OUGD505 - Studio Practice 2 [SB2] - Primary Research

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Concept Ideas

• Photograph Tower Hamlets and produce a lookbook that shows how the stereotype of 'ghetto' is wrong

I like this idea, but I feel it is quite cliche and has definitely been done before. This would be the obvious answer to this brief.

• Show the benefits of gentrification in a before and after lookbook, stating the facts about gentrification and its' positives.

There are a wealth of positives to gentrification that are overlooked and I feel this could be a fresh perspective on the issue that has not been explored.

• Photograph already gentrified neighbourhoods and superimpose elements of stereotypical 'non-gentrified' behavior e.g graffiti to send a message about how culture can be an artform.

I feel this is an interesting take on gentrification, as usually gentrification is the process taking over, instead of de-gentrifying a neighbourhood which would be a direct resistance to the former.

I have decided to choose the latter idea as I feel that is the most interesting way of looking at the issue and resisting against the cause. I also feel this will allow me to be the most creative as I can use fresh, clean expensive housing as my digital canvas to convey my perspective on the issue.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Studentification

Studentification is an interesting neologism I found while researching the effects of gentrification on towns outside big cities. Studentification is the act of mass-migration of students to a city or town currently occupied by primarily working class residents. One of the examples of this I found that was very immediate was Leeds.

In 1991, students occupied 20% of the Headingley area. In 2001, this rose to 61%. This could be an issue for non-students as streets are filled more and more with takeaways, student real-estate, student bars & clubs and more. As a student myself, I haven't reflected on how the migration of hundreds of thousands of students to a city could cause problems instead of simply boost the economy.

Leeds has almost turned into a holiday destination with the student-migration process. A busy city during deadline days, but a dormant one during student holidays. This means businesses can suffer and property prices can be inflated due to the massive amount of competition from the many letting agencies opening up every year (40, up from 8 in 1990) as there is much more commission to be gained from selling houses year on year with students guaranteed to stay in a house for one to two years on average.

That's not to say that studentification in Leeds has been negative. The economy of Leeds is ever-rising commanding such a wealth of students with large spending power. Independent bars, clubs, shops and cultural centres have continued expanding and a large number of Leeds graduates choose to stay in the city, continuing to pump more money into the local economy.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Gentrification without the negative

I came across a video throughout my research that really sparked an interest in me. The video is a documentary about a team of artists that moved into an abandoned industrial warehouse that was completely uninhabited for decades and have been working on creating a culture of artists working to improve the area. Another way of looking at this could be 'gentrifying' the area, but as there are no residents to be displaced, the only effects this could have on the area as a whole could be positive. Creating a new area of creatives I feel is an extremely useful process that, if adopted could create masses of new networks for the generations of young artists going into the industry every year.

<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/111533309" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>

<p><a href="https://vimeo.com/111533309">Gentrification &#039;Without the Negative&#039; in Columbus, Ohio</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/atlanticvideo">The Atlantic</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

There are still issues with the concept, in that the area only has a 75% vacancy area meaning there are some residents that will still feel the effects, but I feel that with proper intervention into the community, artists can create a space that won't end up hurting current residents in the process.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB2] - Gentrification Research

What is Gentrification?

Gentrification is a property trend that primarily takes place in urban settings. Gentrification is the process of driving up the prices of property and real estate in an area to drive out lower class citizens and import richer, more affluent businessmen and women. This is an all too real concept for many working class families in major cities around primarily Europe and North America.

One of the most documented examples of Gentrification would be TriBeCa, New York. TriBeCa is a neighbourhood in Manhattan that resembles a triangle, hence the name TriangleBelowCanalstreet. In the past two decades, TriBeCa has seen a massive social and economic change with mixed reviews on whether this has helped the community within this area. Below are some photos of before and after this massive rehaul.

78 Greenpoint Avenue

        

47 Java Street




213 N. 8th Street

As you can see, gentrification has produced a massive effect on New York. However, not all of gentrification is negative. There are clear benefits to the process. Gentrification is a sign of economic progress. Buildings are renovated, parks are beautified, crime rates decline and independent business flourishes. These are only a handful of the positives to do with Gentrification, however the problem with this that many people have debated is if these benefits are correctly passed on to old residents? With gentrification, there is a sweet spot; the calm before the storm. Right in between trendy people moving in and investing into the area and massive conglomerate property developers buying out massive areas of land, the old and new residents are able to live together as a win-win situation. If this sweet spot was able to be maintained, I feel that gentrification could be a massively beneficial process in major cities, making more opportunities for every social class, as long as it is carefully nurtured and kept fair for all residents, old and new alike.

Studies by sociologists on the effects of Gentrification have even resulted in higher economic rewards for the lower class residents than the upper class. There have also been studies that show less residents moving after gentrification begins to occur. Clearly, gentrification has the potential to transform into a positive aspect of city life, with some key aspects implemented into the process.

The part of the world I would like to focus on for my project would be Tower Hamlets, London. Tower Hamlets has one of the biggest economic divides in London to date. You have the hub of business and trading which is Canary Wharf and then you have one of the highest rates of child poverty (52%) occurring in Bethnal Green. The hardest part about trying to illustrate the poverty occuring in Tower Hamlets is that graphs don't show just how much people struggle in the area. Due to the part-gentrification of the area, Tower Hamlets is viewed in graphs as a middle-of-the-pack borough. Canary Wharf definitely skews the graph results of Tower Hamlets but Canary Wharf offers no help towards the poor of Tower Hamlets.

OUGD505 - Design Practice 2 [SB1] - Initial Ideas

Initial ideas for the project and research:

• Nuclear war
• Gentrification
• Immigration
• Brexit

Gentrification