longer large enough to accommodate the ever growing size and number of ships, it became expensive to trade in London compared to other places in Europe and more and more technology was being introduced (helpme.com). When they closed it affected the whole community, the dock workers were unemployed which led to increased poverty, many people moved out of the area in search of jobs, after the loss of what they knew as their ‘place’. The whole area suffered from ‘the negative multiplier effect’ which resulted in the need to regenerate (helpme.com). This area has been seen as representing the socially disruptive nature of urban regeneration. What was intended as an exercise in urban regeneration has subsequently been widely characterized as a process of developer-led gentrification (Butler, 2007).
It seems that those who lived in the area before were mostly working class dock workers with jobs that were often temporary and on low wages. The Docks were forced to close for a number of reasons; they were no longer large enough to accommodate the ever growing size and number of ships, it became expensive to trade in London compared to other places in Europe and more and more technology was being introduced (helpme.com). When they closed it affected the whole community, the dock workers were unemployed which led to increased poverty, many people moved out of the area in search of jobs, after the loss of what they knew as their ‘place’. The whole area suffered from ‘the negative multiplier effect’ which resulted in the need to regenerate (helpme.com). This area has been seen as representing the socially disruptive nature of urban regeneration. What was intended as an exercise in urban regeneration has subsequently been widely characterized as a process of developer-led gentrification (Butler, 2007).
The development programme was initiated by Margaret Thatcher's incoming Conservative government and appeared to be controversial from the start; both in terms of its methods and the way in which it sought to promote regeneration; through replacing a socially ‘redundant’ working-class population with an incoming largely middle-class one (Butler, 2007). According to Butler (2007) this strategy reflects one of the main tenets of new urbanism: that of stopping the unsustainable suburban expansion by bringing growth into the city. Docklands can therefore be seen to contain elements of both suburbanization and gentrification. The process of gentrification is termed as ‘the rise of a new class of young urban professionals creating a market for inner city housing together with a range of other retail and recreational facilities’ (Hall and Ogden 1992).
When looking into Thatchers idea of regeneration I came across those who both supported and despised her. Day’s (2013) interviewed a woman who had lived on the Isle of Dogs for 31 years. When she originally moved to the area, she lived in a council house with her three daughters and worked at a flour mill on Millwall Dock. At that time, there was a community feel and Jeffrey knew all her neighbours' names, this is the idea of ‘place’ that Freidmann (2010) presents. However through Thatcher’s aim to help failing industries prosper, a lot of the factories were shut down, as was the flour mill where Jeffrey worked at, resulting in a large proportion of unemployed residents. It has been argued that Docklands can be seen as part of the new urban order: 'Commercial pressures for central locations, the growing power of this mode of investment and the emergence of new social groupings are taking place at the same time as deindustrialisation, pressure on the poor and the emergence of an underclass marginalised by economic change' (Hall and Ogden, 1992, p.153).
The site was designated an Enterprise Zone with the aim to rebuild; financial incentives were offered to developers with the aim of attracting big business to the area to create a financial district. Tall buildings made of glass and steel, began to appear around the neighbourhood. There was an influx of new residents to the area; bankers and businessmen who could afford the rising property rates. Over time the Isle of Dogs became unrecognizable to those who had lived there for decades. The place had been completely transformed both socially and physically through the modern buildings and the new inhabitants and I feel there was a loss of the belonging and attachment felt by the inhabitants previously.
Interestingly, Hall and Ogden (1992) in their article on social structure of the docklands state that ‘There has not been a direct replacement of lower-income residents by inhabitants of higher income and socio-economic standing ‘(p.159). However on the day we visited I felt it was clear that the area had been socially transformed; all those we saw were dressed in suits and seemed to be bankers or workers within the vicinity. The bars along the front of the Docklands were filled with businessmen on lunch breaks, enjoying drinks in the sun. The area now felt like the business district it was destined to be.
A similar case to London Docklands; Mumbai agencies have been petitioning to open some part of their docklands up for public use. Mumbai’s port helped make the city the region’s premier trading centre in the 19th and much of the 20th century however traffic has declined, especially after the construction of a new port across the harbour. Recently there has been an appointment of a committee to look at the potential regeneration of these Docklands in Mumbai with the aim to open up more space for housing and available employment. Almost mirroring that of our Docklands in London (Chandrashekha, 2014).
