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(upbeat music)
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If you've spent time in a major city recently,
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you'll no doubt be well aware of how quickly
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our cities are changing.
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Here in London in 2018, this global city
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is currently undergoing some of the most ambitious
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building projects it's seen in a generation.
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From the Crossrail Tunnel that burrows
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underneath the whole city,
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to not one, but three new skyscrapers
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currently being built in the Square Mile.
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But London is changing in far less spectacular ways, too.
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It's happening on the city's countless housing estates,
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its many neighbourhood high streets,
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and in the parks and public spaces.
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A number of terms have been used
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to describe these processes, including urban regeneration,
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revitalisation, and even place making.
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But underlying all of these is the broader process
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of gentrification.
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But what is gentrification?
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And why is studying it so important?
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(soft music)
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Hi Mike, what's happening?
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Hi Harriet!
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Oh, I'm just sitting here, reading a book.
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So the term gentrification was first coined
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back in 1964 by Ruth Glass in this book
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called "London: Aspects of Change".
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So she looked at some of the poorest communities
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in London and what was happening to their housing situation.
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And her conclusion was that the richer people
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were buying into these properties
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where poorer people lived, and effectively pushing them out
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due to increases in rent and in property values.
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So she likened this process to something that happened
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back in the 19th century, when the landed gentry
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or the aristocracy, commandeered land from peasants,
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hence the word gentrification.
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Gentrification is about how the development of our cities
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by those in control, affects the lives of people
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that live, work, and play there.
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(soft music)
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Building new houses in London is really important
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because the UK is experiencing a chronic housing shortage.
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But the problem with London is that most of the city
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is already occupied and so the land is incredibly valuable.
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So if you take an example of the Elephant Park
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in the Elephant and Castle,
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three bedroom flats are currently being sold
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for about £1.7 million.
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And if you compare that to a city like Newcastle,
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three-bedroom properties there are going
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for less than £250,000.
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So why is that?
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Well often, property developers prefer to build
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more expensive housing to sell to wealthier people
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to make more profit.
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But the problem with that is that local people
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who live here can't afford the new prices,
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so are forced to move away.
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So this really is having a profound effect
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on the social, cultural, ethnic,
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and economic makeup of the area.
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(soft music)
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This is Nine Elms in Battersea, on the south side
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of the River Thames in southwest London.
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Around 20,000 new homes are being developed here,
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and the aim of this regeneration is to transform
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this brownfield, or former industrial site,
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into a globally renowned tourist destination,
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with a mix of retail, housing, and leisure.
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Tell us a little bit about what's going on here.
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Well, this is known as state-led gentrification
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because it's strongly encouraged by the city government
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and by the local authorities that govern Nine Elms
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and have given the planning permissions
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for this development to go ahead.
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But, most of these properties are being marketed
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and sold quite often to buyers
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in far-flung places of the world,
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and at prices that are much higher
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than local residents can normally afford.
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But what about affordable housing.
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Well, local authorities can ask the developers
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to factor in a proportion of the housing
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as affordable housing to rent or to buy.
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So for example behind us, one of these towers
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is purely what's known as affordable housing.
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But in general, affordable housing is more of an issue
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for developers, as logically they're seeking
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to maximise their profit, and so they may wish
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to reduce the amount of affordable housing
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on their development, or cut it entirely.
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So they can make more money from their build.
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Yeah, exactly.
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So gentrification doesn't only affect housing,
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it has wider social and economic impacts,
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often in response to the changing tastes of the new people
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living in the more expensive houses.
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So the rents for shops, cafes, restaurants,
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and leisure facilities nearby will increase.
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Existing businesses may not be able to stay,
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and bigger brands will be able to afford these high rents.
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So gentrification often sees local, independent shops
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changing into chain stores, or more expensive
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retail outlets.
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Along with these wider social and economic impacts
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of gentrification, spaces that are used
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for recreation and play can suddenly become very valuable.
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(hiphop music)
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This area behind me is the Southbank Centre,
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a famous cultural venue, and one
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of the most visited open spaces in London.
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If we look carefully, we can see skateboarders
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making use of the space below the Hayward Gallery.
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An area called the Undercroft.
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Hi, Oli!
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Hey!
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How's it going?
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Alright, how are you?
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Not bad, thank you.
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Hey, can you tell us a bit about skateboarding
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on the South Bank.
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Yeah, so the skateboarders have been here
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since about the 1970s and they've been creating
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a subculture ever since.
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They've been hanging out with friends,
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and just enjoying the views and enjoying the space.
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It's a space where locals and tourists
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can all mix together and enjoy the lovely views
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of the river, and they just stand and watch
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the skateboarders and listen to the sounds
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of the wheels on the concrete.
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So it's a really famous site, it's renowned really
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throughout the skateboarding community
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over the entire world, and that's despite
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numerous attempts to remove them over the years.
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But, why have there been attempts
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to remove the skateboarders?
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Well really, this site is very valuable.
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I mean, look at it, it's in the middle of London,
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it's surrounded by beautiful scenery.
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So in 2013, the owners of the site wanted to demolish
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the skate spot and turn it into a row of cafes
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and restaurants, which they would have got lots of rent
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and lots of income from those chain stores
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that would have been based there.
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Of course, the skateboarders didn't like this at all,
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they saw it as an act of gentrification,
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and so they clubbed together to form
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the Long Live Southbank campaign.
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It was a campaign that lasted about 18 months,
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and in the end, they were successful.
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They garnered huge public support,
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and now the skateboarders have clubbed together
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with the owners of the site in order
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to expand the skate spot and make it a far bigger place.
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So, gentrification doesn't just affect where we live
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and our housing, it also affects these cultural spaces
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where we play and where we spend our leisure time.
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So these examples show us how gentrification
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has economic, social, cultural, and political effects.
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Gentrification is a controversial topic,
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and as geographers, we are interested
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in understanding its impacts.
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And by understanding these impacts,
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we're better equipped to deal with the real,
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human consequences of our rapidly urbanising world.
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(soft music)