Gentrification, Displacement, and the Impacts of Council Estate Renewal in C21st London

Duration: 11/16 – 07/19

Amidst rising land prices and increased pressure on housing, many traditionally working-class neighbourhoods now face demolition and reconstruction as ‘mixed communities’. But while this new phrase of urban development has been widely criticized, the exact nature of its impacts remains little understood. Focusing on the UK’s capital, where these issues are most pronounced, Gentrification, Displacement, and the Impacts of Council Estate Renewal in C21st London unpicks the specific experiences of estate residents living in these redeveloped neighbourhoods or resettled in communities elsewhere in the Southeast.

Drawing on large-scale statistical analysis as well as in-depth case studies with local stakeholders, the project will add substantially to existing knowledge on the effects on gentrification and renewal on council estates. The findings will provide communities, developers and policy makers with a valuable evidence base to support more informed, collaborative urban projects in future.

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Loretta Lees (Principal Investigator, Professor of Human Geography)
Philip Hubbard (Professor in Urban Studies)
Nicholas Tate (Associate Professor in Geographic Information Science)

Development of an advice handbook and other support for council residents facing estate renewal.

Systematic assessment of impacts of estate renewal projects for developers to minimise negative effects of future projects.

Variety of engagement activities and briefings, in collaboration with GLA, to inform local, national and international policy agendas.

Challenging the gentrification of council estates in London
16 March 2018