INTERPRETING SPACE ESSAY

ELEPHANT & CASTLE SITE

Verónica Posada

FADING LAYERS
Is London losing its Palimpsest CaracterCharacter?
Case of study: Elephant and Castle area analysis. Impact of the redevelopment
process within the community.

--- THIS IS TO GUIDE ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATIONS I HAVE TO MAKE

--- THIS IS TO GUIDE FOR NOT MISSING ANY REFERENCE
--- THIS IS FOR YOU, SOME TOPICS THAT I FOUND A BIT CONFUSING. Struggling with the
coherence.
Introduction:
London is a living organism [Fig.1] constantly changing. By mid-twentieth century the city
started facing dramatic transitions. Firstly, The Second War World burst into the social fabric,
damaging collective and familiar networks, thus affecting the conception of urbanity itself.
Economic, social and cultural problems from that time are still visible nowadays, particularly in
South London. Secondly, in 1947 the British Empire started to fade outblur, with the Indian
independence,. And thirdly to reinforce that shifting cycle “The death of the Docks” (Roy Porter,
2000, p425) took place in 1970’s, when many of the factories and refineries around Docklands
[East London] were closed. However, London was not going to become a looser, so the ‘London
Dockland Development Corporation‘ was created in order to revitalize the area. That process is
partly responsible for all the dynamics of regeneration that are taking place in London, it
detonated and spread out all over the city the non-stoppable impetus for
redevelopmentsgeneration. As a consequence, inner London communities followed a step to
polarization “huge estates of poorer working-class and immigrant council tenants and, on the
other hand, affluent owner-occupier” (ibid, p429)1. By the turn of Twenty First century , new

1 Furthermore after 1973, within Thatcher’s government the City experiment the closure of GLC
[Greater London Council] which leads to the independent Borough Administration enhancing cold and
warm spots, this political decision lead to the social division in terms of racial [ethnic] facts. Yet, more
striking were Thatcher’s economical policies on regenerative power that “created Nouveux Riches in the
city and in certain fields of enterprise. Yuppies helped to generate a property boom in gentrifying
choreography’s of inhabiting (Mesa) London started to appear, the new generation so-called
Millenials appeared [Fig.2] 2 claiming requested a place in the global city. Consequently, Formatted: Font: Not Italic
fragmentation appears inside local traditions and social practices increased, community
displacements and gentrification, becamebecomingame the big social issue of the Century.

Evidently, these regeneration processes are taking place in derelict and non-desirable spaces in
the city; those places gather the majority of ethnic minority groups. That categorization is based
under a shared origin background., which is on the basis of the social atmosphere that one finds
in regeneration processes. An example3 of this is Elephant and Castle [E&C], where the feeling
of ethnicity is frequently fixed with association to places (McIlwaine, 2011). Moreover the
relationship of ethnic groups and urban spaces overlaps almost every sphere of the city’s
definition, reinforcing the sense of belonging. “Founded by immigrants, London has had a
ceaseless history of immigration” (Porter 2000, p435). This is the city of no-one and everyone,
and that is why the discourse of social diverse groups and ethnicity emerges as the tool to
analyze communities and the urban realm.

Notably, London has many layers of history circumscribed intrinsic4. Certainly, this layering can
be related to the Linguist concept of palimpsest [Fig.3] in an city urban sphere, which allows one Commented [SP1]: va con mayúscula?

to reinforce the idea of intertwined meaning. As Andreas Huyssen describes the concept 5 ,
“Palimpsest implies voids, illegibility, and erasures, but it also offers a richness of traces and
memories, restorations and new constructions that will mark the city as lived space” (Huyssen,
2003, p84). Although Huyssen’s use of the concept is more related to the urban space as place
that contains layers of memory. It can be argued that communities also nourish those memory-
spaces and its social character is as well intrinsiccircumscribed in within the layers, building the Formatted: Highlight

districts, employment grew in boutiques, restaurants, car showrooms and other forms of domestic and
conspicuous consumption” (Ibid, p463).
2 The Illustration Millenials-Creative Class was part of an analysis of Greenwich Peninsula. Created with
Renata Guerra for the Module Interpreting Space at the University of Westminster. Professor: Steven
Smith.
3 Other areas facing similar process are: Stratford, Shoreditch, Whitechapel, Bentham Green, Greenwich
and Seven Sisters.
4 As a matter of fact, looking at its architecture sets an example: from medieval architecture to Victorian
houses, and then to new already made buildings using containers as the basis of contemporary
architecture.
5 Regarding to the process that Berlin past through in order to overcome the Second World War
damages.
whole concept of the palimpsest. In reach of the interpretation of urban dynamics that are in the
concern of this analysis.

