Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!
The five senses of gentrification
"Lines around the block at trendy restaurants compete with even more crowds at pop-ups and events that spill over into the street outside of hip bars and wine shops ... outsiders ... who cannot seem to comprehend that the sidewalk on which they stand exists to service people other than them. Their blank stares or complete lack of acknowledgement when someone is trying to pass by them without stepping into the street perfectly captures the “feeling” of gentrification: that all of this newness, good or bad, beautiful or boring, will quickly, wilfully, crowd out the people, cultures, and histories that made this neighbourhood such a desirable place for investors, restaurateurs, and upwardly mobile transplants to begin with."
This article is about LA but reading it there are parallels here in London, including in our borough. https://makinganeighborhood.substack.com/p/the-five-senses-of-gentr...
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Admiral on
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What you say fits with what the article says about the "social cleansing" perspective behind gentrification.
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Permalink Reply by Rosamund Tomlins on
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I would want my area (Tottenham) rid of criminals, exploitative casual labour sources (including brothels), & drug dealers - & encourage alternative & aspirational aspects of living for their victims. It seems it's difficult to do that without it being called social cleansing - which then ends up as a term supposedly looking for equality but actually representing the undesirables - & that ultimately serves the exploiters, keeping certain unfortunate people in their place, & ignored.
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You seem happy that wealthy people can price out locals and seem to find pleasure in denigrating working class people.
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They are buying from locals who want to move. Would you stop those locals selling?
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Try watching the Channel 4 documentary featuring the Northumberland Park estate - that is not "fine" for anyone.
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Several people from that estate have commented, on F. book, that they don't recognise where they live from that programme.
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Permalink Reply by Sarah on
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Laurence Road was covered in police tape for four days this week. Now it's Beaconsfield Road's turn
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Yes, some issue seems to resulted in a chap from the nearby takeaway being stabbed at the top of Lawrence Rd. He's in intensive care.
However most people in that particular neighbourhood aren't brawling hoodlums.
It only takes 1 unwise collaboration between 2 people to set off violence but it's rare that these sorts of incidents are random, there's usually a connection.
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Permalink Reply by kotkas on
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I can’t agree more. The situation on the ladder has improved materially since we moved here in 2016 and noticeably so in the last couple of years. Less rubbish, less antisocial behaviour and overall a nicer place to live. Drawing inferences from the article above that newer arrivals in the Borough are less engaged or caring about the community is plainly nonsense and only a bit less offensive than being labelled an instrument of social cleansing.
I can hardly take credit for or ascribe it 100% to ‘gentrification’ but in the last 12-24 months we have Harringay Ladder Living streets, new neighbourhood watch groups, soon to have 2 school streets, and a myriad of community initiatives which benefit everyone.
Nonetheless the perennial whinge about ‘social cleansing’ comes back again and again under all sorts of guises, most amusing of which is the yearning for a reversal to the recent (or not so recent) past.
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Wow - if the Ladder is considered the best the borough can offer then I'm extremely glad to be living in Tottenham - as are many others. We too have Neighbourhood Watch, street trees, several good coffee shops and a general sense of liking where we live on my street - walking distance from an outstanding primary (In Tottenham) and three gorgeous parks - but then I'm probably 'parochial'.
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What's the alternative? Do we continue as is? The area needs investment.
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