Urban Regeneration in the London Docklands.
Urban Regeneration in the London Docklands
The London Docklands Development Corporation is located along the River Thames Estuary
2.a) The London Docklands had to close for many reasons. The main reason was the Second World War. The area suffered substantial bomb damage in the Second World War, which lead to the need for a substantial rebuilding programme. In the first 20 years after the Second World War, many buildings came to the end of their usefulness. A number of factors contributed to the decline in the importance of the Docklands. London was no longer the centre of world trade and so much of the dock space and warehousing was no longer needed. Some manufacturing activities were attracted to the growing new towns and other out-of-town sites where costs were lower. As a result, much of the canal and railway land had fallen derelict. The economic viability of the docks was further reduced by changes in transport technology. Containerisation meant there was a need for deepwater docking facilities, and these could only be found downstream
b) East India Dock was closed in 1967, and trade in other docks began to fall. Between 1961 and 1971, nearly 83,000 jobs were lost in the five boroughs in the Docklands area - Greenwich, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and South walk. A lot of these jobs were from large transnational corporations. The growth of industry outside of London meant high unemployment, which was accompanied by population decline. Whilst inner London lost 10 per cent of its population between 1961 and 1971, the figures for Tower Hamlet and South walk were 18 per cent and 14 per cent.
c) The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was established by the conservative government in 1981. It took responsibility for the development of the area. These responsibilities included the reclamation of land, the provision of transport infrastructure, environmental improvement and the attraction of private-sector investment. The LDDC acquired land and promoted transport development in the form of the Docklands Light Railway and London City Airport to attract development and fill up the Isle of Dogs. The LDDC had four aims that they wanted to achieve in the Docklands. They were basically to improve the economic, social and physical aspects ...
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c) The London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) was established by the conservative government in 1981. It took responsibility for the development of the area. These responsibilities included the reclamation of land, the provision of transport infrastructure, environmental improvement and the attraction of private-sector investment. The LDDC acquired land and promoted transport development in the form of the Docklands Light Railway and London City Airport to attract development and fill up the Isle of Dogs. The LDDC had four aims that they wanted to achieve in the Docklands. They were basically to improve the economic, social and physical aspects of the area. To improve the economic aspect of the area, they had to create jobs for the unemployed who were living in the Docklands. To do this, they had to bring in major companies. The LDDC decided to provide a good infrastructure to the area. They provided the gas, electric and roads. Transport was a main problem, so £600 million was spent on transport, and another £300 million on just the Docklands Railway.
3. a) Many office buildings were built, including Canary Wharf. Large newspaper companies were attracted to the Docklands, away from Fleet Street because of the new Canary Wharf building. This is one of the tallest buildings in England, at 800ft high and boasting 50 stories. Companies were attracted to Canary Wharf because of the quality of it with air conditioning, deep floors, and open office space. Building space in London was short and expensive. Canary Wharf was an excellent place to relocate for its cheep rent, and large offices. Employment is now three times higher than it was before the LDDC was created.
b) The most expensive road in Europe was built at a cost of £220. It is only one mile long and stretches from The Isle of Dogs to the city of London. 90km of new roads were built, the Dockland Light Railway was built, the London City Airport, and new bus routes and river busses were built.
c) To resolve the problems of poor quality living accommodation, the LDDC developed large areas of housing, both renovation and building from scratch took place. £40 million was spent on renovating over 50 existing council estates. A mix of houses were required to suite the needs of different people. 2000 very affordable houses were erected with low mortgages to suite the original east ender. For the richer businessperson, luxury flats were created from old run down warehouses. St Katherine Docks have examples of both of these types of housing. More luxury flats can be found in the old warehouses on the Isle of Dogs. In all, the LDDC has provided 24,000 housing units. This will accommodate the additional 45,000 people that are moving back into the area. To help the local residents find work in the Docklands, training centres were set up to provide training. 5300 homes were refurbished or improved, £27 million spent on improving local housing, private homeownership increased from 5 to 44 per cent. Residential population more than doubled from 39 429 to 61 500.
d) The land use has changed in the Docklands from been derelict, it has now become drastically improved. The overall physical view of the area has improved. 100,000 trees have been planted in the Docklands area. This has been mixed with the careful design and placement of buildings around the Docklands. Large areas have become changed in their physical appearance for the better, like the Royal Docks.
e) The Docklands had a feeling of racial tension and despair. The LDDC had to improve the public facilities and leisure facilities to ease these problems. Pubs, restaurants, a floating museum, a hotel with 826 rooms and a marina were all created in the St Katherine Docks. These were created for both people who live in the Docklands, and for the tourists visiting the area. A dry ski slope has been created out of an old slag-heap within the Royal Docks. These docks are the site for a number of large shopping centres.
4. I think that the redevelopment of the London Docklands has been successful, because the area was derelict, unattractive, and didn't have many job opportunities. The area is much better now, as lots of new housing has been built, there are recreational and leisure facilities, and there are many available jobs. I don't think I would have approached the problem in a very different way, as I feel these changes were very good and beneficial.
Penny Hopper 10G