In this work I will be examining the redevelopment situation that has been taking place in Formatted: Not Highlight
Elephant and Castle. Under this scope, the essay will be addressing the notions of London as a
City that overlaps layers of meaning tending to ignore some of them in order to give more voice
and vote to a desire for profit within the contemporary economic operation system (Minton, Commented [SP2]: esta palabra si es necesaria?
2006). By doing so, I will be looking at a brief description of the historical re-development
processes in the area in order to do a critical analysis of the process nowadays. A key point is
the definition of urban landscape by Dolores Hayden as an “urban design that recognizes social
diversity of the city as well as the communal uses of space, very different from urban design as
monumental architecture governed by form or driven by real estate speculation”( Hayden,
1995,p12). I will be criticizing the undergoing desire of the developers 6 and Southwark Council
for a new south London, based on Richard Sennett concepts of simplicity and complexity within
the urban realm as the way to create permeable spaces allowing inhabitants and visitors to
“engage more with their surroundings” (Sennett, 2009, p225). In addition, illustrations and
photographs will be depicting the concepts, within the notion of Fading Layers, addressing the
question if is London is in fact losing its palimpsest character and erasing traces from places
that are facing a metamorphosis. Finally, some of the contemporary process for Latin American
community ‘inclusion’ will be shown in the light of Ann Minton analysis of the privatization of Formatted: Font: Italic
public space (Minton, 2006) as a conclusion to tackle the revitalization process allowing
questions to emerge and wait for what really will happen there.

AQUI PONER COLLAGE DE PALIPMSESTO URBANO FIG 3 Formatted: Highlight

CONTEXTUALIZING ELEPHANT AND CASTLE

6 See [http://www.elephantandcastle-lendlease.com/] and [http://www.delancey.com/elephant-&-

castle-redevelopment.html ]
The Elephant and castle area was known as the “Picadilly Circus of South London” (Humphrey,
2013, p5). The area took its name from a public house, around 1765. Elephant and Castle [E&C]
was a hub for social interactions, the busy roundabout full of horses,[Fig.4 and 5] then cars and
buses arrived [Fig.6 and 67], it was complemented with the shops [Fig.8] around] around it ,
founded by local entrepreneurialism and leisure centrescenters. [Fig.9], but most important the
essence of the place was and still is its people and the social environment. [Fig.10.]
The Palimpsest character of E&C is represented by the restructuring process that hasve been
circulating the area over the last 400 years, as an example The local pub7 [Fig.11, 12,13, 14 and
15] which was rebuilt in 1818, later in 1898 and finally it was demolished in 1959 8. The blitz Formatted: Font: 11 pt
left south London full of rubble and wreckage By that time, the area was nowhere near of what
it used to be [Fig.16 and 17]9. So that, in 1960’s the construction of the Elephant and Castle
Shopping Centre aimed to revitalizerevitalize the area and give South Londoners a new space
for social interactions [Fig. 18 and 19]. Commented [SP3]: Esto está raro.....que es the blitz? Si
es el PUB, tienes un punto seguido entre the bliz y pub.

THE SHOPPING CENTRE DYNAMICS AND THE LATIN AMERICAN COMMUNITY:

From the 1960’s until 1990’s, Latin America was struggling with social political and economic Formatted: Underline
problems 10 inherited from the Soviet Union and the Nazi Diaspora to the continent. Commented [SP4]: acá te falta mencionar el
comunismo
Dictatorships, Communist Governments which left the continent with a massive number of
Formatted: Highlight
disappearances and, kidnapping and, forced displacement and casualties. During Thatcher’s
first government the UK welcomed Chilean and Argentinian exiles, from that time many Latin
Americans started to migrate to the UK as a way to start new life. In 1990’s Colombian,
Equatorean and Venezuelan’s communities started to grow in the capital, by the turn of the
Twenty First century there were already big communities of Latin Americans established in
London (Mcllwaine and Cock, 2011, p13).

