In person: Estate Regeneration and Its Discontents: Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London Lecture
Estate Regeneration and Its Discontents: Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London Lecture
Tuesday 13 May 2025 at 6.30pm
The Gallery, 70 Cowcross Street, London, EC1M 6EJ
Dr Paul Watt’s lecture is based on his recent book, Estate Regeneration and Its Discontents; Public Housing, Place and Inequality in London (Policy Press, 2021).
The book provides an in-depth account of how the controversial policy of public/social housing estate regeneration – in the form of demolition and rebuilding – is radically reshaping London’s housing and socio-spatial landscapes. It is based on a decade of research at over a dozen council-built housing estates in the boroughs of Barnet, Hackney, Haringey, Lambeth, Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.
The first part of the lecture traces the history of council housing in London and also examines the shifting policy rationales for estate regeneration. The second section focuses on residents’ experiences of living through estate regeneration and introduces the notion of ‘degeneration’. The third section focuses on the aftermaths of regeneration and suggests that ‘fragmented’ rather than ‘mixed’ communities are being created.
Paul Watt is Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology, London School of Economics. He has published widely on social housing, urban regeneration, gentrification, homelessness, and the 2012 London Olympic Games. He is co-editor with Peer Smets of Social Housing and Urban Renewal: A Cross-National Perspective (Emerald, 2017).
C20 Society Member £11;
Non-Member £16;
Young C20 member + guest Free*;
Student + guest £5 **
*For Young C20 members, please email coordinator@c20society.org.uk to secure a place.
**For student pricing please select from the dropdown option next to ‘membership number’ on the booking form below.
Includes a glass of wine
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Note: This event is hybrid and is being run both in-person at Cowcross Street Gallery and online via Zoom. The event will be recorded and offered as a catch-up lecture for those who have booked and will be available for two weeks.
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The Twentieth Century Society is an IHBC (Institute of Historic Building conservation) recognised CPD provider.
The Twentieth Century Society is a registered charity, no 1110244
Image above: West Hendon Estate
Image credit: © Paul Watt
THIS BOOKING IS FOR AN IN-PERSON TICKET ONLY (COWCROSS STREET GALLERY)