bun-u

Hackney Road

Hackney Road in East London is a good example of how development in London is slightly more incremental and organic than in most cities. A combination of high land values, weak local government means that the master-planning approach you get in most provincial cities is avoided here. In fact you’d be pushed to find two buildings the same on Hackney Road. Each one comes from a different time, has it’s own architectural style and there’s no attempt to follow any urban design etiquette of fitting in with surroundings. A lot of the road is also derelict, probably land-banked by long-term investors and sites are covered by billboards or urban graffiti artists -wannabe banksias. There are other bits which are extremely affluent – three quarters of a million pound houses and there are Hackney social housing blocks, which tend to be slightly angled away from the road as if posturing an uncompromised stance. There’s the pubs and ex pubs, you can get a cheaper pint in the Marksmen than perhaps many parts of Britain, Morrissey used to frequent the Seabright Arms, the George and Dragon is a favourite for the Hoxton luvvies and drag queens, while Browns and other strip clubs continues the area’s long-standing subservient relationship to the nearby City district

posted by David M @ 9:10 am