Stratford, Newham - Distant Changing Places Case Study

London Borough of Newham is located in east London, 5 miles east of the City of London and North of the River Thames

Stratford is a district within Newham, located towards the north-west border of the borough (Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is located here)

major multilevel interchange station that is well connected to key London locations through its position on 4 lines of the Tube network

Westfield Stratford City opened in 2011, with 350 stores and services. It is the 3rd largest shopping centre in the UK

Stratford contains the 2012 Olympics Athletes Village and most of the Olympic Park

wide range of housing - more modern accommodation with high-rise flats in the regenerated west Stratford, whilst more deprived, run-down maisonnettes and terraced housing remains in the north

TOPOGRAPHY - flat land, located on a flood plain. Average topography is around 46ft above sea level

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY -River Lea flows near to the Olympic Village in the west and centre of Stratford. The area is mostly urbanised with some green areas

LAND USE - regeneration has changed the land use from derelict land to more retail and commercial facilities

INFRASTRUCTURE - significant, well served by bus and train routes. Roads are well connected, particularly linking Stratford to Central London

BUILT ENVIRONMENT - 2 shopping centres, offices, modern flats, train station, picture house cinema, Olympic Park, etc

DEMOGRAPHICS - ethnically diverse

ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS - rising house prices, increases in tourism to boost the economy both during and after the Olympic Games

MONEY/INVESTMENT - £9 million of public money was invested into the regeneration of East London

RESOURCES - people and materials brought into the area to undertake regeneration

IDEAS - regeneration schemes, culture and diversity from high levels of immigration

PEOPLE - higher tourist numbers due to available retail and commercial facilities, whilst greater job opportunities have brought workers into the area

1820 - first dock was built in Stratford, acting as a fairly significant transport hub due to its position between London and eastern England
1839 - Stratford got its own railway station and, over time, a depot and works that built locomotives, coaches and goods wagons
1844 - the Metropolitan Building Act forced noxious industries to move outside of London and Stratford was the first place across the border in Essex, with good road and water connections into the city. Existing mills, distilleries and breweries were joined by engineering works, printers, ink and dye works, alongside every kind of processor or coal, oil, manure and animal bones
mid-1800s - estimated 2,500 people working in the railway, leading to a need for more housing and an improved local infrastructure. A new town was built to accommodate railway workers, eventually becoming known as Stratford New Town
1860s - over 20,000 people living and working in the area
1900s - Stratford, like many areas of London, suffered significant de-industrialisation and high unemployment rates
1980s - closing of the London Docks because of increases in commercial shipping and containerisation (1950-1975 40,000 jobs lost)
1990s - railway works closed down
2006 - work began on the Olympic Park (11,000 people and 380 businesses had to relocate)
2011 - Westfield Stratford City opened
2012 - Newham was one of the 6 host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics, with Stratford hosting many Olympic facilities

(qualitative data)

"it no longer feels like "East End""

"with every shiny new bulding that's gone up, a little bit of the character that gave Stratford its appeal is disappearing"

"there is a terrible problem with social housing, with many people living in overcrowded accommodation"

"it feels as though the undesirables are being moved out to make way for the desirables"

"if you are on a low income then you won't stand a chance of buying your own home"

"today I can buy a cappuccio for £5"

"under all the hype there are still very real social problems that were here before the regeneration and still remain today that I feel are deliberately being swept under the carpet"

(qualitative data)

INTERVIEWS - although regeneration projects have built green spaces to be enjoyed by children, there is a resultant lack of community of culture. House prices have risen extortionately, alongside prices of everyday items such as coffee. Therefore, locals seem to be more opposed to generation in Stratford because of the lack of benefits for themselves

POETRY - displaying how Newham is an area with high levels of knife and gun crime, particularly impacting on young people. Newham is portrayed negatively, as a area with high levels of crime and gang association from a young age

SOCIAL MEDIA VIDEO - Newham is known as the "UK's debt capital" where 22.7% of residents can't pay their bills on time and a quarter face debt problems. The video portrays the levels of poverty within Newham that have not really changed despite the high levels of investment arising from the 2012 Olympic Games

