Our London Talks: Gentrification: good, bad & the ugly?

We look at the word on everybody’s lips – gentrification – and asks our panel if the changes felt are always bad

Oxford House and the Londonist are proud to present the first in a series of talks that take a look at our changing city. Engaging, entertaining – and occasionally outrageous, the regular Our London talks bring together a range of viewpoints to debate the hot topics.

Our first looks at the buzzword on everybody’s lips – gentrification – and asks our panel if the changes felt are always bad, and if there might be ways that we can make big changes underfoot work for more of our community. Hosted by the Londonist, our panellists include Guardian journalist and commentator Dawn Foster journalist, local author and East End Tour guide David Rosenberg and Julie Begum, currently at the Geffrye Museum as Asian women's project co-ordinator.

The panel

Dawn Foster. A London-based freelance journalist with an eye for everything from politics to economics. She writes monthly for the Guardian and has also published her own book ‘Lean Out’ in which Dawn calls attention to the inherent inequality in society that prevents women achieving success through individualistic means. She is a passionate and engaging writer whose opinions on gentrification are bound to be cause for reflection.

David Rosenberg. No one understands East-London quite like David. Or understands the area’s complex construction out of the history of radical social politics, to be more precise. David is an East-London tour guide who follows the steps of those who have contributed so much to make our society what it is today. Jeremy Corbyn said that David’s book – Rebel Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Radical History – will make you walk round London with a different view of the world. Maybe he’ll change your opinions, too.

Julie Begum. Born and raised in Tower Hamlets, Julie undertook an MA in London Studies at QMUL in 2010 and is now working at the Geffrye Museum as Asian Women’s Project Co-ordinator. For over seven years Julie has been working with a select group of women from East London, women who all come from different parts of the world and carry with them an abundance of stories and history. Julie knows about the cultural confluence of modern London, and her opinions will be valuable to a discussion regarding gentrification and its perceived threat to the community.

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