Field Trip 1

Camden is one of London's 32 borough councils and home to many well-known London locations, from Covent Garden to Highgate Cemetery. It is also where UCL is located, in the historic area of Bloomsbury. In recent years, the area around the King's Cross and St Pancras railway stations has undergone significant redevelopment, while nearby Euston Station is currently being overhauled. Zoom in on the map above and find UCL, IGP, Euston, and King's Cross.

Next to UCL, major cultural institutions such as the British Museum and the British Library are also located in Camden. If you haven't been, take a  virtual wander around the British Museum , whose permanent exhibitions are free to access for the public.

Q Can cultural resources be considered infrastructures or public services? If so, should they always be free of charge for the public? Why or why not?

Although Camden is often thought of as a progressive council, as elsewhere in central London, exclusion from urban space operates in numerous ways, some of which are subtle and even invisible.

In 2012, the 'Camden Bench' was commissioned by Camden Council to discourage anti-social behaviour in public spaces, specifically skateboarding and sleeping on street furniture. The uneven surface of the bench makes it uncomfortable to lie down, and  difficult to skate , on while the stone is covered in anti-graffiti coating. As a solid road block that can stop vehicle access, the bench also has anti-terrorism uses.

In its purpose as a deterrent to homeless presence in the streets, the Camden Bench can be seen as an example of  'hostile architecture'  or  'defensive design'  -- although one that operates more subtly than anti-homeless spikes, which are discussed in the video below.

Q Can, and should, you 'design out' crime in public spaces? What about non-criminal yet 'undesirable' behaviour?

Some artists seek to counteract these exclusionary urban design tactics by devising what has been called 'guerrilla furniture': small-scale interventions that enable the public presence of people and activities not deemed desirable.

Q Can tactical interventions like the one on the left make a difference?

The recent redevelopment around King's Cross station, which includes Google's UK headquarters and high-end open air shopping space, is privately owned and operated, although it appears at first sight to be a regular public area -- hence it has been called ' pseudo-public space '. Such spaces are increasing around newly developed areas in London.

• Explore this map by The Guardian &  GiGL :  Pseudo-public space 

Q What exactly are privately operated/owned public spaces (POPS)? Where are the POPS in Camden, and who owns them? Why are they controversial, and what could be their advantages? Who benefits and who might be excluded from such areas?

The artist  Catalina Pollak Williamson  has examined the history of the English Garden Square in Bloomsbury. Over the past century, was a back-and-forth between those who wanted to keep these squares fenced off, with access restricted to local residents with a key, and those who wanted to make them accessible to all members of the public. During World War II, Winston Churchill asked for the railings to be removed, supposedly because the iron was needed for the war effort - although this  may just have been a pretext  for creating more public access. Recently, many railings have been  reinstated .

Pollak Williamson's work Phantom Railings reminds us of this history and ongoing debate on public ownership and access to urban green spaces. Watch the film below.

Recently, it was revealed that the operator of the pseudo-public area owned by King's Cross Central  has been using live facial recognition  to watch passers-by, and also sharing this information with police.  Human Rights observers were highly critical  of this, and for now this practice has been halted.

Q Why is Live Facial Recognition controversial in the UK? What's the difference between police and private sector using it?

Closed-circuit Television (CCTV) without live facial recognition is very common in London. Compare London to other cities in the interactive graphic below.

Q How does London compare to other 'global' cities in terms of CCTV usage? What factors might play a role in this?

Somers Town is an area between King's Cross and St Pancras on one side and Euston station on the other. It is more deprived than other areas of Camden. For example, on average, men who live here die ten years earlier than those in adjacent neighbourhoods. It has also been affected by the extensive redevelopment of those three large railway terminals and their surroundings.

The area suffers from poor air quality due to pollution created by cars, trains and buildings. Euston Road is one of the  most polluted roads  in London. While most of the city  exceeds international standards  for healthy air, pollution disproportionately affects lower-income areas and those where more people of colour live. For instance, both  BAME and deprived students are close to 30% more likely to be affected by toxic air pollution , reflecting the intersection of urban environmental health and other dimensions of exclusion. UCL has collaborated local residents on an  Environmental Justice initiative  and worked with the  Somers Town Neighbourhood Forum  to  monitor air quality  and develop a plan for its improvement.

Q What might we mean when we say environmental vulnerability is socially constructed? Can we consider air part of the 'urban commons' - and what does it mean to conceptualise it in this way?

The  Neighbourhood Forum  has also developed their own neighbourhood plan, with the help of the group  Just Space  which has developed a framework for community-based planning in London. Page through the Plan devised by the Neighbourhood Forum.

Q Who is involved in developing a neighbourhood plan? How is this different from the regular planning procedure? What priorities do residents of Somers Town highlight in their work and plan?

• You have already learned about the idea of Universal Basic Services (UBS). Re-familiarise yourself with IGP's research on the topic by browsing the  UBS Hub .

Q What distinguishes Universal Basic Services (UBS) from Universal Basic Income (UBI)? How does it claim to address inequality better than existing social services? Is there a service you think is missing, or perhaps something that you don't believe should be delivered free at point of access by the state?

Optional: Watch this IGP Soundbite on new models of welfare support in Camden.

Q What exactly is Camden Council trialling and what is the impact so far? Can small-scale interventions illustrate the use of a much wider - universal - basic service provision?

 Camden 2025  sets out a vision for the future of the borough, where everyone contributes to achieving a safe, fair, creative and active community. It is also the basis for what the council calls  Our Camden Plan . To come up with this vision for the borough,  local residents were consulted  about their priorities for Camden by the year 2025.

Skim through the  Camden 2025 Resident and Partner Engagement  report.

Q What do people identify as some of the key challenges for the borough? What methods did the council use to reach out to and engage residents - and what might be some of their limitations to obtaining a representative picture of the local population's views?

In 2019, Camden invited 50 (randomly selected) local residents to take part in a  Citizens Assembly on C limate Change, which set the direction for the  Camden Climate Action Plan 2020-2025 . Watch this video explaining the process. 

Now please browse the  presentations  of the CA to get a sense of the structure of such an exercise in deliberative democracy.

Q How were participants selected, how did they deliberate, what decisions did they make, and what was the impact? How exactly to citizens' opinions feed into policy making? What distinguishes a local initiative for tackling Climate Change from national and international programmes?

On your own time, listen to or walk along with  Dr Louis Moreno  (Goldsmiths) who discusses 'urban regeneration' on a tour from Euston Station to King's Cross/St Pancras.

•  Camden Citizens' Assembly on the Climate Crisis (September 2019) Recommendations for Tacking the Climate Crisis in Camden .
•  Coote, A., Kasliwal, P., Percy, A. (2019) Universal Basic Services: Theory and Practice. A Literature Review .
•  Murgia, M. (2019) London’s King’s Cross uses facial recognition in security cameras. Financial Times .