The site was designated an Enterprise Zone with the aim to rebuild; financial incentives were offered to developers with the aim of attracting big business to the area to create a financial district. Tall buildings made of glass and steel, began to appear around the neighbourhood. There was an influx of new residents to the area; bankers and businessmen who could afford the rising property rates. Over time the Isle of Dogs became unrecognizable to those who had lived there for decades. The place had been completely transformed both socially and physically through the modern buildings and the new inhabitants and I feel there was a loss of the belonging and attachment felt by the inhabitants previously.
Interestingly, Hall and Ogden (1992) in their article on social structure of the docklands state that ‘There has not been a direct replacement of lower-income residents by inhabitants of higher income and socio-economic standing ‘(p.159). However on the day we visited I felt it was clear that the area had been socially transformed; all those we saw were dressed in suits and seemed to be bankers or workers within the vicinity. The bars along the front of the Docklands were filled with businessmen on lunch breaks, enjoying drinks in the sun. The area now felt like the business district it was destined to be.
A similar case to London Docklands; Mumbai agencies have been petitioning to open some part of their docklands up for public use. Mumbai’s port helped make the city the region’s premier trading centre in the 19th and much of the 20th century however traffic has declined, especially after the construction of a new port across the harbour. Recently there has been an appointment of a committee to look at the potential regeneration of these Docklands in Mumbai with the aim to open up more space for housing and available employment. Almost mirroring that of our Docklands in London (Chandrashekha, 2014).
However, unlike port cities in Europe or America, Mumbai’s port area has not become industrial wasteland like it did in London. Prasad Shetty, an architect and urban planner who has studied the area explains how “The waterfront remains an edge for work. So what happens to that work?” (Chandrashekhar, 2014). When the redevelopment took place within London the regeneration resulted in a completely different place; movement from a working class neighbourhood Docks to the middle class business district.
In Mumbai, the area of Mazgaon Dock is crowded with workers, fisherwomen and vendors. The piers are busy, from Coal Bunder, to the timber market, to Darukhana, where workers cut up ships. Many of the workers are migrants who rent rooms in the warren of makeshift shanties that sit on the water’s edge. Very few of the inhabitants here want to leave as they have attachments to the area. Mohammed Sheikh, a scrap metal welder, has worked here for decades and owns his own shanty room. “Even my kids are settled here,” he said (Chandrashekhar, 2014). The debate then surrounds the idea of whether these docks should be regenerated if those who already live and work there have livelihoods and are happy. But in a city like Mumbai, there is always a need for more space, more jobs and greater prosperity.
Unlike the huge social and physical changes made to London’s Docklands during regeneration the Port Trust Workers Union here feel that activity should not be reduced, but instead it should just be modernised so the ports can take in bigger ships and open up more work for those already there. In doing this there is hope that the place will maintain its community feel and remain cherished and inhabited by those already present; an ideal that I feel should have been held during the regeneration of London Docklands.
To conclude, it is clear that London Docklands was in obvious need for regeneration after the closure of the docks in order to create a new and prosperous area to the city of London. However from what I have read and what I observed on the day of our visit there has been a clear shift in both the physical and social changes. From the skyscraper business blocks to the young entrepreneurs all around us, travelling to work, on the tube, in the bars. Surveys of new residents in the private sector show a clearl domination of young adults living in small households: they are well educated, concentrated in professional occupations, generally earning medium to high salaries and most have moved in from outside the Dockland boroughs (Hall and Ogden, 1992). I feel that this new area is no longer a place which is both cherished and inhabited by a community feel, but a place for young business people, with the financial ability to buy a regenerated apartment on the edge of the River Thames in the heart of the business district.
Bibliography
Butler, T. (2007). ‘Re-urbanizing London Docklands: Gentrification, Suburbanization or New Urbanism?’ International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 31: 759–781.