7 Where the Elephant with the howdah was first located before being installed at the Shopping Centre.
8 Which was rebuilt in 1818, later in 1898 and finally it was demolished in 1959 Formatted: Font: 10 pt
9 The blitz left south London full of and wreckage. The pub was damage during the war, so that the
Formatted: Font: 10 pt
building closed and the public house was moved to another places close to the roundabout.
10 Inherited from the Soviet Union and the Nazi Diaspora to the continent. Dictatorships, Communist Formatted: Font: 10 pt
Governments Formatted: Spanish (Spain, Traditional Sort)
From the 1980’s onwards the selling of London to the “international super-rich” (Porter, 2000,
p467) increased the development of touristic spots in the city, which brought new jobs for
migrants and second-generation migrants, hence developed many polarized areas.11

One of those polarized spots is the Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre and its surroundings12.
(Elephant Road, Newington Butts, Eagle Yard Arches, and Old Kent Road). Although this place
is a commercial space it is really special particular how it has shifted into a social place for Latin
American people that comes to London. It is a meeting point inhabited by the Latin
entrepreneurs that arrived to London from 1970’s until now. ”What marks them13 [referring to
Seven Sisters Area and E&C] as ‘Latin Americans’ is the agglomeration of commercial spaces
owned by and aimed at Latin American migrants as well as the recurrent use of local public and
community spaces for gathering and faith meetings” (Cock,2011, p180). The place is a faithful
representation of Transculturality (Welsch, 1999), where diverse social groups Latin Americans Formatted: Font: Not Italic
crossing cultural boundaries and become ing part of London’s dynamics, particularly is really Formatted: Font: Not Italic

well-known area for the Colombian population. Claudia, [Fig.20] one of the retailers, that has
been working in the E&C shopping Centre since she arrived to London, 22 years ago, pointed
out that “You come to Elephants and it is as being in Colombia” (Mapping Memories,2016). It
can be noticed that Tthe area is enhancing social constellations of immigrants allowing them to
feel comfortable and peaceful in the global city. In addition thiese commercial space “facilitates Commented [SP5]: these es el plural de this, es como
decir que esto es this y estos es these.
transnational practices that keep them [Latin Americans] in contact with their families (…) the
Shopping Centre advertises itself, as a second home for people who are far from their families
”(Cock,2011, p184).That puts London as a destination place for Latin Americans.

Sadly all of these practices are in risk due to the Southwark borough regeneration plan 14 ,
[Fig.21]. which involves a major ‘revisalisation’ 15 [Fig.21] of the Shopping Centre and the

11 Evidently the wealthy ones in the North and the Working Class in the outskirts and South of London.
12 Elephant Road, Newington Butts, Eagle Yard Arches, and Old Kent Road. Formatted: Font: 10 pt
13The autor was refering to referring to Seven Sisters and E&C areas as meeting points particularly for
Formatted: Font: 10 pt
Colombian people.
14 14 It started with the Heygate State (Southwark Notes, 2016), a housing state, close to the E&C Formatted: Font: 10 pt
shopping Centre, constructed in 1974 and demolished between 2010 and 2014 . Many people were Formatted: Font: 10 pt, English (United States)
evicted from the area, and now a new complex of buildings is under construction (2016 ).
Formatted: Font: 10 pt
15This is how Southwark Council describe the redevelopment. “At least 5,000 new homes will be built in Formatted: Font: 10 pt
the Opportunity Area to provide a wider choice of housing types and sizes. Opportunities to increase the
amount and type of development will be maximised, particularly opportunities for new retail space to
create a major shopping destination and flexible business space for small and
surroundings.

In that order many questions arise to the surface about how is this process affecting the Formatted: Space After: 12 pt, No widow/orphan
control, Don't adjust space between Latin and Asian
communities there? Is this place in risk to become an example of homogenization due to the
text, Don't adjust space between Asian text and
redevelopment process? Who is going to be there? Who is able possible to afford new numbers

development prices? The idea of community place is in the atmosphere, is it going to survive the
displacement? Is it important or not for London as a cosmopolitan and multicultural city to keep
immigrants expressions and spaces? Is Elephant and Castle losing its traces as an immigrant
spot? Can those traces be enhanced and give to the place a sense ofa cultural and visual identity?

