Disrupting the Speculative City
Property, power and community resistance in London
Amy Horton and Joe Penny
In 2011, police violence triggered an uprising in Tottenham that laid bare decades of neglect and state violence against the area’s racialised communities. In its aftermath, local leaders and corporate developers devised an aggressive redevelopment agenda that would have demolished the homes, workspaces, and communities of thousands of council tenants, private renters and traders. Their plan was to transform Tottenham and surrounding areas from a diverse working-class place to a space for wealthy investors, residents and consumers.
Disrupting the Speculative City tells the story of how a community coalition defeated one of the most ambitious programmes of state-led gentrification in London. Known as the ‘Haringey Development Vehicle’ (HDV), it would have been executed through an undemocratic and speculative joint venture between the local council and the notorious international developer Lendlease. Thanks to the political creativity, tactical nous, and extraordinary commitment of ordinary people, the HDV was scrapped by the local council in 2018. Drawing on the accounts of those at the heart of the struggle and analysing crucial developments in property investment, local statecraft, and grassroots organising, this book explores a significant and inspirational success for campaigners in London, where social cleansing has become the default outcome of redevelopment.
Amy Horton is an Economic Geographer at UCL. Joe Penny is a lecturer in Global Urbanism at the UCL Urban Laboratory.
List of figures
List of tables
Acknowledgements
1 Introduction
Part 1: The speculative city
2 Conception: Reactionary urban policy after the uprisings
3 Creation: The urban politics of the Haringey Development Vehicle
Part 2: Disrupting the speculative city
4 Opposition: Building grassroots power
5 Disruption: Tactics in and against the local real estate state
6 Conclusion: Beyond the speculative city?
References
Appendix: Key tactics against speculative redevelopment Index
Format: Hardback
Size: 234 × 156 mm
160 Pages
colour illustrations
Copyright: © 2024
ISBN: 9781800087101
Publication: September 01, 2024
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