Chandrashekhar, V (2014). ‘The Dockland Redevelopment: Mumbai’s last big chance?’ The Guardian, Accessed on: 11th May 2015
Church, A. (1990). ‘Transport and urban regeneration in London Docklands: A victim of success or a failure to plan?’ Cities, 7(4), pp. 289-303
Day, E. (2013). ‘A Journey across Margaret Thatcher’s Britain’, The Observer, Accessed on: 11th May 2015
Friedmann, J. (2010). 'Place And Place-Making In Cities: A Global Perspective'. Planning Theory & Practice, 11(2), pp. 149-165
Hall, R and Ogden, P. (1992). ‘The Social Structure of New Migrants to London Docklands: Recent Evidence from Wapping’ The London Journal, 17(2), pp. 153-169
Smith, A. (1989). ‘Gentrification and the spatial contribution of the state: the restructuring of London's Docklands’, Antipode, 21(3), pp. 232–60.
‘London Docklands.’ 123HelpMe.com. Accessed on: 11 May 2015, URL: <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=121978>.
All photographs taken by the author except those stated,
In Mumbai, the area of Mazgaon Dock is crowded with workers, fisherwomen and vendors. The piers are busy, from Coal Bunder, to the timber market, to Darukhana, where workers cut up ships. Many of the workers are migrants who rent rooms in the warren of makeshift shanties that sit on the water’s edge. Very few of the inhabitants here want to leave as they have attachments to the area. Mohammed Sheikh, a scrap metal welder, has worked here for decades and owns his own shanty room. “Even my kids are settled here,” he said (Chandrashekhar, 2014). The debate then surrounds the idea of whether these docks should be regenerated if those who already live and work there have livelihoods and are happy. But in a city like Mumbai, there is always a need for more space, more jobs and greater prosperity.
Unlike the huge social and physical changes made to London’s Docklands during regeneration the Port Trust Workers Union here feel that activity should not be reduced, but instead it should just be modernised so the ports can take in bigger ships and open up more work for those already there. In doing this there is hope that the place will maintain its community feel and remain cherished and inhabited by those already present; an ideal that I feel should have been held during the regeneration of London Docklands.
To conclude, it is clear that London Docklands was in obvious need for regeneration after the closure of the docks in order to create a new and prosperous area to the city of London. However from what I have read and what I observed on the day of our visit there has been a clear shift in both the physical and social changes. From the skyscraper business blocks to the young entrepreneurs all around us, travelling to work, on the tube, in the bars. Surveys of new residents in the private sector show a clearl domination of young adults living in small households: they are well educated, concentrated in professional occupations, generally earning medium to high salaries and most have moved in from outside the Dockland boroughs (Hall and Ogden, 1992). I feel that this new area is no longer a place which is both cherished and inhabited by a community feel, but a place for young business people, with the financial ability to buy a regenerated apartment on the edge of the River Thames in the heart of the business district.
Bibliography
Butler, T. (2007). ‘Re-urbanizing London Docklands: Gentrification, Suburbanization or New Urbanism?’ International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 31: 759–781.
Chandrashekhar, V (2014). ‘The Dockland Redevelopment: Mumbai’s last big chance?’ The Guardian, Accessed on: 11th May 2015
Church, A. (1990). ‘Transport and urban regeneration in London Docklands: A victim of success or a failure to plan?’ Cities, 7(4), pp. 289-303
Day, E. (2013). ‘A Journey across Margaret Thatcher’s Britain’, The Observer, Accessed on: 11th May 2015
Friedmann, J. (2010). 'Place And Place-Making In Cities: A Global Perspective'. Planning Theory & Practice, 11(2), pp. 149-165
Hall, R and Ogden, P. (1992). ‘The Social Structure of New Migrants to London Docklands: Recent Evidence from Wapping’ The London Journal, 17(2), pp. 153-169
Smith, A. (1989). ‘Gentrification and the spatial contribution of the state: the restructuring of London's Docklands’, Antipode, 21(3), pp. 232–60.
‘London Docklands.’ 123HelpMe.com. Accessed on: 11 May 2015, URL: <http://www.123HelpMe.com/view.asp?id=121978>.
All photographs taken by the author except those stated,