FILM - Ill Manors portrays a negative media persepctive of Newham as a rundown and violent area, underpinned by crime. However, it also shows the Olympic Stadium and Park rising in the background, showing the hope for social change in the area

the London 2012 Legacy was a plan to make sure that the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games had long-term benefits. This legacy was to cover 4 main areas:

EECONOMIC - supporting new jobs and skills, encouraging trade, inward investment and tourism

SPORTS - continue elite success, development of more sports facilities and encouraging participation in sports in both school and wider scenarios

SOCIAL AND VOLUNTEERING - inspiring others to volunteer and encouraging social change

REGENERATION - reuse of venues, new homes, improved transportation in both East London and other locations across the UK

OLYMPIC BOARD - oversight and co-ordination of the Games

GOVERNMENT OLYMPIC EXECUTIVE - a unit in the DCMs with oversight of the London 2012 project

OLYMPIC PARK REGENERATION STEERING GROUP - oversaw the regeneration legacy for East London and implementation of the Legacy Masterplan Framework

OLYMPIC DELIVERY AUTHORITY - responsibile for delivering the Games' infrastructure and venues

LONDON ORGANISING COMMITTEE FOR THE OLYMPIC GAMES AND PARALYMPIC GAMES - organised the staging of the Games

LONDON DEVELOPMENT AGENCY - responsible for purchase of the Olympic Park and developing the legacy plans. This was succeeded by the Olympic Park Legacy Company

Athletes village relaunched as a housing estate for 8,000 people called the East Village, with 40% of homes being affordable

New school called Chobham Academy (1800 students enrolled) to reduce previous schooling pressures

Aquatics centre is now used by the community

Unemployment fell across London during the Olympic period

Question whether new housing will actually be affordable, particularly for Newham's poorest households

Very few jobs were actually created for local people

Many boroughs surrounding the Olympic Park remain in poverty

Social housing had to be demolished to make way for the site

£17 billion invested in public transport, so Stratford is now the 2nd most connected part of London

Revenue generated from selling Olympic venues

Estimated that the Olympics will generate £10 billion in extra income for the UK economy

Olympic Stadium is estimated to have cost £701 million, 3 times the original estimate

Total bill was £8.8 billion of tax payers' money, 5 million over budget

Rents and property prices have resultantly risen

New green spaces and wildlife habitats have been created

Improved water quality of the River Lea that runs through the Olympic Park

Urban wasteland of the Lower Lea Valley was cleaned up

Olympic Site was built on 560 acres of brownfield land, previously neglected, unused and contaminated

Much wildlife had to be relocated (including 100 toads and 300 common lizards)

Many materials for the stadiums and the Olympic Park came from overseas

The Games produced 3.3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide

LOCAL GOVERNMENT - successful rebranding of Stratford seeks to increase tourism in the long-term. It is now East London's primary retail, cultural and leisure centre

NATIONAL GOVERNMENT - tourism revenues, reduced unemployment

PROPERTY DEVELOPERS - revenue made from selling their properties with rising house prices

LOCAL POPULATION - post-Games creation of 110,000 jobs, improved services/transport links, ability to use sports facilities and creation of green spaces

LOCAL POPULATION - lack of community, continued disruption from on-going development and tourism, lack of affordable housing as promised, rising house prices and continued deprivation in the area

Popuation: around 330,000

Religion: 40% Christian, 32% Muslim

Ethnicity: 43% Asian/Asian British, 20% Black/Black British, 17% White/White British

Sex: 52% males and 48% females

Largest age bracket: 30-39, then 20-29

Employment + Qualifications:  12.4% of usual residents with no qualifications, 5.7% unemployed

Unemployment rate of 10%

Largest sector is tertiary

17% of individuals work in wholesale and retail trade, 12% in accommodation and food service activities and 9% in education

Average house price of £355,000

35% owner occupied housing, 34% private rented and 30% social rented

Around 28% of children live in low income families

One of the 20% most deprived districts in England

Was ranked the 25th most deprived local authority in England in the 2015 Index of Multiple Deprivation, in comparison to 2nd in 2010

49% very good health

2% very bad health

57% achieved 5+A*-C GCSEs including Maths and English

26% live by themselves