Abstract
Gentrification describes the fragmentation of working-class neighbourhoods and the displacement of their communities by wealthier residents. Programmes of regeneration and urban renewal have tended to exacerbate this process, sometimes inadvertently and often purposefully.
Through discussion with a group of experts and practitioners, this panel will ask:
- What does gentrification look like now, a quarter of the way into the twenty-first century?
- How can city makers renew urban spaces in ways that benefit existing residents, rather than displacing them?
- And how have communities organised to resist their displacement and to preserve their urban heritage and culture?
About the speakers
Charmaine Brown is Senior Lecturer in Initial Teacher Education at the University of Greenwich. Her expertise in gentrification and heritage has earned her recognition locally in Peckham and internationally, and included contributions to Black History Walks, the Wellcome Collection, Peckham Heritage Society, and BBC Radio 4's Thinking Aloud.
Anna Minton is a Reader in Architecture at the University of East London with expertise in the privatisation of public space, the financialisation of land, and gentrification and the housing crisis. She is the author of Big Capital: Who is London for? (Penguin 2017) and Ground Control: Fear and Happiness in the 21st-Century City (Penguin 2009).
Betty Owoo is an architectural designer, educator, and writer, and currently a senior design officer in the Greater London Authority's newly formed Design Unit. She works to promote quality and inclusion in the built environment through policy and development management, and has previously facilitated strategies to deliver social housing in East London.
Ash Rao is an urban designer, planner, and civil engineer committed to creating inclusive and playful public spaces. She works on the GLA’s Regeneration and Planning team, focusing on project delivery, town centre strategy, and design research on gender inclusion and safety in public space and inclusive design.
Eleesha Taylor-Barrett is a board member of the London branch of ACORN the union. ACORN is a nationwide community union, mass membership organisation, and network of low-income people organising for a fairer deal for our communities left behind by companies, councils, and parliament.
The panel is free to attend and open to all. It is hosted by the Thinking Through Infrastructure Network. For updates on forthcoming events please follow @TTinfraNetwork or join the mail list by writing to Dominic Davies.
Poster design by Kremena Dimitrova: www.kremenadimitrova.com
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