Read Full Reader
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Excursion to East London Urban Agendas caught between local needs and global pressures 1 2 Imprint Publisher: Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space Faculty for Architecture and Planning, TU Wien Karlsgasse 13/2 e280 a-1040 Wien http://skuor.tuwien.ac.at/en/ Excursion to South-East London – Urban Agendas caught between local needs and global pressures (TISS 280.525) Edited by: Sabine Knierbein Elina Kränzle Ed Wall Contributions by: Anasztazia Hujvan Michael Kerschbaumer Christina Birret Oleksandr Zelinskyi Clemens Lippl Olivia Tomasi Fabienne Mühlbacher Sandra Strasek Friedrich Bledl Tatsuki Nishida Natalia Matviishyn Tinghan Zhou Manzhu Li Tomoko Okada Maowen Luo Veera Jääskeläinen Desgin and Typesetting: Oleksandr Zelinskyi ISBN 978-3-902707-42-0 3 Table of contents Preface, p.5 Shortage of affordable and available workspace in London, p.6 Friedrich Bledl Veera Jääskeläinen Oleksandr Zelinskyi Contested Community Spaces, p.10 Anasztazia Hujvan Natalia Matviishyn Design, community,participation, p.13 Christina Birret Sandra Strasek Housing activism, p.17 Fabienne Mühlbacher Maowen Luo Manzhu Li Corporate placemaking in London, p.22 Michael Kerschbaumer Clemens Lippl Tinghan Zhou Socio-spatial impacts of Olympic Games, p.27 Tatsuki Nishida Tomoko Okada Olivia Tomasi Acknowledgement, p.32 4 k r a P c i p m y l O h t e b a z i l E n e e u Q : 4 y a D Day 1: Bootstrap Company Day 2: Dalston Eastern Curve Garden tors University of Greenwich e Decora Day 3: Th tle 5 as C & t t an e h k p r e a El y m r 4: e y n et o a t D m x e i Preface r C B n : o 2 pt y m a o D : Br 5 y a D Map of places visited during excursion In collaboration with the City of Vienna Visiting Professor Ed Wall the Interdisciplinary Centre for Urban Culture and Public Space organizes a five-day excursion to London (UK) from 5th to 9th Feburary 2018. To close the City of Vienna Visiting Professorship of 2017/2018 we will explore the theme of Urban Equity and the Global Agenda through various projects, streets and sites in London’s East. By undertaking various field visits to detect specific London problematics (e.g. dwelling crisis, squats in patios, insurgencies against developers projects, art and architectural intervention) we will shift between – and thus question conceptions of – center and periphery, innovative projects/ buildings and neighbourhoods resisting gentrification, global developments and local initiatives. Together with local architects, planners and residents we will explore Greenwich, Lewisham, Whitechapel, and the Isle of Dogs with their fascinating contrast of neighbourhoods, housing, public spaces and histories. The excursion will involve a seminal part where further UK based SKuOR Visiting Professors (Sophie Watson, Maria Kaika, Chiara Tornaghi, and others) will be invited to contribute perspectives on isuses of localism, multiculturalism, food justice and political ecology. We thereby take the opportunity to discuss the spatial impacts and implications of BREXIT and changing geopolitical power relations through the lense of urban studies. Shortage of affordable and available workspace in London Friedrich Bledl Veera Jääskeläinen Oleksandr Zelinskyi Tiny work spaces, by Fabienne Mühlbacher Land values in London have been rising steadily over the Furthermore, additional residential developments past decades. Various factors can be held responsible are predominantly planned in London boroughs with for this development, including a rapid growth in extensive commercial and industrial land (Ferm 2018). population as well as increased speculation on Hence, both market forces and planning policy have property. This has drastically limited the availability and caused a stark decline of business space and industrial affordability of business space, threatening London’s land in London over the past years. This has particularly economic performance as well as the economic affected small or low value businesses, which struggle foundation of communities across the city. This essay to compete on the city’s property market (Ferm & shall give reasons for this development and summarize Jones 2017). Small units in low-cost commercial current policy approaches aiming to tackle the problem. areas which used to be unattractive for housing are It will then focus on charitable projects in Dalston that particularly under threat to be displaced by mixed and pursue a more bottom-up and community-led approach. residential uses. Such projects have not only resulted As in other major cities, housing has become significantly in a net loss of workspace, they also set precedents more profitable to develop than business spaces. for other developments in surrounding areas, hence Additionally, policymakers aim to make more efficient causing direct and indirect displacement (Ferm 2016). use of land, prioritising brownfield over greenfield sites However, London depends on available commercial and rigorously protecting the Green Belt. Hence, UK- space in order to provide essential goods and services and London planning policy has increasingly promoted to residents and other businesses. This has partly been mixed-use developments instead of protecting business recognized by planners at both borough and London- areas, with the exception of some protected industrial wide level. The new London Plan engages boroughs sites. More recently, landlords have been enabled to to protect low-value business space and aims to transfer office and light industrial land to residential strictly prevent any further net loss of industrial land. uses without applying for planning permission. 