The Darkside

 

 

 

    This afternoon our class went on an excursion just across the river in an area known as Bankside. We were accompanied by our Blue Badge guide Antony, who expertly told us stories of Bankside's history as a sort of "wrong side of the tracks" area for a new and developing London. In addition to this, Antony also walked us through the communities efforts to shed that reputation, narrating Bankside's transitions from a primarily industrial space to an extremely popular haven for the arts and residential area. I found it very interesting that an area that was often treated as a dumping ground for things seen as unfavorable in the city (illegal activity & coal power factory), was able to transform into the area it is today while still maintaining its edge and personality. Connecting it to what we've read and learned in class, this reminded me of the London Docklands, particularly the second attempt at regenerating the area. As discussed in the article, the second stage came about after original plans fell through due to an over-emphasis on potential market value and not on the wants and needs of the community. I believe Bankside is the perfect example of a success story which did focus on the needs of the people, as you can see now from walking around the city on our tour that Bankside is now not only economically prosperous but it still maintains that cultural and societal value that is so important to its residents. Examples of this are art including both the Tate Modern and smaller installations like the poem done by Antony's colleague. These two things while I'm sure contribute to the economy in their own way, also create a common identity among the residents of the area. Another way I see that the community is still serving the people of Bankside is the amount of affordable housing that Antony pointed out to our group. Not only are these buildings extremely close to the central area of Bankside but they coexist with large businesses and pricier accommodations, not being pushed off into some corner as I feel is often the case in American cities. I really enjoyed our tour with Antony and felt that he contributed a lot to our discussion of cities and the urban environment, and don’t believe I would’ve had the opportunity to explore the dark side of Bankside otherwise. 

• Francesca :)