Due to the reach of this work, all these questions are not going to be answered, but at least are
going to denounce the situation in theoretical and academic terms in order to visualize the
urban change and call for social awareness in regards to the Latin American community in
London.

Building Complexity. The Latin American Quarter.

-Simplicity vs. Complexity-

As Richard Sennett argues in the book the Crafstman: “Urban planning, like other technical
practices, often zeroes in on needless complexity, trying to strip away tangles in a street or in
public space. Functional simplicity carries a price; urbanities tend to react neutrally to stripped
down spaces, not caring much about where they are. “ (Sennett, 2009,p225) [Fig.22].
In relation to Elephant and Castle, . the developers16 (Delancey and Leandlease), projected the Formatted: Highlight
construction in terms of profit and no social approaches haved been made before starting the Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
medium sized businesses (SMEs). Improvements to the evening economy and the variety of arts, Formatted: Highlight
cultural and entertainment activities will also be made by providing more cafes and restaurants as well
as leisure, arts and cultural facilities. New development in the town centre will help create over 5,000 Formatted: Highlight
new jobs. There will be opportunities for tall buildings to add interest to the skyline and to help
stimulate regeneration. New open spaces and the connections between them will be improved.
Investment in the road network, public transport and the public realm will create a more attractive and
safe environment. Improvements will be made to the northern roundabout and to the Northern Line
tube station so that those who live and work in the area can move around easily and safely”
Southwark Council. New Southwark Planl ([2014. ] p8).

16See [ http://www.elephantpark.co.uk/local-area/elephant-and-castle] There is not a deeply approach

and research made about how to enhance the value of the urban realm that is already there.
project. Delancy and Leandlease, the developers17, want to do the construction in the easiest Formatted: Highlight
and possible. Although a couple of meetings with the community have happened, it was after Formatted: Highlight

calls from social leaders. Their necessities are not taken into account yet. for the new Commented [SP6]: Mejora la coherencia en este
oración
development and theyDevelopers are just announcing that new things that are going to happen.
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
In that sense, one can argue that it is possible to redevelopmentchange places in fruitful Formatted: Highlight
manners constructing policies with communities and turnaing those ideas into realist Formatted: Highlight

proposals,. fFor example many Latin American cities had have to deal with very problematic Formatted: Highlight

kind of social issues such as: drug dealers, violence, force displacements and social class Formatted: Underline

boundaries. Albeit, almost all of Latin America countries experiment enormously problematic
social and cultural boundaries some cases have been studied by the academic Justin McGuirk in
the book Radical Cities, in which the author refers to successful projects in Latin America, that
engage the community with the space, as aas a consequence the permeability between people
from outside with the particular social group of the area is strengthened, resulting on new
transcultural practices (Bond and Rapson, 2014) that nourishes the social dynamics of each city.
As a particular case the author refers to Medellin’s Social Urbanism as “the power that a
community possesses to effect radical change when it engages in the political process”
(McGuirk, 2014, p235). This acknowledgment is linked to Sennett’s complexity in two ways.
Firstly, the social aspect of urbanism, that refers to Medellin is treated as a laboratory
conducting ‘social workshops’ in order to develop the urban land usage plan 18 . Secondly, if
Sennett’s definition of urban design as a complexity processes are transported into social and
cultural procedures within new development of E&C, one can argue that complexity is a proper
way to describe the importance of taking into account dwellings needs instead of developing