6 Simultaneously, it seeks to intensify industry sites and support local start-ups, social enterprises, charities enable co-location of industrial and residential units (GLA and businesses (Bootstrap Company). Today it is not 2017). Although priority is given to commercial uses, it just a workspace but also a community space with remains questionable whether businesses can adjust to a total of 60.000 square feet and a range of over intensified sites widely contrasting their usual locations. 200 tenants, including offices and manufacturing sites such as a bakery and micro-brewery. Some boroughs have introduced policies requiring mixed-use developments to provide below market-rent The charity supports businesses and other charities workspace that is affordable for low-value businesses. by providing and managing workspaces as well as These policies aim at supporting creative businesses supporting enterprises through events or advice. that may have specific social, cultural or educational Initially, Bootstrap offered below-market rents to its purposes (GLA 2017), although the types of businesses tenants, as aimed by affordable workspace policies. In targeted vary across London. Developers of mixed- 2016, they were forced to start charging market rates use schemes usually rent out a proportion of their following radical rent increases imposed on themselves building to a workspace provider at reduced rates, by some landowners. In addition, it had proved difficult which then sublets to businesses. In reality, planning for some of Bootstrap’s mainly short-term tenants, obligations to provide affordable workspace have not which usually move their company after a while in order prevented an overall reduction in employment space. to expand, to survive in real world conditions (Patel To the contrary, below-market-rate workspace within 2018). This demonstrates another general weakness mixed used-schemes on former commercial sites of below market-rent workspaces. As a replacement, has been used to justify a reduction of commercial the Bootstrap Fund was set up to subsidize tenants land. Rental agreements proposed in such schemes which have a positive social impact and hence are often not attractive to businesses, being either require special support. Furthermore, rental income too strict or not actually affordable (Ferm 2016). enables Bootstrap to fund an educational programme and community events (Bootstrap Company). In reaction to the chronic shortage of affordable workspace, initiatives with strong local ties have The Dalston area has underwent massive transformations turned their focus on providing support for small, low- in the past decades. Five years ago the majority of value or start-up businesses who would struggle under employees working in Bootstrap’s premises lived close normal conditions. These charities have been long- by, but recently, many of them have had to move away established and aim to improve conditions of life for because of increasing rents. Due to its location in a fast- the local community, not only by creating workspace changing area, Bootstrap tries to simultaneously cater but also through educational programmes or room to long-established residents, embrace newcomers and provision for other community organisations. The two act as voice for its tenants and the community when initiatives visited during the excursion were Bootstrap, being consulted on new local developments. Although where the CEO of Bootstrap company was kind Bootstrap has been on site since 1980, the future is enough to give students an exclusive tour around the uncertain due to the site’s complex ownership structure campus and an insight in their work, and Hackney Co- and an absence of long-term contracts (Patel 2018). operative Developments (HCD). Both organisations are HCD, Hackney Co-operative Developments provides located in Dalston in the London Borough of Hackney. workspace to different social and charitable Bootstrap is an “affordable workspace & cultural organisations as well as start-ups. Similar to hub that helps fund charitable education outreach in Bootstrap, HCD has strong local ties, with a particular Dalston” (GLA 2014, p.38), which was initially founded focus on ethnic minorities (Hackney Co-operative 40 years ago to improve employability of out-of-work Developments). The rent is also largely calculated to people in the community, to provide workspace and market rates, but since some of the stalls HCD provides 7 are only a few square feet big, they are affordable for should be advocated by planners on London-wide low-value businesses. Although the idea was that and local levels.