elephant and castle

THE BRIEF

2006-12-15T12:54:00.000-08:00

"This unit surveys photography in urban space and examines it as socially engaged practice, working with critical public issues. The practical component of the unit consist in rehearsing some of these strategies in the real space of Elephant and Castle in the attempt to become familliar with the space and identity, an opportunity for intervention."

This brief is supposed to exercise both our knowledge and practice of photography. The brief requires us to go about the streets of Elephant and Castle and take photographs of images that catches our eye. I'm exited about this project as I know it will be fun....interesting.

2006-12-15T12:25:00.000-08:00

Elephant and Castle is covered with signs and posters, which stay in the same position for a long time, because most of them are never taken down. Hopefully by making these posters inviting the local community to a social gathering, I would be making a concious difference by giving them something to think about when they see my posters. Whether it made a difference or not, I am pleased with this idea. Its great that Elephant and Castle is getting a renovation, but I think that the people around the area should make the effort to become more of a tightknit community, because when the work on the E&C is finished it would be a much better place to visit if you get a friendlier atmosphere.

POSTERS

2006-12-15T11:55:00.000-08:00

THE POSTER

2006-12-15T04:34:00.000-08:00

I created simple posters and photocopied them so that I could easily display them around Elephant and Castle. I displayed them around busy spots in the area, such as the subways and the market. These areas are the places that people usually pass through or go to when they are in E&C. I also displayed them around council estates so that most of the locals who sees the poster are aware of the gathering I have organised.
The posters invites the locals to a party in, what else, the Weatherspoons pub. I gave a specific date and time to which everybody should meet. I actually have not plan a proper party and did not organised anything with the pub owners so basically this gathering is just an illusion. The aim of this poster idea is for the people who came from differnt areas of E&C to talk to each other about the poster and hopefully spark up some conversion or maybe even friendship.

THE PROJECT IDEA

2006-12-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

My idea for this project came from a website about the regeneration of Elephant and Castle. It was a linked web page and people discussed, "What do we think of the Elephant and Castle masterplan?" from www.livingstreets.org.uk. I also found a website (www.into.org.uk), in this website the locals of E&C discussed how life is at the Elephant and about the upcoming plans for the area. Most of the discussions I have read from the locals did not give me the impression that Elephant and Castle has a close community. I also gathered this by talking to some of the people I meet around the area.

I wanted to create something that would make a difference on the community, so I thought of creating a poster inviting the local community of E&C to a gathering to a certain location on a certain time and certain date. The point of the poster would be to encourage the locals from different areas to socialise with each other.

2006-12-14T10:38:00.000-08:00

COMMUNITY QUOTES

2006-12-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

" When I first moved to London, I lived here for two years. Elephant &Castle for those who don't know, is essentially a roundabout, with a pink shopping centre! Its dirty and noisy but in a way it's kinda cool because you can live there. A mojority of the locals are good people, but it seems to attract a lot of nutters."

" The best thing about Elephant and Castle is that it's a gateway to so many places. 20 minutes walk and your in central, 10 minutes and your in waterloo. Kennington, Walworth Road, London Bridge are within walking distance, it's cool."

" I don't really like living here, This place is miserable and the people are miserable too."

" I think it's worth stressing that whatever happens to Elephant over the next few years, we shouldn't simply demolish it and forget it."

" I remember that before the pink shopping centre was built, Elephant and Castle was the West End of South London, it was a place where people came to meet rather than pass through. I've seen people hop on a bus at Elephant simply to get around the corner, bizaarre really, considering this used to be a bustling place full of life. That's what we need to get back to and I think we can with this new renovation."

" I like this area. I want to see everyone here that deserves a decent home get one."

" Most of the people around here do not appreciate community spirit."

2006-12-14T07:44:00.000-08:00

These images are familiar scenes in Elephant and Castle. The murial in the subways, graffitti, the pink shopping centre, the statue of the pink elephant, market stalls, signs on the roundabout, counsil estate buildings and so on.
I do not live in Elephant and Castle, but I have the fortunate chance of studying at The London South Bank University, which is situated near the Elephant and Castle area. E&C is commomly described as a "ghetto", due to its "run down" appearance and the people you see around. My first impression of Elephant and Castle was not impressive, I immediately thought that this area could do with a much needed renovation. People say to me that E&C is a dangerous place to go, but apart from the occasional trouble you get by juveniles and occasionally being hasled for spare change from most of the homeless people around, I would say that E&C is pretty much like any other area, obviously not like the glamorous and pristine areas you see in central London but any area you see that obviously haven't been paid attention to by the Government for a long time.

Because of the upcoming renovation of E&C, for this project I have decided to concentrate on the people who live around Elephant and Castle. By walking around particular areas of E&C such as, Heygate Estate, the roudabout next to the tube station, around the shopping centre,etc and talking to some of the locals I came across, I got the impression that the E&C community wasn't a proper community; by this I mean that the people are pretty much divided in their own areas, people keep themselves to themselves and most people only know and talk to the people who live in their area.

ELEPHANT AND CASTLE PROJECT

2006-12-08T06:43:00.000-08:00

Elephant and Castle will be undergoing major renovation work. The regeneration of Elephant and Castle is about much more than landmark buildins and shopping. The aim is to improve every aspect of life for local people, through excellent housing and open spaces and the very best educational, cultural and leisure facilities.
By providing comfortablr and safe transport and offering commercial and retail opportunities for business, the initiative will also attract new visitors to the area and encourage them to stay.

This is the second recent attempt to regenerate Elephant and Castle. An initial plan collapsed after a series of rows between groups involved. The new plan, published by Southwarks Liberal Democrat-led council and produced by Foster and Partners, Tibbalds TM2 Gehl Archeticts and Space Syntax, aims to phase in 11,000 homes over five years. It proposes demolishing the dilapitated Heygate estate and shopping centre to make way for a net increase of 4,200 homes. The early build will be about 70% affordable, dropping to 30% at the end and shops and businesses will be integrated with new homes.

The Elephant and Castle regeneration is underpinned by a wide range of networks organisations and individual, including residents, local businesses, education and health providers, government, community and voluntary groups, statutory bodies and people working in the area. The aim is to make sure that residents and businesses are better equipped for the change process and can take advantage of new opportunities arising from the regeneration. Creating a better environment for local people is the cornerstone of the regeneration programme and for it to be deemed a sucess, local people need to feel that they have a chance to carve out their future in Elephant and Castle.