Field Code Changed

17 See [ http://www.elephantpark.co.uk/local-area/elephant-and-castle] There is not a deeply approach Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria)
and research made about how to enhance the value of the urban realm that is already there. Formatted: Not Highlight
18 Urban Land Use plan [Plan de Ordenamiento territorial] was the result of a collective effort made by

politicanspoliticians, entrepreneaursentrepreneurs and students. Some of the projects that changed Formatted: Not Highlight
Medellín are: Parques Bilioteca [Library Parks], UVA [Unit of articulated urban life] and The Metro Cable Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), Not Highlight
[Cable Car as public transport] in order to satisfy population needs and desires to be included. Medellín
Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), Not Highlight
is a city that faced massive immigration from the rural areas of Colombia in 1990’s. Leading to unofficial
settlements in the outskirts [Mountains]. The displaced people were an enormously isolated social Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), Not Highlight
group. NverthelessNevertheless with the social urbanism development the situation has been
Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), Not Highlight
improving ever since. Nowadays the city is more inclusive with the majority of the inhabitants. Yet,
there is still a lot of work to be done. For more information about Medellín´sMedellin’s process See Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), Not Highlight
[http://www.reddebibliotecas.org.co/grupos/sbpm], [http://lasuvadelavida.com/] and
Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria)
[http://gondolaproject.com/medellin/]
Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria)
under simplisticsimplicity parameters 19 , such as demolition and construction of something
completely new that just leads to profit and a way to sell the project to the new Londoners.20
The importance here is to keep the Latin Atmosphere, in that order London will be keeping its
Palimpsest character, its layers of cultural diversity.

COLLAGE COMPLEXITY (OTHER AREAS IN LONDON AND AESTHETISATION SIMPLICITY)

FIG.22

Non places vs. places &

Community places vs. public and private spaces.

Is not a secret that London nowadays is facing a massive dispute, which is

puttingpushing minor ethnic communities apart. As a result places that used to be
visited and frequented by particular communities are becoming touristic areas spots, Formatted: Highlight

for taking selfies and non-locals concerns are approached by the councils. In that sense, Formatted: Highlight

those community places are , shifting into a new conception of what Augée has called a
non-place (Augé, 2008). As an example Although places such as the Strata Tower Square
[Fig.23 and 24] is a are the definition of what Augé has proposed as spaces of anonymity
of passing by, in the case of the Shopping Centre there is an ambivalenceambivalence,
between the place and theas non-place character of that space. The sense of place here Formatted: Highlight

is enhanced by the Latin American community and retailers, who live and work around Formatted: Highlight

there and even by the people that is passing by., yet There is no contract that remains
into one specific purpose ; the visitor can experience both kinds of place definition,
depending on its mind-set and on who is influencing him. In this case the developers
here are addressing the definition of non-place as a space that has no identity to be
vanished from the city and in this order reconstruct. In a way, this space does need more
cohesion and can be more permeable with London, but just erasingdenying its identity
it will not solve the problem, . It is a community place and the idea of shifting it into a

19Such as: big public and green spaces, without any allusion to the local area, or global material that Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria)
transform the space into a homogenized spot.

20 See for example Stratae Tower Project. http://www.archdaily.com/70142/strata-se1-bfls.

public-private space is not coherent with the discourse of London as a welcoming city.
Is it just welcoming for people with economic power? Is altruisticIs altruistic the new Formatted: Not Highlight

generation of politicians that are leading the city? Formatted: Not Highlight

The biggest problem of converting E&C into a non-place is the loss of cohesion. Ann
Minton argues that recent policies of London ‘viable’ places often took for granted the
factor of working with communities of the area, gathering information from their
traditions and diversity, “instead the emphasis on turning places into consumer Commented [SP7]: Hay que mejorar la transicioón
hacia esta citación. Está muy metida a la fuerza.
products tends to suck the original life out of them-in all its diversity and
unpredictability- with the consequence that places seem to become unreal,
characterized by soullessness and sterility rather than organic activity” ((Minton, 2006,
p26) [Fig 25.]. If attachment andor cohesion are lost, there won’t be a level of trust Formatted: Highlight

between people will disappear, acceleration on the appearance of obstacles and

boundaries that will blocking the permeability of the place (Sennett, 2009,p227) . Commented [SP8]: Esta idea debes mejorarle la
redacción
Elephant and CastleAs an example E&C ias a community hub, where immigrants help
Formatted: Highlight
each other, for example with visa documentsstuff, GPS, National Insurance, and daily life Formatted: Highlight
situations as ‘unofficial’ citizens.problems is going to be lost. Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
Formatted: Highlight
In fact, if these places are lost. This is not only going to affect Southwark, it will affect
the whole Latin American community that lives and works in London21 (Mcllwaine, 2010, Formatted: Highlight

p7).. Which by 2008 were 113,500 and has continued to groleading to strengthened Formatted: Footnote Text, Line spacing: single
retail and economic flows between Latin American and the UK (Mcllwaine, 2010, p7).
The constant shift of a community place due to its privatization causes society Formatted: Highlight
fragmentation that in one way or another breaks the layers of historical London and
vanishes the existence of communities in specific determinate places. Formatted: Highlight
s Formatted: Font: +Body (Cambria), 10 pt
Formatted: Footnote Text, Left, Line spacing: single

