Object of the LSE's MSc City Design and Social Science Studio Group Project, Custom House is no stranger to false promises and omissions, as over twenty years have passed since the Newham Council assured its residents that a meaningful infrastructural development would happen. Now facing deteriorating living conditions, inadequate public spaces, increasing pollution levels, and decaying social infrastructure, these residents
bear the dangerous burdens of inactivity. Compared to other areas, Custom House is home to the lowest healthy life expectancy rates in all of London, just one of many empirical indices of community deprivation outlined in this report.
bear the dangerous burdens of inactivity. Compared to other areas, Custom House is home to the lowest healthy life expectancy rates in all of London, just one of many empirical indices of community deprivation outlined in this report.
The following maps produced with QGIS and numerous sources respectively indicated help to understand the context of CH in its borough.
On the borough scale, there is a stark division between the Northern and Southern parts of Newham regarding High Street provision. The land use analysis used here shows an evident lack of continuous High Street space in the ward. In fact, Custom House does not have an official High Street at all. Instead, they have commercial clusters that are inaccessible and often closed.
Instances of ecological severance occur here in complex ways, but their outcomes are directly echoed in the overall health and well-being of Custom House residents. One of the most striking reflections of this is life expectancy. A clear connection emerges by combining life expectancy with those of air pollution. Indeed, lung cancer and respiratory diseases are the leading causes of death in Newham. These conditions are exacerbated by poor housing conditions and further construction projects planned nearby, increasing carbon emissions on an already unprepared and severed community.
Custom House has a long history of stigmatization, spanning from its industrial working-class past towards years of austerity measures that severed and segregated low-income communities from their neighbours. The socio-cultural narratives and beliefs that cause this social severance rely on stigma to justify their means. They are felt in varying degrees
along axes of difference such as race, gender, and class and are directly reflected in income, employment, and crime (Fig. 8). Furthermore, high population turnover rates in Newham are a significant barrier to building strong social relationships within communities. Despite being a diverse borough, Hall(2012, p.72) reinforces that ‘for people to be local in changing local worlds, ...they require a range of spaces to meet, to encounter differences, and to engage in informal memberships’.
along axes of difference such as race, gender, and class and are directly reflected in income, employment, and crime (Fig. 8). Furthermore, high population turnover rates in Newham are a significant barrier to building strong social relationships within communities. Despite being a diverse borough, Hall(2012, p.72) reinforces that ‘for people to be local in changing local worlds, ...they require a range of spaces to meet, to encounter differences, and to engage in informal memberships’.
While physical design interventions can bring major improvements to run-down and under-utilized spaces, there is the potential for these interventions to impact residents negatively in the form of gentrification. Area-based policies, even if well-intentioned, often drive land values up and attract investment from external private actors. Either by substituting local businesses, increasing rents or erasing cultural symbols that bring communities together, urban interventions are likely to put affected neighbourhoods in danger of displacement.
This circumstance becomes even more acute in places such as Custom House, where more than two thirds of the residents do not own the houses they live in (Fig 14). Addressing displacement constitutes a paramount task in scenarios where several
institutions are involved. Given that gentrification is triggered, reinforced and, potentially, fought against in a variety of scales that range from the very local to the global level, divergent priorities and lack of coordination among all public bodies can be specially
problematic. The diversity of actors within Custom House, that range from the local borough or the Greater London Authority to the national government, then becomes an issue of special concern.
This circumstance becomes even more acute in places such as Custom House, where more than two thirds of the residents do not own the houses they live in (Fig 14). Addressing displacement constitutes a paramount task in scenarios where several
institutions are involved. Given that gentrification is triggered, reinforced and, potentially, fought against in a variety of scales that range from the very local to the global level, divergent priorities and lack of coordination among all public bodies can be specially
problematic. The diversity of actors within Custom House, that range from the local borough or the Greater London Authority to the national government, then becomes an issue of special concern.
Most of the land in Custom House is publicly owned, which allows for greater flexibility and fewer opportunities for disputes between private landowners and the council. When examining currently under-utilized spaces, it becomes clear that the Freemason’s High Street provides ample opportunity for an urban physical intervention that re-stitches Custom House to its greater borough.
