Cities
‘I got it wrong. Since the changes it’s become more vibrant’: life in an LTN
November 16, 2020Acorn Road, Newcastle upon Tyne When Newcastle city council planned to reduce motorist access to Acorn Road in the leafy suburb of Jesmond back in 2014, hardware store owner Steve Robson helped to raise a petition against the £350,000 scheme, organised meetings to oppose the plans and told a local newspaper that the proposed changes […]
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Covid-hit UK hotels unlikely to recover for four years, says PwC
October 27, 2020PwC says London hotels will be particularly hard hit as they rely on international travel and corporate customers. Photograph: Getty The UK hotel industry could take four years to return to 2019 levels of business, even if an effective vaccine helps the sector to recover from the deep financial hit caused by Covid 19. The […]
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Coronavirus has thrown the political battle over British cities into sharp relief | Owen Hatherley
September 30, 2020The shock of the 2019 election has tended to obscure its implications for the future of British cities. This was the first “American” election in the UK’s history, in that it produced an electoral map that appeared to resemble the political geography of Republicans and Democrats. In England and Wales, multicultural cities and inner suburbs […]
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‘We’re going to miss the community’: Elephant and Castle shopping centre closes after 55 years
September 24, 2020After 55 years the final few traders were packing up their shops and stalls at the Elephant and Castle shopping centre in south London with mixed feelings about what the future might hold. “It’s time for a change, because really everything has to be different,” Luz Villamizar, a “60-something” trader said with tears in her […]
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Property developers may pay lip service to ‘diversity’, but they’re ruining our cities | Dan Hancox
September 24, 2020Everything must go at Elephant and Castle shopping centre in south London. A full 55 years after it opened, it finally closes its doors on 24 September. It dies, as most of us do, in poor health, a distressing shadow of its brightest self. The painted blue exterior is streaked all around with water damage […]
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Having a laugh on the train to work | Letters
September 8, 2020Margaret Harris recalls hilarious journeys of friendship and fun that were anything but tedious or monotonous ‘By the time we got to Victoria we would have drunk coffees, smoked two or three cigarettes, and laughed so much our mascara used to be on our chins,’ writes Margaret Harris. Photograph: Alamy Stock Photo The impression that […]
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