DIAGRAM OF THE CONCEPT plus collage FIG.25 Formatted: Underline

As conclusion:

21 Which by 2008 were 113,500 and has continued to grow leading to strengthened retail and economic
flows between Latin American and the UK. Formatted: English (United States)
London’s Latin Quarter [Fig.26]

Overall, this analysis looked at the character of London as a Palimpsest city that is risking its
layers in order to become a homogenized spot, with great desire of global economic standards. Formatted: Highlight
Furthermore, to illustrate that point the ideas of complexity considered in the light of Richard
Sennett, questions thequestions the necessity of intervening places with the community as a
process that involves delving into the space and understanding its dynamics from inside the
social realm, that is to say, the layers of the city could be enhanced rather than fragmented if the
developers of new projects reinforce cultural-space networks. In addition the references to Ann
Minton create inquires around the privatization of the Shopping Centre area in Elephant and
Castle, and the impact that action might have within the community. In additionAlso, this work
puts in evidence the sensation of the inhabitants and retailers, like: fear, uncertainty and hope
which are woven in the atmosphere and there is not a concrete answer in order to tackle these
emotions and sensations,. sStill there are some possibilities, which I will come back to in the
next paragraphs. Finally, it considered Justin McGuirk analysis on Latin American cities (2014)
as a positive and accurate way to manage social disruptions within the urban fabric, such as the
lost sense of belonging transforming places into sameness spots (Minton, 2006).

As recommendation one might suggest that for successful intervention for part of the
Southwark council it would need to consider the Latin American sentiments and desires. In
doing so, the work of Latin Elephant22, , is an effective strategy for maintainin cohesion in the
area, to tackle the negative effects of the urban change. . There is fear and uncertainty in the
atmosphere as Claudia, one of the retailers, points out [also see testimony above] - she is sad
because she feels she has to leave the Sshopping centreCentre, she doesn´t know if she will be re-
located and that stresses her. She feels that she will lose the meeting points with Latin Americans23
-(“Mapping Memories E&C,” 2016). [Fig.27,28 and 29]. Formatted: Font: 10 pt

Going back to McGuirk studies on Latin American sites, when the author quoted Sergio Fajardo’s Formatted: Font: 10 pt

statement24 “where there is fear there will be a fragmented society” (2014, p241), this approach Formatted: Font: 10 pt
Formatted: Font: 10 pt
can be interpreted in the E&C as fear from the unknown about what will happen, and the lack of
Formatted: Font: 10 pt
Formatted: Font: 10 pt, English (United States),
22 A charity that is helping the community to overcome the redevelopment process, highlighting the
Highlight
Latin aspect of the locality in order to promote the Latin Quarter hub
See [http://latinelephant.org/] Formatted: English (United States), Highlight
23 See [https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1aT5DrgYSVr0fGtl6xNzfByyTjpA]
24 Fajador was the major of Medellín from 2003-2007 and is currently the governor of Antioquia Formatted: English (United States)
department. Formatted: Font: 10 pt
communication from part of the council, it can be clearly seen a position where the one who
handleleads the battle is the one with economic power, and the people who give the place its
sense, its atmosphere, recover it from a derelict postwar area areis in an uncertain terrain
where nobody knows what exactly is going to happen. Indeed renovations on the space and
public realm are great for the area, which is really in need for that. Yet, the London plan must
recognize the actions and people who were there before and act in a conscientious way, that is
to say, recognize the community in the first stage of the intervention proposal and acknowledge
its needs, talking to them, inviting them to participate, creating spaces for dialogue and
recognizing that they are the people that know theknow the area as a whole.

