This page provides links to information about and analysis of the London Docklands. The Docklands can teach us about the reuse of industrial urban space if we learn from its history, its current state and its prospects for the future.
The location and geography of the Docklands Area is essential to understanding its past and present function. It is also the key to the failure or survival of the area depending upon societal and technological ability to overcome the physical and mental isolation of the region.
This link provides a brief history of the Docklands as an important part of the British Empire. The Docklands changed from a vital and integral part of the Empire to a depressed region in a short period of time.
British politics and bureaucracy have played a key role in Docklands development. The project could not have been accomplished without governmental support, yet its role and effects continue to be controversial.
Transportation has been a source of great frustration for developers, commuters and residents of the Docklands. There is undeniably an insufficient transportation system supporting the area. This problem is the most often sited reason for Docklands "failure."
The new development in the area is an abrupt departure from what has always been in the region. This is seen by many as callous gentrification that screams of North American involvement.
The most publicized aspects of development are the business and financial parts. However, the original Dockland plan strove to create a separate city with its own recreation and residential areas. Unfortunately, despite mixed-use planning the new development caters to only one class of the population while ostracizing all others, including original residents. A class landscape has sprung up.