Gentrification

Nestled in the corner of Brockwell Park, Cressingham Gardens housing estate feels like an extension of the rolling municipal greenery. The low-rise fingers of housing weave their way around clusters of mature trees, framing pedestrian paths flanked by lush patio gardens. Slightly higher blocks to the west mask noise from the main road, creating an oasis of calm where a village green faces a community hall rotunda, designed with “fairground overtones of merry-go-rounds and bandstands”, as a 1979 issue of the Architectural Review put it.in the words of council housing expert John Boughton, author of Municipal Dreams, “one of the finest council estates in the country”. The London scheme was designed in the late 1960s by a team of Lambeth Council architects led by Ted Hollamby, a pioneer of high-density low-rise housing who championed a move away from tower blocks. … [Read more...] about ‘A Kafkaesque nightmare’: the survival guide helping condemned estates beat the bulldozers

In the last two years NHH and Genesis have also converted 1,322 homes let at social rents (typically well below half the market rate) into “affordable” lets (which charge up to 80% of market rates). As part of the drive to build more homes, housing associations must relet homes at these higher rents in order to qualify for housing grants. … [Read more...] about Housing association merger will lead to social cleansing, warn tenants

For photographer Kristen Simar (@home_schooling), the character of the city is bound up with this multitude of colours. “San Francisco’s lifeblood is in its neighbourhoods. Each colourful house is a celebration of the city’s history and the people who have chosen to call San Francisco home. No two houses are the same and each story is unique.” … [Read more...] about Rainbow city: the colourful houses of San Francisco – in pictures

But Parnham says its proposed alternative sites do not meet showpeople’s needs, which are recorded by a study the council itself commissioned in line with housing legislation. These needs include space for HGVs to enter and park next to where they live so these don’t have to be retested each time they go to a fair, and enough space for families to spread out as they take over the business, as is tradition. … [Read more...] about None of the fun of the fair: the London showpeople fighting for their homes

Despite a setup that suggests an influx of sugar, the Sundance breakout remains a stridently unsentimental and unwaveringly naturalistic look at a difficult situation. To an outsider, the rule that forbids a widower from raising a child alone feels like a cruel injustice and despite being made by a relative outsider (Weinstein is Jewish but not Orthodox), the film doesn’t linger on outrage. The script was loosely based on the real-life story of Lustig, who faced a similar experience, and there’s an authenticity that feels hard-earned. Weinstein, whose work has been within documentaries thus far, successfully embeds himself within a community that strives to exist outside the surrounding world. Given the film’s muted tone, it’s a deceptively underplayed achievement. … [Read more...] about Menashe review – tender drama reveals New York’s Orthodox Jewish community