Evidently, the uncertainty is the biggest problem within urban change, as As the scholar and
politician, Antanas Mockus claimed, “Without a sense of collective ownership, everything that
should be public is inevitably annexed by private, commercial or authoritarian interests.”
(citedCited in McGuirk, 2014, p213). In that order the proposal for an ‘official’ London’s Latin
Quarter initiative of Dr. Patria Román [Director of Latin Elephant] which] in June 2016. wWill
be an accurate way to tackle the problem of losing cohesion. That proposal is seeking to agree
on guarantees for the Latin American community and retailers with the Southwark Council and
Developers , in order to improve, expand, enable and cultivate social cohesion with new
employment opportunities that will contribute to reinforce the levels of truth within Latin
Americans, as well as create a more permeable membrane that allows social dynamics to follow
from the Latin Quarter to the rest of the city. (Román, 2016) Formatted: Highlight
Finally, one might say that there is hope as well as doubt fear and uncertainty. At the end nobody
knows what will happen next, certainly Southwark council has the tools to tackle this
problematic in the manner they consider more accurate within their interested and most
certainly is that Latin Elephant and the Latin American population will be clamming their place
in the city, it will be a long process. One might have to leave an open door to what is coming.
After all, “ viewing the city intermittently is a process of unbearable and inexplicable
anticipation, since any movement of the city in any direction is potentially possible” (Barber,
1995, p47).

Number of words = 3369 (Excluding footnotes and references) Formatted: Font: Bold
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Sustainability. A report for Latin Elephant & Southwark Council.

Sennett, R., 2009. The craftsman. Penguin, London. Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0"

Formatted: Left, Line spacing: single

Humphrey, S.C., author, 2013. Elephant and Castle: a history. Amberley Publishing, Formatted: Spanish (Colombia)
Stroud, Glos. Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0"

Mesa, C., 2010. Superficies de contacto. Mesa Editores. Medellín. Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0"

Welsch, W., 1999. Transculturality: The Puzzling form of Cultures Today, in: Spaces of Formatted: Indent: Left: 0", First line: 0"

Culture: City, Nation, World. SAGE Publications Ltd, 1 Oliver’s Yard, 55 City
Road, London EC1Y 1SP United Kingdom, pp. 195–213.

Web Pages:
Southwark Notes (1999). Heygate State - whose regeneration? Available from
https://southwarknotes.wordpress.com/heygate-estate/ [accessed 24.03.16]

Mcwllaine, C., (2009-2010). Latin American Community in London. Available from

http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/latinamericansinlondon/ [accessed 24.03.16].
Latin Elephant (2014). Voicing the concerns of Latin Americans in Elephant &
Castle. Available from http://latinelephant.org/ [accessed 20.01.16]

The Bartlett Development Planning Unit (2016). Latin American diaspora in London:
What is the future of migrant ethnic businesses in Elephant and Castle regeneration
process? Available from https://www.bartlett.ucl.ac.uk/dpu/news/latin-american-
diaspora-in-london-what-is-the-future-of-migrant-ethnic-businesses-in-elephant-and-
castle-regeneration-process [accessed 12.04.16]
Strata SE1/ BFLS (2010).ArchDaily Available from
http://www.archdaily.com/70142/strata-se1-bfls [accessed 05.05.16]

The Artworks Elephant & Castle, Creative Hub (2015). Available from
http://www.theartworks.london/ [accessed 04.02.16]

Plaza Latina (2016). Available from http://www.plazalatina.co.uk/ [accessed

05.07.16]

Interviews & Lectures:

Raigoso, L., Verónica, P. 2016. Claudia: Alternaciones Nicole. Retailers Elephant and
Castle Shopping Centre. See full project:
- Mapping Memories E&C [WWW Document], 2016. Available from
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=z5mLwpEZgaRg.k-LNfexxewuA

Román, P. (2016) Latin Elephant Charity and the redevelopment in Elephant and Castle.
[Lecture London College of Communication].

