Shoreditch
Selin Soyak, a local photographer, explores the streets of Shoreditch to observe and document the changes that gentrification has brought around. The following article focuses on her street photography series in which she captures the expanding neighbourhood and culture.
November 2022 1
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Shoreditch is one of the neighborhoods in London that has undergone significant gentrification in recent years.
Gentrification refers to the process of changing the character of a neighborhood, typically by renovating and upgrading buildings, attracting new businesses and residents, and increasing property values.
In Shoreditch, gentrification has been driven by the rapid growth of the tech and creative industries in the area, as well as the popularity of the neighborhood's vibrant culture and nightlife. As a result, many older buildings and homes have been renovated and converted into luxury apartments and offices, and many of the area ' s original residents and businesses have been displaced by rising rents and property values.
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While gentrification has brought many positive changes to Shoreditch, such as new shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions, it has also had some negative consequences. For example, many of the neighborhood's original residents and businesses have been priced out and forced to move elsewhere, and the area ' s unique cultural character and sense of community has been threatened. In recent years, there has been growing concern and debate about the impact of gentrification on communities like Shoreditch, and calls for policies to protect affordable housing and support small businesses in order to preserve the cultural heritage of neighborhoods undergoing rapid change.
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Interview with Ed
Ed has been the sales manager of Egomark/London, a clothing and fabric wholesale store, since 2019 He noted that they had just redecorated the shop's interior to make it more minimalist and contemporary.
-What is gentrification?
“I think its bettering itself, its making itself a little bit smarter If what you gentrifying is for the positive reasons to make it better and to bring more people to it then its a good thing“
-How long have you lived in the area?
“I don’t actually lived here, but I’ve worked here in Shoreditch for about 5 years. ”
-Have you noticed any changes in that time?
“Yes. I’ve noticed a lot of changes, especially during Covid. So there’s a lot of small businesses that gone out of business. There’s a lot of gaps, where they used to be very lively/buoyant but now it’s not so. ”
-How do you feel about these changes?
“It’s sad, because in generally shoreditch/hoxton in that area, its very buoyant fashionable area, it still is but not like it used to be, because it used to be a lot more fashion houses, a lot more independent shops, boutiques even smaller coffee houses, lovely little restaurants and stuff like that and now its much more smaller”
-Memorable moment
“They moved out of shoreditch, they kind of either gone west end or outside of London to work remotely, but what i have noticed even though there’s a pinch on the cost of living the pubs are always busy, and i think its cuz of the young environment (20s to 50s) doesn’t matter what day of the week, but Thursdays and Fridays its even from sort of 3 pm, which is a good sign because it means its a social atmosphere”
-Boxpark
“It’s an attraction to a lot of people, I think it does bring people to Shoreditch and to east London. I’m not a great fan of it but I get it, you can go there you can eat, drink, shop and you can even dance, I think there’s a club there in the upstairs My nephews and nieces come from all different places in England just to see it ”
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