Videos:
Guyon, I., and Latin Elephant. London’s Latin Quarter (2015). Available from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRC2cyhpzAM [accessed 03.15.16]

Guyon, I., and Latin Elephant. Beign a Latin in Elephant (2015). Available from
http://latinelephant.org/#prettyPhoto[galleryName]/0/ [accessed 03.15.16]

Image references:

Fig.0- No author identified. Southwark public Libraries (1963). Progress on the new
shopping centre at Elephant and Castle [Photograph]. Available from Southwark Local
History Library and Archives.
Fig. 1- Posada, V., (2016). London:Living Organism [Digital image]. Available from
FLICKR SUBILAR Y LINK AQUI

Fig. 2- Posada, V., and Guerra, R., (2016). Millenials Creative Class [Digital image].
Available from FLICKR SUBILAR Y LINK AQUI

Fig. 3- Posada, V., (2016). Urban Palimpsest[Digital image]. Available from FLICKR Formatted: Spanish (Colombia)

SUBILAR Y LINK AQUI

Fig. 4- Rowlandson, T., for the “Illustrated London News” (1879). Elephant and Castle
1786 [photographic copy of a print]. Available from Southwark Local History Library
and Archives. Orginal Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Fig. 5- White, B., (n.d). Elephant and Castle [photographic copy of a print]. Available
from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 6- No author identified (1949). A view of the meeting place of six traffic arteries of
London… where the emblem of the Cocknet world looks down on London liveliest domain.
[Copy of a photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 7- H.T., Rolaui (1905).Elephant and Castle. [Copy of a photograph]. Available from
Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 8- No author identified (1898).Elephant and Castle (From Walworth Road). [copy
of a photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives,
Donated by: Hawes, M.H.

Fig. 9- No author identified (1907).Elephant and Castle Theatre. [Copy of a photograph].

Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives, Donated by: Mr. East, J.

Fig. 10- No author identified (1993). Meet you at La Fogata. [Southwark Newspaper].
Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.
Fig. 11- Daily Express (1959). Elephant and Castle Hotel. [Copy of a photograph].
Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 12- Pollard,J., (1826). View of the Elephant and Castle Pub. [Copy of a print].
Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 13- No author identified, Transport for London C. (1885). Elephant and Castle.
[Copy of a photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 14- Farrer, J., (1898). Elephant and Castle Hotel as proposed to be rebuilt. [Copy of a
print]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 15- Prettejhons, L.G., (1956). Elephant and Castle Hotel (from Newigton Causeway).
[Copy of a photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 16- No author identified (1970). Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre Construction.
[photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 17- Burrow, J. &Co., (1963). Elephant and Castle redevelopment scheme
[photograph]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 18- No author identified (1965). Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre [Copy of a
drawing]. Available from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 19- Brooke, R., (1976). Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre [Photograph]. Available
from Southwark Local History Library and Archives.

Fig. 20- Posada, V. and Raigoso, L. (2016). Claudia.[Digital Photograph:Mapping

Memories Project]. Available from
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=z5mLwpEZgaRg.k-LNfexxewuA

Fig. 21- Posada, V. (2016). Revitalisation.[Digital Photograph]. Available from FLICKR

SUBILAR

Fig. 22- Posada, V., (2016). Simplicity vs. Complexity .[Digital image]. Available from
FLICKR SUBILAR

Fig. 23- Townshend Landscape Architects (2010). Strata Tower. [Digital image]. Available
from http://www.archdaily.com/70142/strata-se1-bfls

Fig. 24- Townshend Landscape Architects (2010). Strata Tower. [Digital Photograph].
Available from http://www.archdaily.com/70142/strata-se1-bfls

Fig. 25- Posada, V., (2016).Non-places-Community/private-places-spaces.[Digital

image]. Available from FLICKR SUBILAR

Fig. 26- Posada, V., (2016).Latin Quarter.[Digital image]. Available from FLICKR
SUBILAR

Fig. 27- Posada, V. and Raigoso, L. (2016).Anna Castro.[Digital Photograph:Mapping

Memories Project]. Available from
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=z5mLwpEZgaRg.k-LNfexxewuA

Fig. 28- Posada, V. and Raigoso, L. (2016).Maria Teresa.[Digital Photograph:Mapping

Memories Project]. Available from
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=z5mLwpEZgaRg.k-LNfexxewuA

Fig. 29- Posada, V. and Raigoso, L. (2016).Don Pablo.[Digital Photograph:Mapping

Memories Project]. Available from
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=z5mLwpEZgaRg.k-LNfexxewuA